AABC #157, An American Marriage
by Tayari Jones
This was a much appreciated book scoring above the Goodreads figure.
The central structure of the book is the three way relationship of the book amongst Celestial, Andre and Roy,
and brought into focus by the unjust prison sentence imposed on Roy and the stresses that created,
directly and indirectly via Andre, on his relationship with Celestial.
The three way relationship was emphasised by the book’s chapter structure, separated into the individual viewpoints of the main characters.
However, some felt this worked against the flow of the narrative.
Whilst the book was written in the context of black Americans,
and whilst the central injustice was easy to understand in a white versus black context,
the thrust of the story related to the development their relationships, not to the colour issue.
Indeed it was observed that the title did not contain a racial slant, when it could easily have been “An Afro-American marriage”.
Some of the club members enjoyed the “letters to Roy” section, other were less sure,
one comment was relief when the sentence was commuted and the letter writing stopped.
Many experienced this book as a page-turner and were pleased by the way “dangling ends” were brought to a swift conclusion.
Indeed it was possible to enjoy reading the book without liking the characters.
With such a tangled web, the end of the book was approached by many with trepidation, and then relief.
And it left most with a feeling that here, at last, was a book about middle class coloured people as opposed to those living in slavery or abject poverty.
PC. 4th October, 2019.
AABC rating: 4.15
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