Reviews with content warning for Blood - Salvage the Bones

I was so close to DNFing this around 20-25% of the way through. It just didn't grab me at all, and I was still having a hard time getting to know the characters. I kept listening because I didn't have anything else ava lable at the library before catching a bus, and I'm glad I did! I really enjoyed how it all came together. Some parts of this had me grimacing through them, and others had me feeling so much for the characters. It was quite the book!

Content Warnings

wynnter's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

shainabriley's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

joanna_banana's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Jesmyn Ward books have been on my list awhile and so I decided to go back to the first one in the Bois Sauvage collection. This is not long, but it’s heavy. The struggle of Esch to get people to see her, the grief of the dad, the loneliness of Junior, the pressure on Russell, the intensity of Skeet with China and puppies, uff. A lot of grief all around really. I can’t say I enjoyed the book; however, it’s well written and the characters are beautiful people, trying to keep things together literally and figuratively. The ending surprised me, it was a little abrupt, but then there was no more to say perhaps. Thought provoking for sure.

I feel like I picked up on symbolism but also didn’t fully grasp what the author was saying about destructive motherhood between Mama’s dying giving birth to Junior, Esch becoming pregnant, and Katrina ‘herself’ bearing down on them.

Content Warnings