Am American Marriage by Tayari Jones
I think this would be a good choice for a book group and indeed I wish I knew someone else who had read it to discuss. (There are discussion questions at the end, if you do choose this for your group.)
Roy and Celestial are fairly newly wed when he is arrested for a rape he didn't commit and thrown in prison for 12 years. This is the story of what happens to their marriage while he is "away." Though his lawyer is trying to get Roy's conviction overturned, Celestial has no idea how long he will be out of her life. And they really weren't married that long before this all happened so they hadn't formed the strong bond that, say, Roy's mother and stepfather did in their long marriage. Which would have probably made a difference in how things turned out.
To my mind, Roy is the more sympathetic character. He's young, handsome, married to a beautiful wife, and on the road to success when mistaken identity totally derails his life. While Roy likes to flirt with the ladies (and maybe more, it was hard to tell), he does seem more committed to Celestial than she is to him. And she always has her childhood friend, Andre, around as a backup plan.
The story is told from each of the main character's perspectives, so you have to pay attention when a new chapter starts. My one quibble was that Roy's time in prison didn't sound that bad--which seemed kind of unrealistic--but then near the end, we abruptly find out that a lot happened that we didn't know about.
Roy and Celestial are fairly newly wed when he is arrested for a rape he didn't commit and thrown in prison for 12 years. This is the story of what happens to their marriage while he is "away." Though his lawyer is trying to get Roy's conviction overturned, Celestial has no idea how long he will be out of her life. And they really weren't married that long before this all happened so they hadn't formed the strong bond that, say, Roy's mother and stepfather did in their long marriage. Which would have probably made a difference in how things turned out.
To my mind, Roy is the more sympathetic character. He's young, handsome, married to a beautiful wife, and on the road to success when mistaken identity totally derails his life. While Roy likes to flirt with the ladies (and maybe more, it was hard to tell), he does seem more committed to Celestial than she is to him. And she always has her childhood friend, Andre, around as a backup plan.
The story is told from each of the main character's perspectives, so you have to pay attention when a new chapter starts. My one quibble was that Roy's time in prison didn't sound that bad--which seemed kind of unrealistic--but then near the end, we abruptly find out that a lot happened that we didn't know about.
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