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A review by rinnyssance
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
4.0
For the better part of this novel, the plot was predictable but not in a bad way. It just showed that it was realistic (aside from the rape conviction, but whatever). I have opinions on the main characters, which is really the best way for me to gauge whether I am invested in the story.
**Mild Spoilers/Character commentary**
Celestial still loved Roy. She doesn't even believe in falling out of love. She never moved on. Every moment with Andre was sprinkled with conversations of Roy. She and her family still supported him, even when he was down. She didn't change the locks and didn't think to, which I thought was also intentional by the author. She never actually moved on. She ate, slept and breathed Roy throughout the story. She seemed to blame men for "controlling" her but she couldn't even control herself. I found her to be easily influenced. Especially by the advice of men in the story. A lot of her mistrust of commitment has to do with the ways she doesn't trust herself.
Andre loves a damsel in distress, but Celestial didn't really need saving from anything but herself. She said she hates secrets, but she kept a lot of them throughout the book. The end, where she said she doesn't want to get married, was more a reflection of her own behavior and her inability to hold herself accountable than of the institution itself. She didn't mind being married before. She wouldn't mind it again. Essentially, she and Andre are more married now than she and Roy have ever been. With a child and all.
I had a lot of empathy for Roy's character because he had the worst plotline out of everyone. Prison changed him in so many ways, and his life was out of his control for about five years. He knew his proclivities, and he was also aware of how must Celestial knew. He thought things were "fine," and to him, "fine" didn't really mean much about Celestial's feelings because she didn't care about them either. So he cheated often, assuring himself that his wife was clear on where home was. She would forgive every birthday gift receipt with a suspicious purchase, or business card that she caught him with, inked with a stranger's number and never said a word. Maybe she would call Andre for emotional support like she usually did.
I liked how Roy was written to assume that he could get Celeste back. It painted the picture for me that he wasn't afraid to lose her. Which was his problem in the first place! He did everything without fear. Even when he went to prison, even when they didn't speak, he was entirely sure that he could get her back whenever he wanted. He knew the wife he left on the outside. He was so sure, that he slept with a whole other woman right before reuniting with her. He can't even help himself.
In general, I think people who write first-person books are absolute psychos; but this book was so well crafted that I guess I'll make an exception. You can tell that these characters actually lived in the author's mind, interacted in intimate ways before they were on paper. As I said, the plot was very believable and there were no outlandish or ridiculous parts. This is not a story that I would normally be interested in on its own but the book was very enjoyable anyway.
**Mild Spoilers/Character commentary**
Celestial still loved Roy. She doesn't even believe in falling out of love. She never moved on. Every moment with Andre was sprinkled with conversations of Roy. She and her family still supported him, even when he was down. She didn't change the locks and didn't think to, which I thought was also intentional by the author. She never actually moved on. She ate, slept and breathed Roy throughout the story. She seemed to blame men for "controlling" her but she couldn't even control herself. I found her to be easily influenced. Especially by the advice of men in the story. A lot of her mistrust of commitment has to do with the ways she doesn't trust herself.
Andre loves a damsel in distress, but Celestial didn't really need saving from anything but herself. She said she hates secrets, but she kept a lot of them throughout the book. The end, where she said she doesn't want to get married, was more a reflection of her own behavior and her inability to hold herself accountable than of the institution itself. She didn't mind being married before. She wouldn't mind it again. Essentially, she and Andre are more married now than she and Roy have ever been. With a child and all.
I had a lot of empathy for Roy's character because he had the worst plotline out of everyone. Prison changed him in so many ways, and his life was out of his control for about five years. He knew his proclivities, and he was also aware of how must Celestial knew. He thought things were "fine," and to him, "fine" didn't really mean much about Celestial's feelings because she didn't care about them either. So he cheated often, assuring himself that his wife was clear on where home was. She would forgive every birthday gift receipt with a suspicious purchase, or business card that she caught him with, inked with a stranger's number and never said a word. Maybe she would call Andre for emotional support like she usually did.
I liked how Roy was written to assume that he could get Celeste back. It painted the picture for me that he wasn't afraid to lose her. Which was his problem in the first place! He did everything without fear. Even when he went to prison, even when they didn't speak, he was entirely sure that he could get her back whenever he wanted. He knew the wife he left on the outside. He was so sure, that he slept with a whole other woman right before reuniting with her. He can't even help himself.
In general, I think people who write first-person books are absolute psychos; but this book was so well crafted that I guess I'll make an exception. You can tell that these characters actually lived in the author's mind, interacted in intimate ways before they were on paper. As I said, the plot was very believable and there were no outlandish or ridiculous parts. This is not a story that I would normally be interested in on its own but the book was very enjoyable anyway.