15 Book Club Questions for An American Marriage
Looking for An American Marriage book club questions for your next reading group meeting? Here are 15 thought-provoking discussion questions to get you guys going!
An American Marriage is a deeply emotional, thought-provoking book by American writer Tayari Jones. Published in 2018, it was wildly successful, winning the 2019 Women’s Prize for Fiction. It was also featured on Oprah’s Book Club.
It is a character-driven novel, focusing on Celeste and Roy. Their marriage implodes in the wake of Roy’s wrongful imprisonment, and things are further complicated when Celeste’s childhood friend, Andre, steps in to comfort her.
It’s a moving novel about the impact of external forces on a relationship, and raises thought-provoking questions about the deeply personal inner workings of a marriage, along with themes of racism, classism, and misogyny. This makes An American Marriage a particularly good choice for a book club!
This discussion guide forms part of my wider Book Club Questions series, created to support thoughtful group conversations around books.
Here are some suggested book club questions for An American Marriage to kick-start your next discussion.
15 An American Marriage Book Club Questions
Let’s start with the title, An American Marriage.
Why do you think the author chose this title? Do you think Celeste and Roy’s partnership represents a typical American marriage?
Roy and Celeste have a rocky beginning to their marriage. Roy’s parents are suspicious of Celeste, with Roy’s mother in particular finding it difficult to connect with Celeste. This is perfectly captured when Roy and Celeste come to visit for dinner: ‘We ate dinner not in silence, but nobody talked about anything.’ (p.17)
Why do you think Roy’s mother is so wary of Celeste? How do you think that impacted the couple?
Classism is another strong theme in the book, with Celeste and Roy coming from very different backgrounds. ‘My mother cautioned me before I got married that Roy and I were from two separate realities.’ (p.29)
Do you think that Roy and Celeste’s relationship would have worked in the long run, even without Roy’s eventual imprisonment? Do you think they could have made it work despite coming from different financial and societal positions?
Celeste makes her living as an artist, creating beautiful dolls by hand. She dedicates her life to this artistic pursuit.
Do you think Celeste could have done this without the cushion of her parents’ wealth? Do you think Roy resented this, or do you think he was proud of her?
Roy is falsely imprisoned for rape, an event that sets off a bomb in his marriage. It takes years – and a lot of time and money from Celeste’s family – to free him.
Do you think Roy would have stood a chance of being freed early if he didn’t have Celeste’s family? What do you think the novel is trying to say about race and the justice system?
In prison, Roy meets someone very important to him.
What did you think of this plot point? Did it work for you, did you think it was realistic? How do you think meeting this person impacted Roy from that moment on?
A chunk of the story is presented as a series of letters between Roy and Celeste, as their relationship suffers from their separation. A long time period passes in this relatively short section, with both Roy and Celeste changing drastically from their experience.
Did you enjoy this part of the book? What did you think about the way their relationship changes while Roy is prison?
Let’s talk about Andre. Celeste’s best friend since childhood, they describe their relationship as though they were siblings, but this changes as the book develops.
What did you think about the revelation that Andre always had feelings for Celeste? Do you think Celeste knew how he felt, deep down? And why do you think he didn’t share his feelings for her until later in life?
Celeste, Roy, and Andre are a complicated love triangle, with Celeste having lingering and complex feelings for both of them.
Were you rooting for one character more than the other? Do you think Celeste’s final choice made sense?
Celeste feels certain obligations as a black woman, and this may not be helped by Roy’s own thoughts about how women should behave. Roy sometimes comes across as misogynistic and demanding, especially when he compares Celeste and Davina, the woman he meets after he is released from prison.
What did you think about Roy’s feelings about women, and why do you think Celeste made some of her choices right at the end of the book?
Jones shares some astute observations about love: ‘She explained that convenience, habit, comfort, obligation – these are all things that wear the same clothing as love sometimes.’ (p.208)
What do you think of this quote? Do you agree or disagree with it?
Celeste’s home has a tree growing in the yard, which they name Old Hickey. The tree is mentioned often throughout the book.
What do you think the tree symbolises? What did you think in that climactic moment with Roy at the end of the book: what do you think Roy was trying to do?
Andre is unapologetic about his relationship with Celeste, despite pressure from all sides. It’s almost as though he feels that their relationship was inevitable, even though she married Roy.
Do you think Andre was right or wrong to feel this way? Do you think any character had moral high ground over the other?
Celeste discovers that she is pregnant not long after Roy is imprisoned. She decides to have an abortion, and both of them have complicated feelings about it: the child that could have been seems to weigh on both of them.
What impact did the abortion have on their marriage? Do you think it contributed to the sudden decline of their relationship?
Celeste and Roy pick up their letter-writing habit again at the end of the story.
What do you think of Celeste and Roy’s relationship at the end of the book? Did you like the ending, or would you have preferred the story to end in a different way?
Hopefully, these An American Marriage book club questions will help to facilitate your next book club discussion!
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