Sing, Unburied, Sing: A Novel
A finalist for the Kirkus Prize, Andrew Carnegie Medal, Aspen Words Literary Prize, and a New York Times bestseller, this majestic, stirring, and widely praised novel from two-time National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward, the story of a family on a journey through rural Mississippi, is a “tour de force” (O, the Oprah Magazine) and a timeless work of fiction that is destined to become a classic. Jesmyn Ward’s historic second National Book Award–winner is an intimate portrait of three generations of a family and an epic tale of hope and struggle. Rich with Ward’s distinctive, lyrical language, Sing, Unburied, Sing is a majestic and unforgettable family story and “an odyssey through rural Mississippi’s past and present” (The Philadelphia Inquirer).
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Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
285 pages
What’s it about?
Jojo is 13 years old and trying to navigate the world. He is surrounded by Pop, Mam, Kayla, Leonie, and Michael- but love is not perfect and either are the people that surround Jojo. This is a story of what it means to be a family.
What did it make me think about?
This book not only makes you think- it makes you fell.
Should I read it?
I am awestruck by this book. It is one of my favorite stories of the last few years! Just amazing. Run to buy this one!
Quote-
"He was just tall enough that when he hugged me, his chin rested on the top of my head, and I was cupped under him. Like I belonged. Because I wanted Michael's mouth on me, because from the first moment I saw him walking across the grass to the where I sat in the shadow of the school sign, he saw me. Saw past skin the color of unmarked coffee, eyes black, lips the color of plums, and saw me. Saw the walking wound I was, and came to be my balm."
If you like this try-
Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson
Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
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Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward
Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
285 pages
What’s it about?
Jojo is 13 years old and trying to navigate the world. He is surrounded by Pop, Mam, Kayla, Leonie, and Michael- but love is not perfect and either are the people that surround Jojo. This is a story of what it means to be a family.
What did it make me think about?
This book not only makes you think- it makes you fell.
Should I read it?
I am awestruck by this book. It is one of my favorite stories of the last few years! Just amazing. Run to buy this one!
Quote-
"He was just tall enough that when he hugged me, his chin rested on the top of my head, and I was cupped under him. Like I belonged. Because I wanted Michael's mouth on me, because from the first moment I saw him walking across the grass to the where I sat in the shadow of the school sign, he saw me. Saw past skin the color of unmarked coffee, eyes black, lips the color of plums, and saw me. Saw the walking wound I was, and came to be my balm."
If you like this try-
Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson
Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
Ruby by Cynthia Bond
Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward
The most beautifully written book I have read in years. I was a bit lost in the end (the last 20 pages), but I just kept reading. Many times I had to put the book down and take a couple of deep breaths before I could continue, I was so moved by both the writing and the story.
The writing in this dark ghost story is remarkably beautiful. We meet a family that has been scarred by racism, yet perseveres with love. Leonie heads out on a road trip to pick up her boyfriend (baby daddy) from prison. She brings her 13 yr old son and toddler daughter along. The kids have inherited an ability to see spirits - like their grandma can. Leonie only sees them when she's high. Two of the family's dead - an uncle and a great uncle regularly appear to the kids, interacting so that we can see their stories and appreciate the history of the family. Difficult truths rise up. relationships are tested. Love endures. The prose is lyrical and delightful to listen to in this audiobook narrated by 3 persons -Leonie, her son Jojo and Richie, the great uncle.
It's interesting when you realize you are drawn towards a certain subgenre. I really like reading Flannery O'Connor and I really liked reading this book. So, I must really like Southern Gothic.
I started this in February and I picked it up and put it down often. I read other books in between. There's no particular reason, I thought, but there is. We have a story of Jojo, his little sister Kayla, mom Leonie, granddad and grandma, who are all black. Leonie's baby daddy is Michael, a white man, whose parents are a thousand percent against Leonie and the kids.
Pop, the granddad, clearly loves his grandkids and deals with his daughter. Leonie is a meth addict and, while you see she loves her kids, they are not first in her life. They are not even second or third. That in itself was difficult. You get Jojo's POV often as well as Leonie's so you get to see both sides of the struggle between the two. I both wanted to shake and hug Leonie. And just plain wanted to hug Jojo.
Enter Michael. A felon and pretty much a "not going to amount to anything" person. The book centers around the road trip that Leonie, Jojo, Kayla and Leonie's friend, Misty, take to pick up Michael when he's released from prison. It's a terrible trip with meth, police, kids left starving because they are forgotten, kids getting sick and getting smacked for it, just....tough to read.
Lest you think it's just a road trip novel, we have Pop's history. Racism, very ugly racism, rears it's head in his past and comes into Jojo's future in the form of a ghost who hitches a ride back from the prison. Jojo and Leonie have a gift for seeing the dead, but the dead are there to remind them of failures. Just another weight on the shoulders of people who are shouldering too much.
Don't let the ghost aspect throw you off. It's so well written that the ghosts are fully developed characters who get their own POV chapters to give you more insight into the lives that were led and ended abruptly.
Highly recommend this one!
I started this in February and I picked it up and put it down often. I read other books in between. There's no particular reason, I thought, but there is. We have a story of Jojo, his little sister Kayla, mom Leonie, granddad and grandma, who are all black. Leonie's baby daddy is Michael, a white man, whose parents are a thousand percent against Leonie and the kids.
Pop, the granddad, clearly loves his grandkids and deals with his daughter. Leonie is a meth addict and, while you see she loves her kids, they are not first in her life. They are not even second or third. That in itself was difficult. You get Jojo's POV often as well as Leonie's so you get to see both sides of the struggle between the two. I both wanted to shake and hug Leonie. And just plain wanted to hug Jojo.
Enter Michael. A felon and pretty much a "not going to amount to anything" person. The book centers around the road trip that Leonie, Jojo, Kayla and Leonie's friend, Misty, take to pick up Michael when he's released from prison. It's a terrible trip with meth, police, kids left starving because they are forgotten, kids getting sick and getting smacked for it, just....tough to read.
Lest you think it's just a road trip novel, we have Pop's history. Racism, very ugly racism, rears it's head in his past and comes into Jojo's future in the form of a ghost who hitches a ride back from the prison. Jojo and Leonie have a gift for seeing the dead, but the dead are there to remind them of failures. Just another weight on the shoulders of people who are shouldering too much.
Don't let the ghost aspect throw you off. It's so well written that the ghosts are fully developed characters who get their own POV chapters to give you more insight into the lives that were led and ended abruptly.
Highly recommend this one!
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