Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

Sing, Unburied, Sing

by Jesmyn Ward

Jojo and his toddler sister, Kayla, live with their grandparents, Mam and Pop, and the occasional presence of their drug-addicted mother, Leonie, on a farm on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. Leonie is simultaneously tormented and comforted by visions of her dead brother, which only come to her when she's high; Mam is dying of cancer; and quiet, steady Pop tries to run the household and teach Jojo how to be a man. When the white father of Leonie's children is released from prison, she packs her kids and a friend into her car and sets out across the state for Parchman farm, the Mississippi State Penitentiary, on a journey rife with danger and promise.

Reviewed by luddite on

3 of 5 stars

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I may have to re-read this book to understand why it received so much praise.

To me, it felt scattered and the surrealistic elements put me off. The prose was quite good, though. And some complex, intriguing characters.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 2 March, 2018: Finished reading
  • 2 March, 2018: Reviewed