finished reading

This novel's exploration of marriage is mostly told in short first-person chapters from the points of view of Roy, Celestial, and later, Andre.  Roy and Celestial are newlyweds who are torn apart by Roy's arrest and subsequent incarceration for a crime he did not commit.  During the five years they are apart, their separate lives and experiences change how they both view marriage.  In contrast, their parents' marriages are also explored.  

The narrative structure is divided into distinct sections, and while it begins and ends with first-person chapters, the middle portion, covering the five years Roy is incarcerated, is told through letters between Roy and Celestial.  Eventually, Andre (Celestial's lifelong friend and the best man at their wedding) becomes a narrator, as the love triangle develops.

This book interested me more in the aspect of social injustice and class identity (Roy and Celestial are up-and-coming movers and shakers in  Atlanta) than in the relationships.  

From the publisher:

Newlyweds Celestial and Roy are the embodiment of both the American Dream and the New South. He is a young executive, and she is an artist on the brink of an exciting career. But as they settle into the routine of their life together, 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. This stirring love story is a profoundly insightful look into the hearts and minds of three people who are at once bound and separated by forces beyond their control. An American Marriage is a masterpiece of storytelling, an intimate look deep into the souls of people who must reckon with the past while moving forward--with hope and pain--into the future.