Tamari Jones’ book, An American Marriage, is certainly about marriage, but it is so much more than that relationships are difficult and expectations are often not met. The central characters, Roy and Celestial, are a young married couple struggling with many of the typical issues of young, upwardly mobile people trying to negotiate normal problems with money, jobs, insecurities and infidelities. Their difficulties are compounded by the fact that they are a black couple tackling the social injustices that are abundant and real. Supported by their strong parents, this couple would appear to have everything they need to make it to their goal of prosperity and success. Unfortunately, the planned life never happens for Roy and Celestial. On one ill fated night while staying at a roadside motel, Roy is falsely identified as the man that raped another guest. Wrongly accused, Roy was tried and sentenced to prison. For five years Roy languishes in jail waiting for the truth to be found out. Celestial works tirelessly to get Roy’s sentence overturned, but she also continues on her path to a successful career through her art. Happily she succeeds but at a cost. She draws further and further away from Roy who spirals farther and farther into the stereotypical role of a convict.
This story is heartbreaking on so many levels. This vibrant couple is broken by Roy’s conviction even though they both know, he is innocent. Roy is broken at least in that he loses his sense of determination and optimism about what his life could be. But to me the biggest loss is to the reader who is forced to face the reality of the plight of many people who are denied the benefits most of us take for granted. This is a disturbing snapshot of lives forever changed simply because they are in the wrong place at the wrong time. This novel has a satisfying ending, but it certainly is not happily ever after.
