lindseyas 's review for:

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

4.75

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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The less-than-positive reviews I saw for this book were centered around Ward's inclusion of ghosts and magical realism. These reviews seemingly ignore the fact that the ghosts are the heart of the novel. It's a real testament to an allegiance to family and friends even when they cross into the afterlife, and how they both physically and metaphorically remain with us, even when we can't exactly see them. The power of crossing over requires the power of forgiving, being forgiven and letting go of earthly woes. Having the story be told through the eyes of both an innocent — JoJo — and a guilty — Leonie — was a really great authorial choice. Both of them see their own kind of ghost, and both of them respond differently to the past: JoJo is inquisitive, while Leonie fears it. This representation of generational trauma was really powerful to me, with the perpetuator of it refuses to take blame while the receiver searches for the reason for the madness. The style of writing and the choices in characterization were very simplistic yet so laden with meaning — a perfect encapsulation of "the poison dripping through" and the potential to catch it before it infects.