A review by blessingo
Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is a story to read carefully, feeling the smarting rays of the Mississippian sun and the haze of cigarette smoke mingling with ochre. Ward's Sing, Unburied, Sing is about twelve-year-old Jojo's family, with his drug-addicted mother, his baby sister, Kayla, journeying to see their white father and boyfriend who's returning from prison, and in it, Jesmyn shows exactly why her 2011 book, Salvage the Bones won a National Book Award. This book is very dark, emotionally trying, and occasionally, gross. In the literal first few pages of the book, the grandfather literally slaughters a goat for the family to eat. The writing in this is rich and devastating, punching you to your core. I felt for the ghost of Richie and the ghosts of the past present in Leonie's brother's ghost that haunts her.

I feel like this book wasn't good for me to read at the particular time I read it because I had just finished reading The Color of Water, a similarly very emotional and trying book. This most likely made the story more tedious for me personally, because my psyche was honestly exhausted, lol. But this book was captivating, probably some of the best writing I've read this year? If you're looking for a deeply afflicted, turbulent, and shining novel to read, this is definitely for you.
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