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‘An American Marriage’ Documents Racial Injustice & Its Scars
A review of the 2018 novel by Tayari Jones
Most, if not all, marriages are sealed with a clause — some legal, other times merely social or religious — of being together “for better, for worse.” Often, till death (or divorce) do them part. When two people get married it’s expected that they ride the highs and weather the lows together, hold the partner steady when they falter, and wait for them when they get left behind.
But how much, really, can one human being support another? Can the mere institution of marriage, even one nurtured with great care and sacrifice, bear the crushing burdens of fate? Are goodwill and grand gestures enough to tide over harsh times? Can someone give to the extent of making oneself empty? In her fourth novel “An American Marriage,” Tayari Jones ponders over these intriguing aspects of the utterly social construct of marriage, and the biological undercurrents of love.
Roy and Celestial are a young couple looking forward to great things in life, married for just over a year. Sure, Roy hasn’t told his wife the truth of his adoptive father, and Celestial is yet to confess her own secrets to her charming husband. Minor tiffs erupt over money and career; jealousy raises its head with a couple of Roy’s indiscretions. But the duo seems to be…
