Reviews - Sing, Unburied, Sing

5.58k reviews for:

Sing, Unburied, Sing

Jesmyn Ward

4.07 AVERAGE

rscearcy's review against another edition

4.5

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

annrhub's review against another edition

4.75

dark emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

bibliophile1085's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

heartofanartichoke's review against another edition

4.0

slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

With lyrical prose and a rhythm all her own, Jesmyn Ward constructs dynamic and complicated characters and relationships that serve to explore some of incredibly difficult themes: racism, addiction, and the cycle of poverty. That all plays second fiddle to the real drama: familial history - how it binds those still alive to fates they are constantly trying to escape. For such a short novel, Ward is able to touch on so many issues facing this family, seamlessly weaving together a epic-like narrative. It's a tough story, deftly told. Ward escapes what could have easily veered into just a litany of grief by fully taking advantage of the changes in POV to showcase how frustrations, shortcomings, and external pressures are seen and experienced from from all sides. There is some magical realism, which I understand puts some people off. In contrast, I found those portions to actually be the most powerful, highlighting how the past is always there, watching, resonating, even if only some can see it. This is a book I respect more than love. I would likely get more out of if I were to have read it in a setting/time where I could explore the symbolism and themes better. It falls just short of truly blowing me away.

vsobaka05's review against another edition

1.0

This was definitely not my new favorite book... most of it was gross and ugly, and it seemed like it was mainly for the purpose to shock its readers. While I appreciate that it brought attention to different racial issues like police brutality, I think that it could have been done so much more effectively. Most of it just felt like rehashed, modernized books like Beloved. The plot and characters were equally flat. The only thing that stuck out was how disgusting so much of the descriptions were.