A little over a year into their marriage, Roy plans a road trip home to Louisiana with Celestial to tell her a secret. The journey home, however, presents signs of the somber way ahead for Roy. The night tragically ends with the couple being pulled out of bed by the police, shoved outside onto the pavement, arresting Roy for a crime he did not commit. Despite motions and testimonies, Roy is convicted to prison for twelve years time. 

Once separated by bars, the married couple communicates through words. Celestial begins writing letters to Roy, despite the delay to reach him. Her first letter captures a new loneliness and conception of innocence. Roy responds, admitting not to know how to begin a love letter—an observation too accurate for the present. He begins the letter with his last memory of writing, to a French pen pal that did not last. Throughout the novel, Tayari Jones references French words and subjects, creating a doll shop, Poupées, for the brilliant and talented artist, Celestial. Halfway through reading the book, I stumbled upon a doll shop in Paris with a similar name, which stopped me in my tracks, smiling at how often fiction forms similarities with your own world.

The intimacy created through each characters’ point of view, written in chapters and letters, had me equally empathizing with the three main characters—Celestial, Roy and Andre. Jones beautifully captures three distinct, heartbreaking viewpoints, adding dimensions to the discussion on incarceration of black lives in America. Written with such rigor and realism, in the final part of the book, I at one time confused reality with reading. Jones’ novel depicts how incarceration affects the fabric of the innocent, the families, and the communities. Personal, yet factious, this book describes the weight of one man’s imprisonment. An American Marriage is a novel for all wanting to change the system, to live in a fairer world.

Note: For readers in France, An American Marriage is available to read in French and in English.

Source: Book of the Month, a subscription service in the United States. I waited over a year to read the book—a year too long.

Recommend to Whom: Everyone—anyone—the characters and the plot will open the discussion on change for the United States.