An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
This was our book club selection for July, and what an interesting discussion we had. No two opinions were the same! This African American author portrayed what a marriage can look like when someone is falsely accused & lands in jail...the anger, the loneliness, the unraveling. Because the couple had only been married one and a half years, it seemed like the wife was willing to throw it away quicker than the incarcerated (she had also put up with some unfaithfulness). I liked that the book was told from three perspectives, so it was easy to keep up with the characters and the story. I didn't love the book because I get angry at wrong, spontaneous choices --but I'm glad I read it as it gave me a whole new view on the injustices of our system and a little perspective on the black culture. Was there true love? Yes --but troubling circumstances and family dynamics certainly add so many dimensions to the final decisions.
Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue
Written by a Cameroonian author, Mbue tells the story of how an African man gets to America, brings his wife & son and finds a good job as a driver for a Wall Street financial "bigwig". The hurdles, the fear, the supporting people, and then the breakdown of all of their dreams. I think I would classify myself as a moderate Republican who disagrees with much going on in Washington. I support a sane immigration plan: one that assists families to get thru the system in 3-4 years and pares down the ridiculous costs (it appears that only rich immigrants can get into America). So this book was hard to read with a Cameroonian family that worked hard, but in the end had to re-assess their situation and make a difficult choice. Sad.
No comments:
Post a Comment