An American Marriage (Oprah’s Book Club)

A Novel

By: Tayari Jones

Narrated by: Sean Crisden, Eisa Davis

Oprah’s Book Club 2018 Selection

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 12 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.

©2018 Tayari Jones (P)2018 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"Narrators Eisa Davis and Sean Crisden skillfully portray Celestial and Roy.... In Part One, the narrators read the couple's letters so intimately that the listener may feel like an intruder.... As every wedding vow is tested, the narrators breathe intensity into Jones's riveting prose." (AudioFile)

What a journey !

It started a little slow for me but once it got going I held on tight for the emotional roller coaster. The emotions of everyone jumped off the page and I cried over Roy’s mourning and remembrance of Olive remembering the hole in my own heart that was created when my mother passed away. It would never be enough time so Roy’s loss felt even worse. Overall absolutely loved this story and the characters were complex and multidimensional. I did lay quite a bit of responsibility at Celestial’s feet for her inability to see the hard thing through to the end and divorce Roy after she told him she no longer felt like a wife. This was always going to be ugly but it was unnecessarily compounded because she didn’t want to complete the decision that she — very understandably — made two years earlier. I was glad that Roy went to ATL to speak to her directly because her sending Dre to LA was the cowards way out. Ironically, I also believe that her and Dre ultimately were more convenience/comfort than the Roy/Olive commitment against which she felt her marriage to Roy failed to measure up. When she referenced Roy’s love of Olive once her and Dre were together, she never said that she found that with Dre but he was like a comfortable blanket that provided security because of its reliability. So maybe Roy wasn’t right for her but I didn’t walk away from this story believing Dre was the right one either. As for the writing style, I enjoyed the different perspectives - that was the only way to really give this love triangle its just due but I also felt like it was too wordy in certain instances.

I wanted to like it more than I did

The story was not as engrossing as I hoped. Although the circumstances of the characters were intense and would normally suck me in to caring about what happened to them, I didn’t. I thought about ditching it a few times, but I was curious enough to finish it. For the most part I found the characters choices predictable and I did not find them sympathetic enough. Although, I did really like Big Roy. He was the most redeeming part of the whole book.

Secondly I really struggled with the male narrator. For the life of me I could not figure why he would change his voice so much when referring to his wife. The female narrator had such a different voice so the character of Celestial had two totally different voices throughout the book. And I couldn’t figure out why some of the letters from her point of view were read by the male narrator. When the female narrator spoke of Roy she shared what he said, but didn’t try to mimic him. People don’t normally do that. I found the male narrator’s choices confusing and annoying.

Why?

if there was a female narrator, I don't see why I had to listen to a man change his register to try and imitate a female voice in his sections of the novel.

loved the story, though, it's just those parts that took me out of the experience.

The Ending

I enjoyed this book and production. The narration was nicely done and the story moved quickly. I kept thinking a “new truth” would be revealed by Roy Jr about his true guilt or innocence - no such revelation cake. I liked the ending and how it wrapped everything up nicely for me.

What about DNA?

It was good to come out from my white bread world and read this book. I liked it overall with these comments. Is this To Kill a Mockingbird retold? Story appears to be current enough for a DNA test but that was never presented and maybe that’s the point. I felt the main characters had no chemistry and was happy for the way it ended. Narration was acceptable, more so Roy than Georgia. It’s a quick read and worth the time. Especially for a cultural awakening.

A riveting listen!

I wish I had the book so I could have read faster! the characters really came to life. WOW!

Great Read !

I enjoyed the nail biting moments. Each of the characters came alive and I felt I was there in the experience of it all.

Wonderful Wonderful Wonderful

The performance and plot were beautiful. This story was so powerful! I fell for Roy's character heavy in many ways. I wanted him to win win win but so much was against him and as much as I wanted to despise Celestial, I truly understood her dilemma. The story in itself was not very original but the way this adventure unfolded made all the difference. Sean Crisden's voice....
omg YES. He made this such a wonderful experience.

Awesome Book

Loved this book! The narrators were great and held my attention from start to finish. I would definitely recommend this book.

Hard to hear

I felt the sound was really really quiet and hard to hear at times! Great story, but felt like I missed sometimes because the voices were so low