Tag Archives: © 2020 Book Chatter

Fall Tracking – Week 6

It has been the most spectacular weather. My walks with the Otter Pup have gradually gotten longer because it’s hard to return to the same four walls that you’ve stared at since March. I try to stay outside for as long as I can. She enjoys it too. She sniffs every blade of grass and now knows everyone in the neighborhood with all her dawdling.

This shot was taken across the street from where we live. It’s the point were we cross over to return home. Our street is a mix of large pine trees and smaller, bushy shrubs that the city put in. They call them trees. They are not but on this corner there are some good sized pine trees and we always have to watch for falling pine cones. If you saw the pup navigate this area you would laugh.

Have you been trying to spend more time outside? I’ve been wanting a fire pit and possibly a hammock to enjoy. I’ve never wanted these things before but we change during a pandemic, don’t we?

Review: An American Marriage

An American Marriage

An American Marriage
By Tayari Jones
Algonquin Books, 9781616208684, 2019, 336pp.

The Short of It:

Not what I expected. Tense, but exhausting.

The Rest of It:

Roy and Celestial are newly married. Both, have promising careers on the verge of success but one night, Roy is falsely accused of rape and they are torn from one another. It doesn’t matter that his alibi is solid, he’s black and the woman accusing him of the crime is not backing down. Roy is sentenced to twelve years for a crime he did not commit. Celestial is left wondering how to navigate this kind of marriage. Is it a marriage? Can she commit to a marriage like this? One where your husband is behind bars for twelve years?

This was a difficult read for me. These characters flirt with virtue and then do the opposite, over and over again. Although I could see their logic and often their justification for their actions, I quickly grew tired of the push and pull.

Additionally, I really had a problem with how Celestial is made out to be a piece of property over and over again. It didn’t fit her personality as she is very strong-willed and independent. Perhaps that’s why it bothered me so much that the author even went there. There is an entire section of the book where she’s referred to as “my woman” and that just rubbed me the wrong way.

Is An American Marriage a good book for a club to discuss? I think there is plenty to discuss. Between the false accusations and imprisonment, what it means to be married, the issues centering around race and class, and the importance of family, a group would have plenty to chew on.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.