You're listening to Book Exploder, where authors break down a passage from their work

to show us how they write.

I'm Rishi Keishirui.

And I'm Susan Orleen.

In this episode, Susan speaks to Teari Jones, who won the Women's Prize for Fiction for

her novel, An American Marriage.

She also won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, and An American Marriage

was a selection for Oprah's Book Club.

Susan, how did you end up picking this book?

I was very attracted to the title, as an American who is married.

I loved the plain spokenness of the title, which I do think ends up being a very important

part of the book, simply stating that this is an American marriage, even though as you

read in the book, it may not fit your idea of what a conventional American marriage ends

up looking like.

And that's a lot of what I think she's pushing us toward acknowledging and recognizing.

Yeah, the specific American marriage in the book is that of Celestial and Roy, who are

a black middle-class couple living in Atlanta.

And then their lives get torn apart when Roy is wrongfully convicted of a crime he didn't

commit.

And the two of you discuss a passage where Celestial tells Roy that she's leaving him

while he's still incarcerated.

It's in the form of a letter, which is always a really challenging way to write.

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