Review: An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

Wowziers!! What an AMAZING read and just what I needed after having some heavy historical reads during the month of February. I loved that we got to see the story from each of the characters perspectives. It really gave a great feel to what the characters were thinking and feeling rather than hearing it from a 3rd person point of view.

Andre was my favorite character. Something about Roy just irritated my soul like a dry, itchy rash I was begging to get rid of. Although Roy couldn’t help the cards that were dealt to him, he just never really felt like a good husband to me and that was solidified even more so after he was freed from prison. I think that everyone forgets that Celestial was going through something too. The boy next door storyline might have been a little cliche, but I loved how Andre loved Celestial. They seemed like more of a couple than she and Roy ever did. Andre and Celestial seemed more like home.

I read this book from the perspective of a divorced woman, and if I’m being honest, I was more in Roy’s position where I wasn’t really given a say so in how my life would end up. I felt bad for him until he slept with Davina. From that point forward his character seemed to slowly unravel and he left an extremely bad taste in my mouth. He became the villain in my eyes. I guess I just really have a soft spot for Andre and wanted to see him finally win after years of being in the shadows as the childhood best friend.

The ending of the book had me in shock. I really did not want to see Roy and Celestial together. I could not believe this was the choice she was making and that she was just going to leave Andre hanging out to dry after all the support and love he’d given her over the past two years. *insert Diane from Black-ish shocked meme here* And kudos to Dre for even waiting 3 years before making any sort of an advancement toward Celestial.

All in all, I gave this book ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. Intriguing from the very beginning until the very end. I look forward to going back and reading some of Tayari’s older pieces of work.

What were your thoughts on the book?