Tayari Jones, AN AMERICAN MARRIAGE

Tayari Jones came to Phoenix on her book tour, and because she was warm and charming, perhaps I was predisposed to like this contemporary novel. But I wasn't even three pages in before I realized how accomplished the writing is, how deft the narrative voice. The book is told from several perspectives: those of the married couple Ray and Celestial, and their friend Andre.

Because I believe an author's writing speaks best for itself, here is a sample from Ray's first entry: "Atlanta is where I learned the rules and learned them quick. No one ever called me stupid. But home isn't where you *land*; home is where you *launch*. You can't pick your home any more than you can choose your family. In poker, you get five cards. Three of them you can swap out, but two are yours to keep: family and native land."

The plot begins when Ray is wrongly convicted of a crime; and the book traces the effects on a person, on a marriage, and on a community. With richly developed secondary characters and a voice that is neither embittered nor preachy, I found this book heartbreaking, raw, and real. Given the current discussions and the #BlackLivesMatter movement, this book feels very timely. Highly recommend.