Received an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review

I feel so blessed to have been given the opportunity to read/review this book. This book is such an important piece of work. Immensely beautifully written novel.

The character development and themes of love, hate, race, drugs, poverty really resonated with me all while fitting into the Southern Gothic mold that I love.

Sing, Unburied, Sing is a gorgeously written novel about a family in the American south dealing with death, family problems, incarceration, and racial tension in the area.

While I loved Jesmyn Ward's prose (comparisons to Toni Morrison are not unwarranted), I couldn't connect with the story because of the way perspective shifted among the main characters. Normally, I don't have an issue with multiple perspectives but I think this story would have benefitted from one narrator, namely, Jojo, which is when the story telling is at its strongest.

2.5 stars out of 5

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book. I was sucked in by the blurb and it did not disappoint. It is original and engaging. The family is complicated and feels real. The characters are strong. Throw in that magical realism and you have something quite special. I am not completely sure it feels done but I could have much worse complaints.

I really struggled with the depressing nature of the plot and, although I felt like the characters were extremely strong, I didn't really feel a connection to any of them. I ended up having to add this one to my DNF pile half way through.

The book that's full of contradictions for me. I loved the language and the characters' voices, but had a hard time caring for the story they told. I felt sadness reading about the dysfunctionality of this family, but it did not resonate within the depths of my heart. I enjoyed the presence of light magical realism, but failed to be carried away on its wings. Just okay in my book, unfortunately. but I'd be happy to check out the author's other works.

2.5 stars. This book simply wasn’t a good fit for me.

Magical realism and fantasy are not themes that I connect with or generally enjoy reading. I hadn’t realized those aspects were such a large part of this story and I found them confusing and highly distracting. I think this came down to me not being the target market for this book.

There were some unforgettable characters within this tragic and unsettling story. Pre-teenaged Jojo stole my heart as he took on the parental role to his toddler sister, Kayla. He accepted and stepped into the care-takers role for his baby sister with both feet – he was wise beyond his years and my hero throughout this sad and heart-breaking story. Jojo’s grandfather, Pop, was also a stand out character for me. He took on a parental and mentor role to Jojo as Jojo’s drug-addicted mother had no way of controlling her selfish tendencies in order to care for her children.

I found the storyline uninteresting and depressing. As heart-breaking as the story was, I felt no emotional investment or attachment whatsoever. In the end, reading this book felt like work to me rather than pleasure.

A big thank you to NetGalley, Scribner and Jesmyn Ward for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review!

SING, UNBURIED, SING by JESMYN WARD is a haunting, sad, heartfelt, and an absolutely exceptional General Fiction novel that had me totally engaged, entertained, and interested throughout this entire book. Although, this book was so infuriating to read at times because of its heavy subject matter it was also so well-written with such beautiful prose that this book was extremely hard for me to put down.  

JESMYN WARD delivers a beautifully written multi-layered story here with absolutely wonderful character development and an extremely enthralling storyline.  I really enjoyed the spiritualistic mythology aspect within the storyline.

To sum it all up it was an interesting, deep, unforgettable, emotional, and an enjoyable read with a very touching and satisfying ending that sung to me. Would highly recommend!

Publication date:  September 5, 2017

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster Canada / Scribner and Jesmyn Ward for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!