An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones is the tale of a young couple, Roy and Celestial, whose lives are marriage are shattered when Roy is arrested and imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit. The book isn't about how terrible it is that black people just sort of accept injustice from the justice system. It isn't about how both people in the marriage are sort of terrible in their own ways. It's a book about a marriage - how to define a marriage and how to make it work (or not work). 

I wouldn't say that I loved this book. I thought the characters were abysmal and thoughtless and their definition of marriage is very different from what I expect my own marriage to be. On the other hand, it did force me to take on a perspective about marriage that is different from my old-fashioned, stodgy idea of monogamy and commitment. I certainly was judgmental about it as I read it, but on reflection, I wonder exactly what it is that I think makes my way so much better.  It might be better for me (and hopefully my husband), but why would I assume that would make people who are like our main characters happy? 

It was our July book club pick and it really did incite some interesting discussions.  We mostly discussed how interesting it was that, since it was told from the point of view of a black family, there was no angsty discussion about how to change the system, but rather an acceptance that the system failed and then how to move on from there. We also discussed whether or not the characters were terrible, how family dynamics are often cyclical, and our own hypocrisies about what we think the characters should have done (note: we were often victim blaming). 

But, while I can't say I loved this book, I loved, loved the observational writing of Jones.  Here are two passages that I marked and loved.

"But a man who is a father to a daughter is different from one who is a father to a son. One is the left shoe and the other is the right. They are the same but not interchangeable." (page 192)

"When I rolled into Atlanta, I entered the city up the I-75/85 to see the skyline before me like the Promised Land. I know it's not like seeing teh Empire State Building in New York or the Sears Tower in Chicago. As far as I know, Atlanta doesn't have any famous buildings. You might even say that there are no skyscrapers. Sky reachers, maybe, not sky scrapers." (page 232)

The writing is spare and told from multiple POVs, which is a trend I'm disliking more and more, but it's so smart. Every bit of examination of the world is interesting, truly interesting.  I can't wait to read more from this author. I want to start incorporating more of these types of insights into my own daily life.