I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book tackles things like racism, poverty, drug addiction, lack of healthcare, and...ghosts?

It's a story about 13 year old Jojo having to be much older than he is, acting like a parent for his sister. It's about his mother Leonie who doesn't have much room for love for her children in her heart, but going out of her way to drag them to their father's release from prison. It's about grandpa Riv and the guilt and memories he's carried from Parchman prison while taking care of his dying wife. And it's about all the ghosts that haunt them.

Switching from different POVs so you can see how they see each other, it's a story about how hardships can bring people together or force them apart.

While Leonie is a very difficult character to like, Jesmyn Ward did a good job making her easy to understand. The "ghost" subplots were a bit out there and it sort of came together in the end. Sort of.

4.25/5 stars.

Copy furnished by Net Galley for the price of a review.

Beautiful words tell a sad story. Restless spirits, unhappy lives, pure love, and hope. There are those who can see, and those who cannot. The ways in which we differ, and yet end up being all the same. Fixing things to make up for what cannot be repaired. A haunting cadence that sings the song of life. This one is something special.

Jojo is about to turn 13. He lives with his maternal grandparents, his mostly absent mother (Leonie), and his younger sister (Kayla). Jojo's father (Michael) is about to get out of prison. But there are secrets here. Jesmyn Ward's novel Sing, Unburied, Sing is beautifully written. Told in alternating viewpoints, it is captivating from the first page.

There is something Toni Morrison-esque about the way Ward weaves the personal histories of these individuals and the revelations they provide.

I'm conflicted about SING UNBURIED SING. While reading, it is abundantly clear you are in the presence of an incredibly skilled writer. There were breathtakingly beautiful metaphors and similes like "they turn to each other like plants following the sun across the sky. They are each other's light." The syncopation to the dialogue, the stops and starts of the threads in paragraphs, all help this story move in and out of time, defined by it but not constrained. Pop's stories about Richie that trail off and try to contain a multitude of horrors help set up the Pandora's box feeling, the "waiting for the other shoe to drop" sense permeating the whole narrative. But what kept me in admiration rather than love was that the characters' thoughts and actions always felt a little too orchestrated to me, a bit too much authorial hand. Kayla and Jojo came the closest; I'd love to see Kayla get her own novel as a grown woman. So though I wished for characters who came off the page a little more, overall, it must be said that this is an artfully crafted novel raising critical questions about who we count as family, and what our obligations are to those we love and who have loved us.

****4.5****

An intense and haunting book by Ward, who is also a National Book Award winner for “Salvage the Bones”.

I received an E-ARC from the published and I was reluctant to read this as I knew that some intense story is involved but yet I wanted to know it.

It’s a story about Jojo’s family. Jojo’s Mam and Pop, his mother Leoni, Father Michael and his toddler sister Kayla. This is also a story of addiction, of poverty, of dreams. Narrated through Jojo and his mother Leoni, slowly the story unfolds.

“A clean burning shot through my bones, and then I forgot. The shoes I didn’t buy, the melted cake…”

Jojo and Kayla are looked after by his maternal grandparents whom he calls as Mam and Pop. Pop still hardworking but tired. Mam, bedridden because of cancer. Leoni addicted to coke usually forgets to be a normal-caring mother, Michael who is in prison and Kayla still a toddler. Jojo’s only distraction is the ghost of a boy from his Pop’s youth. Leoni finds solace in her dead brother Given’s ghost.

But when Michael gets released from the prison, Leoni takes up a road trip along with her kids and friend to pick her husband from the prison. There is always a slight difference between losing the sanity and not losing it. Each and everyone struggling to cope with the demons that are haunting them. Road trip ends back at Pop’s house but the tragic end breaks our heart.

Brilliant narration which did justice to different issues like racism, poverty, addiction and also dreams, hopes.

ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

A native of Louisiana and growing up in the rural South, this novel reached deep down and took hold of my heart. Ms. Ward's understanding and nuance in the depiction of rural poverty in the South, especially the black community is so familiar and haunting. The familial ties and love shared between JoJo and Kayla, two children with old souls shaped by their fierce, loving grandparents and flawed parents make their journey resonate in every page. Jesmyn Ward has crafted another beautiful work that gives voice to the unheard black rural community in the South and its rich, layered lyrical language lingers in your mind long after closing the book.

I should say upfront that I didn’t really bond with Sing Unburied Sing.

I am sure the novel is worthy; dealing with poverty and racial identity in southern Mississippi. I am sure the language is poetic and the imagery is evocative. But there was something that just wasn’t there for me. Perhaps it was that the three voices — a mother, a teenage boy, and the ghost of a juvenile convict — were indistinguishable. Perhaps it was that much of the story (surely there was one) was obscured by over-elaborate metaphor and convoluted language. Perhaps it was the constant presence of two ghosts, each seen by a different narrator, became confusing. Perhaps it was the drifting from past to present, from direct narration to reporting of other narrators…

Whatever it was, it made it difficult to really feel invested in the fates of Jojo, his mother Leonie, his sister Kayla, his elderly grandparents and his convict father. Individual scenes might have sparkled — Leonie (black) and Jojo (mixed race) pitching up at Leonie’s white racist parents in law; or Jojo stepping in to nurture Kayla when Leonie was not interested. But together, the whole thing just doesn’t have enough narrative drive or character development to sustain interest.

I did persevere to the end in the hope that something would click and it would all come together. Be warned, it doesn’t. As long as you are loving the book, keep reading. But if you aren’t then be aware that all that lies ahead of you is more of the same…

Full disclosure: I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Many thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for making it available!

I think my favorite thing about this book was the culture of Jojo's family. You know how you hear about families different from your own and how you should be sympathetic to their struggles and differences? I can imagine what that might be like, but this book went far beyond my sympathies and made me a member of the family. There were times I wanted to put the book down because of the pain I was feeling as a mother, a grandmother and other times I wanted to just hug the different characters. I wanted to cheer for them, cry with them and encourage them. In addition, the poetic nature of the writing made this a true joy to read.

The realities of drug abuse, physical abuse and neglect were present, all necessary parts to the story. If you want a quick, summer beach read, this isn't it. If you want a deeper understanding of the bonds of family and culture, a book that leaves you thinking about the relationships you share with various family members, you won't be disappointed. 4.5 stars.

Author - 1⭐️
Story - 1⭐️
Ending - 1⭐️
Offensiveness - 1/2⭐️
Recommend - 1⭐️

Insanely good. Not sure I can write a meaningful review of this book that goes beyond just this: Read it.

Jesmyn Ward’s prose is gorgeous, and yet I didn’t highlight a single passage when reading Sing, Unburied Sing. That’s because I didn’t so much read this book as inhabit it. So completely absorbed was I, so entranced by the characters, so propelled by my concern for what would become of them, that I might need a second run-through to fully appreciate the craftsmanship at work here.

A full synopsis of the plot might make this book sound grim and depressing. Indeed, it is hard-hitting – expect to have your gut punched, more than once. Yet thanks to the skill and gracefulness of Ward’s writing it is also surprisingly hopeful. I’ve been puzzling over how on earth she managed this, it seems impossible when the plot consists of a sequence of awful things happening without reprieve. I think it comes back to the characters themselves – they are the light which balances the darker elements, their humanity, their simple truths.

To me Sing, Unburied Sing felt like a re=imagining of Toni Morrison’s Beloved for our modern times, that’s not to say a lesser copy, rather a sort of variation on a theme. Together they would make a great book club double-header.

Devastating, brilliant, all the superlatives, this will be one of the big books of 2017.

This is a book that is beautifully written and carries a heavy weight. It is not a happy story but a coming of age and awakening for the three point of view characters of JoJo, Leonie, and Richie. This story bears the African American history on its shoulders and reminds us that it is something that still lives with us as a society. The big question is how do we escape our ghosts and this story does a beautiful job in exploring those questions and realities.

I received this ARC from netgalley.com in exchange for a review.

