Book 20 - Mawage!

Title: An American Marriage Author: Tayarai Jones Genre: Domestic fic

Okay. I have strong feelings about specific parts of this book, so the following review is split into two parts: the non spoilery part, and then the spoilery part.

Part 1: General Overview for Your Pleasure

I really enjoyed the first three quarters of this book. The characters are like a million dimensions: they're flawed and frustrating and inspiring and real. The way the story is told, you not only get to see through the eyes of the three main characters (Roy, Celestial, and Anton), but you come to understand where they're all coming from - even if you don't agree with their thoughts or actions. This highly effective, multi-POV style pulls you right into the conflict, and although I definitely leaned to a certain person's POV more than others, I felt that each side was well explored and equally represented.

As a child from a broken home who generally spurns the often proprietary nature of marriage, and especially detests the religious side of the whole ordeal, I thought I would get wayyy more pissed off way earlier about this book, and eventually throw in the towel. But, that was happily not the case! I was engaged, intrigued, and even when I was nearly spitting with anger at the characters and/or their circumstances, usually of their own design, I was still turning them pages.

Now.

The spoilery part.

If you've already read this book, please proceed. Or maybe, if you haven't read it, you can stop here, power through, then come back. We'll still be here, I promise.

That's it.

Be warned.

If you continue on, you

will

be

SPOILED.

Part 2: Let's Get Into It - Into the ANGER

The last little quarter of the book ENRAGED me - which I think says a lot about how much I enjoyed the journey up until then. I was so invested that when shit took a turn I didn't like, I wasn't just miffed, I was downright fuuurrrious. Furious enough to give my ire its own section!

All right!

Initially I started this sentence with "without giving away too much (hopefully)", then I wrote for a bit, then came back and realized that I completely threw any kind of subtlety out the window. So, without holding anything back...for most of the book the woman in the love triangle, Celestial, is this strong-willed, self-made powergal. Sure she's had some obstacles in her life, like a real person, but she follows her heart and her gut and endures the consequences, good and bad.

But then, in the last few chapters, her resolve somehow seems to weaken. She freezes the fuck up! The dialogue changes; she lets her wrongfully-jailed-and-also-kindof-a-dick husband, Roy, push her around, and seems to have no issue with his territorial, asshat-erous rhetoric. Fucking bullshit. He lives in a realm of cognitive dissonance and daisies; on the one hand, he seems to love how independent Celestial is, but on the other he tries to force her into a pretty 1950s housewife box - when he gets out of jail, he just takes for granted that she should welcome him back into her home, cook for him, fuck him - because she's his. BLECH. Celestial, meanwhile, is building her empire, so as the reader you're just waiiiting, cackling, for these two frameworks to clash. And that, ladies and gents and everything in between and outside, is where my frustration lives. When Roy gets out of jail and "comes home" to Celestial, it's as if she's powerless to resist him. They were only married for a year and a bit! They're basically strangers now! I just don't understand how he can still have such a hold over her, how she can let him bully her. But, okay, fine. I don't like it, but I can go along with it because I will readily admit that I am pretty naive in the relationship department, having only had a couple real experiences, neither of which included any seriously negative stuff, like abuse. Okay, okay; okay!

BUT THEN THE FIGHT. Andre and Roy, Celestial's new squeeze who seems like a fine gentleman, if a little weak-willed, somehow decide that they need to have a fistfight to settle the matter. What the actual fuck. And even more baffling, Celestial just lets them!! In my oh-so-humble opinion, Celestial and Roy's deterioration and Celestial and Andre's consolidation are two almost-completely independent series of events. Celestial should deal with Roy. End it with him, tie off all the loose ends; fini. Then, she should be all in with Andre: FINI. Okay, maybe Roy and Andre can chat because, at one point, they were BFFs - but not let it come to fucking fisticuffs in the yard! So stupid. Celestial, put on your big girl pants and get yo house in order!!

Maybe I'm looking through too simplistic a lens. Maybe this is an accurate portrayal of the messy lives we lead, complete with unpredictable behaviours and nonsensical situations. The fact remains I'm still disappointed in the female lead.

But, you know, I did really enjoyed the book. Highly recommend :)

Rating: 💍💍💍💍/5