Book Group Discussion Meeting, Saturday, October 5, 2019, 2:00 PM, San Leandro Main Library

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

Synopsis: Newlyweds, Celestial and Roy, are the embodiment of both the American Dream and the New South. He is a young executive and she is artist on the brink of an exciting career. They are settling into the routine of their life together, when they are ripped apart by circumstances neither could have imagined. Roy is arrested and sentenced to twelve years for a crime Celestial knows he didn’t commit. Though fiercely independent, Celestial finds herself bereft and unmoored, taking comfort in Andre, her childhood friend, and best man at their wedding. As Roy’s time in prison passes, she is unable to hold on to the love that has been her center. After five years, Roy’s conviction is suddenly overturned, and he returns to Atlanta ready to resume their life together.

Introducing Tayari Jones

photo: Nina Subin

Tayari Jones was born November 30, 1970, in Atlanta, Georgia. She is a graduate of Spelman College, the University of Iowa, and Arizona State University. She was an A. D. White Professor at Large at Cornell University and is currently a member of the English faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences at Emory University.

Bibliography
Leaving Atlanta (2002)
The Untelling (2005)
Silver Sparrow (2011)
An American Marriage (2018)

Honors and Awards
Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for Debut Fiction
Lifetime Achievement Award in Fine Arts from the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation
United States Artist Fellowship
National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship[
Radcliffe Institute Bunting Fellowship
Silver Sparrow added to the NEA Big Read Library of classics in 2016.
Member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers

In February of 2018, Oprah Winfrey announced that her latest book club pick was Jones’ novel, An American Marriage. Winfrey said, “It's one of those books I could not put down. And as soon as I did, I called up the author, and said, 'I've got to talk to you about this story.'"

On June 5th, An American Marriage was announced as the winner of the 2019 Women's Prize for Fiction.

In the video clip below, Tayari Jones discusses An American Marriage on "CBS This Morning" with Gayle King, who obviously hasn't read the book.