I just couldn't get a grasp on this story. DNF. Abandoned at 20%, no rating.

This story did not resonate with me as much as I hoped it would. The writing is good, and the different points of view is also good; it worked well. Characters were rounded, full-formed, but I can't say I particularly liked any of them. Not even Riv. And the story itself, I'm not sure how I feel about it.

Great read!
Children should be able to be children without having to take on the responsibilities of adults. Unfortunately, like JoJo that is not the case for many.
This book serves as a reminder of the emotional hardships numerous children endure. I highly recommend!!
Thanks to Netgalley and Scribner

Beautifully written to the core, exquisite understanding of the human nature, a book set up to become one of the best of 2017. 

I was amazed by the writing style, this being my first Jesmyn Ward book. There is a melodious ache in her words, deeply resounding and immediately compelling, comforting yet fantastic in a way. I would most likely buy the hardcopy and reread entire passages. I made so many notes on my kindle, so many beautiful phrases to treasure.

The characters​ in this book are going through complex struggles, psychologically and physically too. Jojo is my favorite and I felt so deeply with this boy, too mature for his years. I could not imagine being in his shoes, seeing and going through so much hardships and yet shouldering huge responsibility towards his toddler sister. His savior and role model is his grandpa, Pop. This just goes to show how important having a firm role model is to young kids.

 Leonie is a wreck of a mother, I was engrossed by all her actions and way of thinking. I could not fathom her becoming who she was in the book. Her character is nevertheless well rounded descriptively and realistic. 

I highly recommend this book to everyone who likes sublime writing about real life hardships. The message I manage to feel is that there is a glimmer of hope usually between the darkness of what life can be. 

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
My review is scheduled to be published on my blog on August 23rd, 2017. Subsequently I will publish it on Amazon, Goodreads and Instagram too.

This story is told from several different viewpoints but the most resounding voice was a young boy named Jojo. Jojo lives with his Mam and Pop and younger sister Kayla. His mom Leonie pops in and out of the house when she isn't drugged out of her mind. Jojo looks at life through an old man's eyes even though he hasn't even reached puberty. (Not literally for you trolls)..but this kid has seen more than most of us even have nightmares about.
His father is about to be released from the state penitentiary so Leonie loads up the kids along with a friend to go pick him up. Normally I love road trip stories but in this one I knew I didn't really want to tag along but this book had me completely wrapped around it's finger by then and I couldn't stop. So road trip it was.

I cannot start to describe the writing for this book. It was powerful and completely swept me into the story. You can see Jojo's world come to life. The author shows racism and hopelessness in a way that made me ashamed of the way the world was and can still be. Not everyone is cut out to be a parent and not everyone can even mange to be a decent human.

I will admit to getting a bit side tracked when the book added in some woo-woo stuff.

But the author slapped it around and made it all tie right back into the story.

This was my first Jesmyn Ward book (not my last) and she reminds me strongly of Toni Morrison except for the fact that I actually like Ward's writing.

Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.

Great novel. I loved the special bond between the grandfather and his grandson.

I don't think I can do justice to this beautiful, heartbreaking novel. This is my first novel by Jesmyn Ward but it definitely won't be my last, and I agree with other reviewers that her writing is comparable with Toni Morrison. The sorrow-filled story about Pop, Mam, their meth-addicted daughter Leonie, and her kids Jojo and Kayla touched me in so many ways. The love and care between Jojo and Kayla and the absence thereof from their mom is something that will stay with me for the longest of times. I wanted to hate Leonie, but couldn't - she may not be able to love her kids, but her feelings for her dying mother are real. The author adds another element to the story with the fact that Leonie and Jojo are haunted by her brother (Leonie) and a young boy Pop knew while incarcerated (Jojo). Jojo's visions of Richie is achingly beautiful, and reminded me of The Enchanted because of it's almost dreamlike quality. Sing, Unburied, Sing will take your heart and break it in a million pieces, but it will be worth it.
I think Anne Patchett says it best: “The connection between the injustices of the past and the desperation of present are clearly drawn in Sing, Unburied, Sing, a book that charts the lines between the living and the dead, the loving and the broken. ”
*ARC FROM NETGALLEY

This story is a paradox. One facet shows the love between Pop (grandfather) and Jojo (grandson) as well as between Jojo and his sister, Kayla. But the other side of the coin is the lack of love between Leonie and her father, Pop, or her kids, Jojo and Kayla.

