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A review by cthib9
Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
4.0
I've been finished with this book for about a week, but I cannot come up with a review worthy of its transcendent static. The book rambles down a long and winding road, only to wind back at the start with little more than you started with. Perhaps people do not really change.
But people do grow, as exhibited by wise-beyond his years Jojo, a 13-year-old boy who embarks on a raucous road trip with his sister, his mother, and his mother's friend. The mother, Leonie, who Jojo deservedly refers to by first name, is out to get her white boyfriend out of prison, which paints a cloud of gray on the whole trip. Leonie is a neglectful caregiver and drug addict, spurned by the childhood murder of her brother. Though the book flips perspectives between characters, Leonie's point of view is actually wiser than her actions. But because she gives into her skin color and past trauma instead of trying to become better, I cannot respect this woman.
Jojo, on the other hand, provides most of the parenting for himself and younger sister when they are away from his grandparents, the two most respectable characters. Unfortunately, the grandmother is dying of cancer, leaving Jojo to become a man much sooner than he should be.
Oh, and there are ghosts! [b:Lincoln in the Bardo|29906980|Lincoln in the Bardo|George Saunders|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1492130850s/29906980.jpg|50281866] style! To avoid confusing you, another narrator pops up late in the book and all of a sudden, what was a hopeless tale about accepting fates turns into a supernatural unfinished-business power hour. The end of the book comes at you fast then it's over and you're asking, "What was that about?" A week later, you're still not sure.
But the book seemed to take painstaking efforts to say that people don't really change. Those you can trust will always come through for you, whereas those who let you down are irredeemable. Meanwhile, the same oppression that existed 50 years ago is still here, more prevalent than it should be. No matter what we do, it just won't seem to die.
Without knowing much about her, I sense Jesmyn Ward draws her prose from a gorgeous yet fortified spirit. Her biography is now on my must-read list.
But people do grow, as exhibited by wise-beyond his years Jojo, a 13-year-old boy who embarks on a raucous road trip with his sister, his mother, and his mother's friend. The mother, Leonie, who Jojo deservedly refers to by first name, is out to get her white boyfriend out of prison, which paints a cloud of gray on the whole trip. Leonie is a neglectful caregiver and drug addict, spurned by the childhood murder of her brother. Though the book flips perspectives between characters, Leonie's point of view is actually wiser than her actions. But because she gives into her skin color and past trauma instead of trying to become better, I cannot respect this woman.
Jojo, on the other hand, provides most of the parenting for himself and younger sister when they are away from his grandparents, the two most respectable characters. Unfortunately, the grandmother is dying of cancer, leaving Jojo to become a man much sooner than he should be.
Oh, and there are ghosts! [b:Lincoln in the Bardo|29906980|Lincoln in the Bardo|George Saunders|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1492130850s/29906980.jpg|50281866] style! To avoid confusing you, another narrator pops up late in the book and all of a sudden, what was a hopeless tale about accepting fates turns into a supernatural unfinished-business power hour. The end of the book comes at you fast then it's over and you're asking, "What was that about?" A week later, you're still not sure.
Spoiler
Leonie didn't change by the end. Her boyfriend was still a despicable chum after prison. His parents were still racist. The ghost didn't go away. Poor Jojo was too young to do anything about his circumstances. I have nothing bad to say about grandpa Pop, he was a firm man who overcame his situation.Without knowing much about her, I sense Jesmyn Ward draws her prose from a gorgeous yet fortified spirit. Her biography is now on my must-read list.