AN AMERICAN MARRIAGE by Tayari Jones

Roy and Celestial have been married only a year and a half when their world is rocked by a rape accusation against Roy.  Despite his pleas of innocence, he is convicted and sentenced to 12 years, joining the ranks of thousands of incarcerated black men.  He survives in prison largely due to the wisdom of his cellmate, known as the Ghetto Yoda.  Meanwhile, Celestial is starting to make a name for herself as an artist, creating cloth dolls, many of whom look like Roy.  She has to move on with her life, which may or may not include waiting for Roy’s release.  Andre, Celestial’s long-time friend who was best man at their wedding, is more than willing to fill Roy’s shoes at Celestial’s side.  This love triangle is the main conflict in this story and boils down to who will get the girl.  I struggled through this novel until Roy finally gets out of prison, and then all hell breaks loose.  For me, this is when the plot gets quite dramatic, and I really liked the ending.  While he is locked up, Roy has been thinking of nothing but getting back to his wife, and she has left some conflicting signals about where their relationship stands.  I have to side with Celestial on this one, though.  She may be moving on, but she holds off on filing for divorce, because she feels guilty about abandoning Roy, and she’s reluctant to kick a man while he’s down.  She’s certainly in a difficult spot, because Roy didn’t deserve his fate, but their marriage was contentious anyway, and I can’t help feeling that it wouldn’t have survived if Roy had never gone to prison.  Maybe they would have ironed out their differences and maybe not, but when you’re looking at a 12-year hiatus in your very new marriage, I think you have to be realistic and consider other options.