Twins, graduating from high school, head out into the world with certain expectations. Joshua gets a job doing hard labor on the docks. Meanwhile Christophe isn't hired there or anywhere and ends up falling into selling pot. But that is just a brief outline of what is happening in this beautifully written book. Within the story line we learn about how both their parents independently abandoned them, for drugs or a new life in a new city with opportunity. We learn about how their grandmother raised them to be strong, honest, hard working men. We learn how they struggle with their choices, or lack of, and with their relationships. In many ways, it was a coming of age story. And I learned more about a culture that I am not regularly exposed to. I loved the ending and am thankful that Ms. Ward did not take the story down a path that I very much feared she would. This was a truly enjoyable book.

With her carefully composed, pared to the bone sentences, Jesmyn Ward took me to back to the smells, the sweat, the salt of those summers in the south with extended family that I hardly knew, the second cousins twice removed whom I ma’amed along with my southern cousins. My grandmother hated air conditioning too, and as I read I remember the feel of those sticky sheets, and the ever present undersmell of mildew.

I read “The Line” with the same feeling of impending tragedy that haunted me as I read “Sing, Unburied, Sing”. I wanted Ma-mee to get the ending she deserved after having raised two wonderful young men. I wanted those young men to get the endings they deserved for all their hard work, all their love of their family.

I’ll read anything Jesmyn Ward writes. She is talented beyond words.

This was so well written but it was a slow build. Sometimes a little too slow for my taste, which is why I only gave it 3 stars, maybe 3.5. I’m oscillating. I loved the story so much. It was a perfect lens into the lives of lower class, rural African American boys. Twins Christophe and Joseph barely graduated high school; their parents are mostly MIA; and they live with their grandmother. They know their choices after high school are work or dealing drugs. The choices each boy makes and the subsequent consequences effect each other greatly. I imagine these are the life choices for many young men. It was a great story.

Jesmyn Ward is a masterful writer who creates rich and engaging characters. Where the Line Bleeds is the first of a rough trilogy set in Bois Sauvage, Mississippi. The other two books of the set (Salvage the Bones and Sing, Unburied, Sing) both received the National Book Awards for fiction. I read Sing, Unburied, Sing first and will certainly read Salvage the Bones as well. This book has a wonderful way of exploring young, black, southern masculinity and expression of emotion. I'll read anything Ward decides to write.

I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley.
It took me forever to read this book. At times I was just fascinated and at times I just couldn't wait to get to the end and be done with it.
I think the author describes every single thing in this book down to the blades of the grass. It can get boring at times.
To me, there was just too much description and not enough of the actual story line.
I'm glad this one is over to be honest and although I enjoyed her book Sing, Unburied Sing, I don't know if I want to read any of her other books after this one. It was just so slow.
The characters felt real and you feel like you really got to know them but that just doesn't make up for the rest of it. Sorry not my favorite book.

It took me a good while to finish this one. I kept putting it down and coming back to it, not because it wasn’t written beautifully, but because the pacing was as lackadaisical as a warm, summer day.

Jesmyn Ward definitely has a gift for storytelling. This is my first read by her, but I can already understand the accolades she’s receiving. I was sucked in to Christophe and Joshua’s story of brotherhood, love, and family.

Every character in this story is somehow tortured, but the demons aren’t so much easily apparent, as present and making their presence felt.

I enjoyed watching Christophe the most. His journey was the toughest to travel, in my opinion, and the ignorance of those around him didn’t make his redemption easy.

Joshua had the most heart, but it was also easy to see he was also the most uncertain of himself. He connected most with his brother, not surprising, but it was clear he wanted to find some peace with himself as well—in that regard the quiet placement of Laila and the ever-loving prompting of Ma-mee was beautiful.

Cille was harder to understand, but it was clear she was a woman who knew her role was best served at a distance. Whether or not she was content with that role is a mystery.

Overall a wonderfully written story with vividly presented images of the Gulf Coast area.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read Where The Line Bleeds, by Jesmyn Ward. What a beautiful story about twins, Christophe and Joshua, high school graduates from Bois Sauvage, a town which grows on people, causing most of them to want to live there forever. Sadly, for the twins, their mother craves big city life and moves to Atlanta, leaving them in the care of loving Ma-Mee, their great grandmother, whom they love and respect as much as life. Their father is a drug addict, who floats in and out of their lives. Life changes for good and bad, when Joshua gets a job and Christophe doesn’t. Family love and desire for success in life helps lead these young men to adulthood. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to many more Jesmyn Ward books.

Christophe and Joshua are twin brothers living in Bois Sauvage, along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. At the beginning of the book they are preparing to graduate from high school. They are living with their Ma-Mee (Maternal Grandmother) who has raised them since they were children. Their Mother floats in and out of their lives but Ma-Mee is their constant. Upon graduation, the brothers attempt to find jobs while getting high, flirting with girls, getting their hair braided and playing basketball. Their bond is a close one. They can communicate without saying a word and share a combined concern over their grandmother's failing eyesight and health.

