Product Description


Newlyweds Celestial and Roy are the embodiment of both the American Dream and the New South. He is a young executive, and she is an artist on the brink of an exciting career. But as they settle into the routine of their life together, they are ripped apart by circumstances neither could have imagined. Roy is arrested and sentenced to twelve years for a crime Celestial knows he didn't commit. Though fiercely independent, Celestial finds herself bereft and unmoored, taking comfort in Andre, her childhood friend, and best man at their wedding. As Roy's time in prison passes, she is unable to hold on to the love that has been her center. After five years, Roy's conviction is suddenly overturned, and he returns to Atlanta ready to resume their life together.

This stirring love story is a profoundly insightful look into the hearts and minds of three people who are at once bound and separated by forces beyond their control.
An American Marriage is a masterpiece of storytelling, an intimate look deep into the souls of people who must reckon with the past while moving forward—with hope and pain—into the future.


Review


"[A] searing novel..gorgeously evokes the New South as it explores mass incarceration on a personal level."-- "Entertainment Weekly"


"A compelling exploration of the thorny conflicts that drive us apart and bind us, the distorting weight of racism, and how commitment looks across time--and generations."-- "BBC.com"


"A stunning epic love story."-- "Edwidge Danticat, New York Times bestselling author"


"In this unforgettable novel, Tayari Jones tackles hard questions about pride, betrayal, and our capacity to forgive."-- "Real Simple magazine"


"Jones crafts an affecting tale that explores marriage, family, regret, and other feelings made all the more resonant by her well-drawn characters and their intricate conflicts of heart and mind."-- "Booklist"


"Narrators Eisa Davis and Sean Crisden skillfully portray Celestial and Roy, whose new marriage is interrupted by Roy's incarceration for a crime he didn't commit...As every wedding vow is tested, the narrators breathe intensity into Jones' riveting prose."-- "AudioFile"


"Poses profound questions about what we owe each other and what injustices we allow to persist."-- "Huffington Post"


"Subtle, well-crafted, and powerful...This is, at its heart, a love story, but a love story warped by racial injustice."-- "Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"


"Tayari Jones displays tremendous writing prowess...[that] brings abstract ideas about race and love down to the material level. The story is gripping, and the characters are unforgettable."-- "Foreword Reviews (starred review)"


"Transcendent...triumphant...gorgeous."-- "Elle"


About the Author


Tayari Jones is the author of Leaving Atlanta, The Untelling, Silver Sparrow, and An American Marriage. She holds degrees from Spelman College, Arizona State University, and the University of Iowa, and she serves on the MFA faculty at Rutgers.