The characters are extremely well developed. Some I would be happy to know and felt I did. Others, not so much. How the author could so effectively develop each character and his/her unique personality is impressive.

It’s the story of poor black people and poor white people. Leonie, who is black, is married to Michael, who is white. Narrated by different characters in different chapters are stories of interracial problems, drug abuse, terrible treatment, and more.

Some of the characters ‘hear’ the thoughts of animals, and some can see dead people. This may sound implausible, but it is a very innovative addition to the story. Well one, Ms. Ward, well done. You have an intriguing imagination.

This book is like nothing I’ve ever read before, and I loved it. I recommend it to all my reading friends.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this fascinating tale. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This brilliant novel reads like a thriller yet teases out and lays bare a disturbing family history of violent, unresolved death resulting from a culture of race relations profoundly at odds with national ideals.

Jesmyn Ward is a Southern writer in the gothic tradition, a worthy successor to Faulkner, O’Connor, Welty, and McCullers. To my mind, Ward shows the cruelties not just within families but between families and races. The characters she gives us have so much at stake. What Ward writes is what we have inherited. We can change it, but first we have to acknowledge it.

The bulk of this novel takes place over the course of one day, the day Jojo and his sister Kayla accompany his mother Leonie to Parchman’s, a prison, to pick up his father Michael. Everything is revealed in that one day. Resolution takes a little longer.

Ward’s willingness to “go there,” her vision uncut and her language clear and exact, gives her work the aspect of witness. And yet she inhabits the young man Jojo so completely that he became our eyes and our judgment. It feels like a gift, to be able to see how families bend and break under the weight of all they carry…the weight of all those killed violently and not yet laid to rest.

“Last night, Richie crawled under the house and sang.”

Richie is the ghost of a poor murdered boy, and he is not the only ghost in this family’s present. Jojo’s uncle Given is also a spirit, albeit one that gives comfort, advice, and warning. It proves difficult for family members to deal with the spiritual needs of the ghosts as well as the temporal needs of those around them. It is confusing, demanding, intrusive. Add to that, not everyone has “the sight.” Jojo has it.

Ward opens her story with the butchering of a goat, giving us a taste of the education Jojo has on the farm, under the tutelage of his grandfather. The violence of the experience jolts us awake, nerve endings jangling. We need whatever instincts this incident has aroused in us to get through the day trip to Parchman’s, which becomes a descent into the dark heart of delusion and destruction.

Ward manages to instill the work with the impetus of a thriller: a reader becomes completely trapped by the closeness in the old car, the desultory conversation, the turn onto unfamiliar roads, the unexpected stop. The blood scent has put the wind up: we’re not sure who will come out alive at the end of the trip. Ward exquisitely calibrates her descriptions to resonate with us: we recognize these people, these motivations, these zones of danger.

Making an exciting work of fiction is an art, but Ward elevates the stakes by making an exciting work of fiction socially relevant and critical to the conversation going on in our nation. Just last summer a book of essays edited by Jesmyn Ward and written by important American writers and thinkers, The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks about Race, was released to great acclaim. The essays address the ongoing race issues our country has never resolved and struggles with yet.

Ward is among the finest and most important writers we have. Make sure you catch everything she puts out.

A thoughtful and touching book. The story really began to gear up when they started their car trip from hell. I could smell the vomit and feel the nausea and heat and my heart was in my throat during their encounter with the police. I really couldn't put the book down at that point. Jojo was a wonderful character and Leonie was a very intriguing character, but for some reason, Pop was my favorite. I felt such a strong affection for him. Thank you for a fine novel.