When Joshua is hired as a dock laborer, Christophe starts to sell drugs as a means of having income and to help support his family. Joshua is not happy about Christophe's actions and Christophe is secretly jealous of his brother's job, the reader begins to see tiny cracks in their relationship. Then their absentee drug addicted father shows up, things get worse for the two brothers as a confrontation takes place that can/will change their lives forever.

I first became acquainted with Jesmyn Ward when I read "Sing, Unburied, Sing" I loved her ability to weave words that sounded poetic and powerful. This is her debut book and although, I enjoyed this book, I felt it was slow and dragged in sections. What works in this book is her ability to show familial love - the love of brothers, the love of two young men for their grandmother. The love a grandmother has for her grandchildren and her daughter. Ward is also good at showing poverty and showing how choices have consequences that can shape a life - and not always for the better.

Thank you to Scribner and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Salvage the Bones and Sing Unburied Sing both earned Jesmyn Ward the golden National Book Award and yet the tender raw honest stand alone books form a trilogy that begins right here with Where the Line Bleeds. With characters that take the page by storm and live deeply between each word, Ward takes us to the heart of black Southern life and the familial ties that hold complicated lives and circumstances together.

Jesmyn Ward is brilliant, and her writing is compelling, heartbreaking, and wise. Even this earlier work glimmers with the same kind of wisdom and beauty for which she has come to be treasured

Je n'avais pas été totalement fan de Sing, Unburied, Sing mais j'étais décidée à lire un autre roman de Jesmyn Ward. J'ai vu ce titre sur NetGalley (déjà publié en 2006, une réédition est prévue pour janvier 2018) et comme ça parlait de jumeaux, je me suis laissée tenter. Mais j'étais prête à m'énerver si l'histoire était trop stéréotypée (#pourquoijeneveuxpaslireTheIdenticalsmêmesilauteureaunfrèrejumeau), on ne touche pas aux jumeaux. Remarque non. Je peux faire des concessions puisqu'il s'agit de frères et non de sœurs. Je ne peux pas me mettre dans la tête d'un garçon après tout. Bref, le sujet m'intéressait mais j'étais sur mes gardes.

Joshua et Christophe (des faux jumeaux bien qu'ils soient nés le même jour) habitent Bois Sauvage (la ville fictive où se déroule l'action de tous les romans de Jesmyn Ward) sur la côte du Mississippi. Lorsque le roman débute, ils se préparent pour aller au lycée (où ils sont vedettes de l'équipe de basket-ball) pour la cérémonie de remise des diplômes. Ils se demandent si leurs parents, enfin du moins si leur mère (qui les a laissés lorsqu'ils avaient 5 ans à la garde de sa mère pour aller tenter sa chance à Atlanta) sera à la cérémonie. Ils ne se posent pas vraiment la question pour leur père, alcoolique et drogué notoire constamment en cure de désintoxication, qu'ils n'ont pas vu (juste aperçu) depuis très longtemps alors qu'il habite la même ville. Quand leur oncle leur demande ce qu'ils comptent faire après le lycée, aller à l'université par exemple, ils répondent que c'est déjà bien qu'ils aient leur bac et qu'ils comptent aller déposer des candidatures un peu partout en ville et dans les villes voisines (pas trop éloignées) pour trouver du travail. Ils ne veulent pas quitter Bois Sauvage car ils ont décidé de s'occuper à leur tour de leur grand-mère. Quelle tristesse en lisant la liste des endroits où ils se présentent : Walmart et les fast-foods du coin. Il y aurait également du travail sur les docks.

Pas vraiment de stéréotypes sur les jumeaux... Sauf la jalousie de Christophe vis-à-vis de son frère car il a du travail (ça, je peux comprendre) et une petite amie (réaction un peu bizarre puisqu'il est lui-même beaucoup plus populaire que son frère). Non, ce qui m'a énervé, c'est le manque d'ambition des deux frères. Ils posent leur candidature au même endroit que tout le monde et ne veulent pas aller trop loin (ça part d'un bon sentiment mais quelque chose me dit que la grand-mère n'est qu'un prétexte). Ils ont la mauvaise habitude de fumer des blunts et arrivent au bureau d'embauche puant la marijuana. Mais ils ont prévu la bombe de Febreeze (Febreze en France) au cas où. J'avais envie de les secouer, surtout Christophe. Mais cette apathie est peut-être due à la chaleur écrasante. C'est sûr qu'on n'a pas envie de faire grand chose sous cette chaleur. Et puis le guide du petit dealer avec prix selon l'emballage, j'aurais pu faire sans ces détails.

Alors voilà. Très belle écriture. Mais je n'ai eu aucune envie de m'attacher aux personnages. Sauf peut-être la petite amie de Joshua. Et j'ai aimé les scènes de complicité entre les deux frères. Mais elles sont malheureusement trop rares. C'est sûr que je pourrais être plus indulgente vis-à-vis du manque d'ambition des deux frères (surtout après avoir lu Reading with Patrick), mais ce genre d'attitude (de fatalisme en fin de compte) m'agace. Tout au long de la lecture, j'ai eu l'impression que quelque chose m'échappait et je me demandais quand l'histoire allait commencer.

