September Read "An American Marriage" by Tayari Jones

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones 

Meeting held at “The Coach House” Low Fell ( 3rd October 2019)

Our September read was given an enthusiastic response both at our monthly meeting and on line. We all agreed we found it to be a tender and humane story with vibrant characterisations and thought-provoking questions on issues of race, love, loyalty and marriage.  

The plot centres on an appalling miscarriage of justice. Recently married, Roy and Celestial are staying in a motel on a visit to Roy’s parents in small-town Louisiana but their lives are turned upside down as Roy is arrested for rape.

A woman, whom Roy briefly met earlier in the evening while fetching ice, has been raped and has identified – with certainty, but no apparent evidence – Roy as the perpetrator. Here the reader is simply given to understand that a black man, in the wrong place at the wrong time, will find retribution meted out swiftly and unquestioningly.

We learn that Roy and Celestial’s marriage is precarious. Despite a strong bond, incompatibilities had already begun to appear before Roy’s arrest and subsequent incarceration. On the evening of Roy’s arrest, they are quarrelling about his propensity to keep secrets, including that of his paternity. The question of whether their marriage would have continued, despite Roy’s tendency to flirt with other women; Celestial’s aspiration to forge a career as a textile artist and her ambivalence over having children, is dramatically left in the air as circumstances develop around them.

This is the story of a man trying to get back home to a waiting wife -  a wife unsure of the extent to which she is permitted to rebuild her own life. Celestial is from a wealthy family and is a talented artist, making extraordinary lifelike dolls which provides her a secure income and a certain sense of freedom and independence. Roy is the son of poor Louisiana parents trying to make his way in the corporate world. 

During Roy’s imprisonment Celestial is devastated and unmoored, and she finds herself struggling to hold on to the love that has been her centre, taking comfort in Andre, their closest friend of long standing. When Roy's conviction is suddenly overturned, he returns home ready to resume their life together, but things have changed dramatically and there are many questions which will need addressing.

Members admitted being moved by the slow devastation of a marriage, finding the characters  totally believable and their circumstances overwhelmingly difficult and often out of their control.

Personally I thought the novel to be flawless but some disagreed, finding aspects of the plot a little far-fetched. Generally, however, we all agreed that there was profound knowledge and wisdom in the writing with its light touch often managing to reach emotional depths.

There was no doubt in our minds that this was a masterpiece of storytelling, An American Marriage offers a profoundly insightful look into the hearts and minds of three unforgettable characters who are at once bound together and separated by forces beyond their control.

Awarded 4.5

Future reads:  October     “Everything is Illuminated” by Jonathan Safran Foer

                 
November  “The Confession” by Jessie Burton