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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Novels that read like poetry usually fall short for me because either the character development isn’t there or the plot moves too quickly. This one really sings, though — pun absolutely intended. It might be because I listened to it read in the three different voices, which was eery and unsettling. Or it could be the magical realism, which I enjoy. Or maybe it was just the right book at the right time after a long reading dry spell. Whatever the reason, I enjoyed it and I’m in awe of the author. These words work.
3.5 stars
This story is beautifully written but I feel like there is such a contradiction between the beautiful descriptions used throughout the story and the dark nature of the actual story that I’m not sure what to think about it. I think this is one of those books that you would have to read more than once to fully understand everything that is going on. Jesmyn Ward does such a good job making these characters so real that felt for Jojo and all that he was going through and how at 13 he was more of an adult than his parents.
I mainly gave this book 3 stars because it kept me interested and wanting to know what was going to happen.
This story is beautifully written but I feel like there is such a contradiction between the beautiful descriptions used throughout the story and the dark nature of the actual story that I’m not sure what to think about it. I think this is one of those books that you would have to read more than once to fully understand everything that is going on. Jesmyn Ward does such a good job making these characters so real that felt for Jojo and all that he was going through and how at 13 he was more of an adult than his parents.
I mainly gave this book 3 stars because it kept me interested and wanting to know what was going to happen.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Jesmyn Ward writes like a poet. The setting is the same fictional Mississippi town as in Salvage the Bones. The long middle section is a road trip from hell, when 13 year old Jojo, his 3 year old sister Kayla, and their drug dependent mother Leonie drive to pick up Michael, the children's father, from prison. Leonie doesn't possess the "mothering instinct" and has no desire or ability to care for her children. Fortunately for Kayla, her brother Jojo steps in and loves and takes care of her. The children's saintlike grandparents have raised them in Leonie's sporadic absences. Jojo and Kayla's relationship is realistic and touching. Leonie is hard to figure out, and I'm not sure I understand what is happening with her character. Overall, the story is readable and gripping though sad, and there is hope in the end. The audiobook is excellent, with 3 different and distinct narrators.
emotional
reflective
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The best book I’ve read all year. Gripping; harrowing; an unflinching portrait of modern-day America and a fitting addition to the road novel lexicon.
i fully intend to read everything jesmyn ward has written because this woman is such a talent. she manages to weave such an intricate story with so many interlocking parts into a relatively simple sub 300 page narrative. AND her prose is gorgeous. AND her characters are so real and nuanced and flawed.
this was a really heart wrenching story of struggle and love and society and racism and family. i felt so fully invested in each different facet of the story, from jojo and leonie to the faces from the past. (i also wasn’t put off by the segway into the supernatural because it fit SO perfectly)
this was a really heart wrenching story of struggle and love and society and racism and family. i felt so fully invested in each different facet of the story, from jojo and leonie to the faces from the past. (i also wasn’t put off by the segway into the supernatural because it fit SO perfectly)
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I teetered between 4 and 5 stars throughout this Southern Gothic novel, but was blown away by the last several chapters.
The writing is exquisite, but the book was absolutely brutal to read. It was not a relaxing experience, but instead quite the opposite, as I was anxious and distressed for the majority of the novel.
Just like the ghosts that haunted the main characters in this novel, and Parchman Prison, which is a haunting reminder of this country's painful history...Sing, Unburied, Sing will be haunting my thoughts for quite some time.
The writing is exquisite, but the book was absolutely brutal to read. It was not a relaxing experience, but instead quite the opposite, as I was anxious and distressed for the majority of the novel.
Just like the ghosts that haunted the main characters in this novel, and Parchman Prison, which is a haunting reminder of this country's painful history...Sing, Unburied, Sing will be haunting my thoughts for quite some time.