Donc, à vous de voir.

Je ne renonce pas avec Jesmyn Ward car je veux lire Salvage the Bones pour lequel elle a reçu le National Book Award. Quoique... Elle vient de remporter le prix une seconde fois (la première femme à le remporter deux fois) pour Sing, Unburied, Sing qui ne m'avait pas du tout emballée. J'aime son style, mais j'attends plus des histoires. Je n'arrive pas à me faire à son rythme.

Jesmyn West once again delivers a brilliant, thoughtful, and profoundly moving read which will haunt the reader.

Jesmyn Ward is a national treasure. She unflinchingly depicts the reality of being poor and black in the rural South but saves the reader from total despair by showing the strength of familial love. This is clearly a first novel - Salvage the Bones is more brutal, and Sing, Unburied, Sing has touches of magical realism - but Ward has established the subjects she will return to again and again.

Jesmyn Ward has an amazing ability to transport you to straight into her books. Her writing is amazingly descriptive without being overdone. She can "paint" a story with just a few simple sentences, which makes her books both easy and incredibly satisfying at the same time.

This one was no exception. It's the story of twin boys growing into men in the rural Mississippi Gulf Coast, an area stagnant following Hurricane Katrina. It details their relationships with their absent mother, their blind grandmother who raised them, their extended families and their drug addict father. It's not a pretty picture, but while their struggles are a main focal point, it also focuses on their bond and relationship with each other, and their desire to better themselves and break away from the cycle of drugs. Along with the dark is a lot of love and loyalty, which saves this book from being really depressing.

If you're a fan of Jesmyn Ward, this book won't disappoint. If this is your first Jesmyn Ward read, I don't think you'll be disappointed!

I was a little skeptical of this book since I wasn’t a complete fan of her first book. This one was great! I felt so connected to each character and felt sad when I had finished it

Jesmyn Ward’s hard-hitting novels highlight the plight of poor southern African-American families, struggling to lead a worthwhile life in rural Mississippi. In this one twin brothers Joshua and Christophe have been raised by their nearly blind grandmother after their worthless father abandoned the family and their mother moved away to work, effectively abandoning the boys as well. As the novel opens they are preparing to graduate high school but their future is far from assured. They struggle to find jobs but only Joshua is successful, leaving Christophe feeling resentful towards his brother and possibly set on a downward spiral into drugs. Their previously close relationship is in jeopardy and the arrival of their mother to visit them, plus with the reappearance of their drug-addicted father, only adds to their confusion and unhappiness. It’s a dark book, but somehow hope never quite dies. Family ties are strong and supportive, and, exemplified by their much loved grandmother, there’s love here too if they don’t turn their backs on it. Of the three Ward novels I have read, this is the weakest, being overwritten and repetitive and the descriptions of the boys and their friends taking drugs and getting drunk, whilst no doubt realistic and authentic, become wearisome. However, the portrait of a southern community is vivid and evocative, and the troubled relationship between the brothers moving and compelling. If not her best novel, it’s still a very fine one, and I found Joshua and Christophe memorable characters indeed.

Jesmyn Ward never fails to move me. The writing is emotional and consistently resonates. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but did not find it quite as strong as "Sing Unburied, Sing"

I received a free electronic copy of this southern novel from Netgalley, Jesmyn Ward and Scribner in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all, for sharing your hard work with me.

This is Jesmyn Ward's first novel written in 2008, which has been followed by two more novels in this series. Where the Line Bleeds is completely stand alone, and an excellent novel it is. Set in Bois Sauvage on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, the time frame is vaguely modern. Christophe and Joshua are twins, graduating that spring from high school. Their single mother lives and works in Atlanta and has since they were five. Their dad has never had a part in their lives, often in jail or rehab and always drugged up. The boys are reared by their Grandmother Ma-mee, who has slowly gone blind from untreated diabetes, but Ma-mee is still the boss, though the boys have taken on many household chores and learned to cook at her side over the last few years.

Bois Sauvage is like many - most - very small towns everywhere in the south and west - there are no job possibilities for the kids coming up and shopping has to be done further and further away as town centers die. MacDonalds, Walmart, gas stations and 7-11 stores are for the most part offering all the jobs that are available to each new class of graduating young adults. Waitressing or washing dishes at locally owned eateries are only very occasionally offered as turnover is rare. Strong, stout guys can often get on at the docks several cities down the river, loading and unloading boats and barges. There is usually an opening created by an injured worker. The kids who can't find jobs have the choice of leaving for the big cities, or selling dope.

The boys, inseparable since birth, begin the summer full of hope. Eventually Joshua gets on at the docks. Christophe doesn't. Where the Line Bleeds covers this summer after graduation, the choices and challenges the boys have to face.

What makes this novel a keeper is the lyrical prose that Jesmyn Ward winds through this tale. You can hear the bull frogs and cicadas, smell the gardenias and azaleas, hunger for the shrimp and sausage and file gumbo. Mostly, you can share with her the music of this dying way of life. And mourn it's passing.