An American Marriage

Written By Miriam Hanna

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

Reviewed by Mimi
📘📙📘📙


Celestial and Roy are a newly married couple when Roy is arrested and thrown in jail for a rape he didn't commit. Celestial is left almost as a widow and expects to be on her own for the length of the sentence, 12 years. Although Celestial is an independent artist and married Roy for love and not necessity, she finds herself feeling incredible isolated and seeks solace in the arms of Andre, one of her oldest friends.

Through letters, Roy and Celestial try to sustain their marriage. That mechanism as a way to drive parts of the story is one I really enjoyed. It was a way to see the perspective of both characters and understand what their experiences are.

I found my affection for Roy and Celestial and their relationship really changed as the story developed. My opinion kept changing and I could never commit to whether or not I wanted them to be together! It was complicated and authentic with no easy solution. Something that is rare to read in novels.

Miriam Hanna

Aka Mimi. I have known Linda for a very, very long time. We grew up together and you learn very quickly that when she gets an idea in her head, you would be an idiot not to back her to see it through. When the idea of the book club came up it was another lightbulb moment where I knew this wasn't only going to be a success but really fun.


I have always been a bookworm. Remember when you were little and you went shopping with your mum or dad and they gave you a toy or something to occupy yourself with whilst you were in the trolley? I used to get books to keep me quiet. They were and are my ultimate form of escapism and more and more they are about understanding who I am as a person. Books make me cry more than films and TV Shows. I can get lost for hours. I love historic fiction, political thrillers and gritty crime novels but also biographies and memoirs of people I find interesting like sportspeople. I was fortunate to be in the Harry Potter generation and if weren't for those books I don't know what I would have. Young literature was so poor at the point. To have a book that had me and my family queuing up at midnight to buy was seriously special.

Whether you listen to audio books, read off a kindle or stick to carrying around good old fashioned hard copies (that's me!) I truly believe reading is the best way to spend some time every day.


The books I would have with me on a desert island? 📚🏝Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Akzaban, Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, The Chimp Paradox by Steve Peters, The Power by Naomi Alderman, Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou, Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian, Born a Crime by Trevor Noah and The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.

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