Published: 2019, Oneworld
Genre: Fiction
Themes: America, miscarriage of justice, marriage, family values
My rating (out of 5): ❤❤❤❤❤
I read this book in great chunks as I couldn't bring myself to put it down. It is a roller coaster of a story that carries you through great highs and then down into deep dark tunnels of injustice and despair. The characters and their families are so beautifully described through their thoughts, words and deeds that you could almost be watching the events unfold in front of you rather than reading them from the page.
Roy and Celestial are newlyweds who have the world at their feet, as they have both been to college, and are now brimming with ideas to make the most of their future life together. Their closest friend is Andre, who lived next door to Celestial when they were children, and came to know Roy when they attended the same college. Andre and Celestial are so close that they could be brother and sister, and she confides in him whenever she need advice or support, and Roy is fine with this as the platonic bond poses no threat to his marriage.
One evening when Roy and Celestial are staying at a hotel, he is mistakenly accused of assaulting an older woman in her room just a few hours after meeting her while he was out looking for the ice machine. The woman positively identifies Roy as her attacker, even though he was in the room with his wife the whole time, and when the case goes to court her word is taken over his.
As a young black man, Roy has grown up with the understanding that his life could be derailed at any time by something as simple as a traffic violation, but he still goes to court believing that the lack of evidence should be enough to keep him free. In the end his worst fears are realised and he is sent to prison for 12 years. As the reader it is so hard to accept that this could still happen in today's society, but as we see all too often on the news reports, black men from all walks of life are still at risk of injustice and mis-treatment by the system.
While Roy is in prison, Andre is there to support Celestial as she tries to make a life for herself without Roy. They had only been married for a year and a half when Roy went to prison so they have barely had time to establish any kind of life together. Andre is well known to Celestial's parents, as he has been the boy next door for many years, and at one time they would have dearly loved to have welcomed him as a son in law but now Celestial has married Roy their main concern is to ensure she stays a good and loyal wife. The story follows the three pronged relationship as they all try to navigate their loyalties.
Behind the main story-line we are told about Roy and Celestial's families, who bought them up with a strong set of moral values and a great deal of respect for their parents. Both sets of parents have experienced their own difficulties in their youth but have since come to value a strong family unit above all else. Roy has learnt from his mother and step-father how he is expected to behave as a married man, and he approaches his marriage with the expectation that he will be the head of his household but support his wife in fulfilling her own ambitions.
The issues that the married couples in the book have to deal with are life-changing and serious, but a sense of duty to one another is always present. In this day and age, when divorce is a frequent occurrence, it is interesting to see how long-married couples deal with adversity. They don't always get it right, but having a firm framework of shared values to work from is certainly a good starting point.
All the women in the book are strong characters, as you might expect from a writer who is a professor of creative writing at Emory University. Tayari Jones shows how the women in the story are the fabric of their families and their standards are based on faith and hard graft.
I can see exactly why this book was a New York Times bestseller as it has a beating heart and soul. It also won the Women's Prize for Fiction 2019 and was one of the Oprah book club selections so I am not the only one to highly recommend it.
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