Oprah's Book Club Celebrates 2018 Best-Selling Novel as Top Romance Pick

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Tayari Jones' 2018 novel "An American Marriage", which was selected as an Oprah's Book Club pick that year, has now been ranked among Oprah's all-time top romance book selections. The novel explores the story of newlyweds Celestial and Roy, whose lives are upended when Roy is wrongfully incarcerated, and how their relationship and commitment are tested by the circumstances beyond their control.

Why it matters

"An American Marriage" has become a defining literary romance of the late 2010s, earning praise from high-profile figures like Barack Obama and Bill Gates, as well as major literary awards. The novel's exploration of the impacts of incarceration on both the imprisoned individual and their partner left behind has resonated with readers and sparked important conversations around systemic injustice in the American justice system.

The details

Written by author Tayari Jones, "An American Marriage" tells the story of newlyweds Celestial and Roy, whose life together is shattered when Roy is wrongfully incarcerated. Forced into a long-distance marriage sustained largely through letters, the couple grapples with loneliness, shifting loyalties and the question of whether love alone can withstand systemic injustice and the passage of time. As Roy's sentence stretches on, Celestial finds comfort in an old friend, complicating her feelings about loyalty, identity and the future she once envisioned.

• In 2018, Oprah Winfrey selected "An American Marriage" as her 78th Oprah's Book Club pick.
• The novel went on to win the 2019 Women's Prize for Fiction and became a New York Times bestseller.
• It also earned high-profile praise from Bill Gates and landed on Barack Obama's 2018 summer reading list.

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