The SAS book group met on Monday, December 16th and discussed their previous pick, Elizabeth Strout's Olive Kitteridge; a book that everyone seemed to enjoy and made for a lively discussion. At this same time they made the decision to read An American Marriage by Tayari Jones (her fourth novel) over the winter break. This book has been nominated and received many awards including The National Book Award and The Women's Award for Fiction. Ms. Jones' book has received rave reviews from the likes of the New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR and so many more.
The book focuses on the relationship of a young, married couple, Roy and Celestial. After only 18 months of marriage, Roy was wrongfully convicted of rape.
According to NYT "While Jones keeps her gaze on the personal, this intimate story of a relationship cannot be divorced from its racial context. The black body in America can't escape the scrutiny of the political lens, not entirely." Tayari Jones' book received high praise from President Barack Obama as he listed it as one of his favorite books of 2018. The former president describes the book as "A moving portrayal of the effects of a wrongful conviction on a young African-American couple."
A discussion of An American Marriage will be held on Saturday, January 11th as part of our MLK weekend celebration. This discussion will be offered as one of the Saturday morning workshops and hosted by book club leader, Spencer McKenzie '20.