book review: sing, unburied, sing // jesmyn ward

Hello.

Sing, Unburied, Sing

Author: Jesmyn Ward

Genre: Contemporary + Magical Realism

Synopsis:

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.

Rate: 3.8 / 5 ⭐

❝they look at you and see difference, son. 
don't matter what you see. it's about what they do.❞

Review:

I read this book in between months and now am reviewing it after months 😅
This book was similar to 'The Astonishing Colours of After' by Emily. X.R. Pan, in terms of the magical realism and ghosts?? spirits?? I guess. This book was more character driven than plot driven and I love it. I havent read much character based stories I guess (Since my go to genre is fantasy and adventure) but this is a fave out of the few that I have read. The dysfunctional family dynamics was another added charm to the story. It talks about the struggles of an African American family in Mississippi. The racism is there as well, like a subtle tension is created in the story, the father of the kids being white and either side of the families having this tension, it shows that no matter what the history of racial tension is always there (I guess).

I loved the writing in this book, very descriptive and vivid. The two point of views by Jojo (the son) and Leonie (the mum) was written really well. I really liked Leonie's point of view more (especially when she tried to describe the scenes with Given in it - not giving any more details since it might be spoilery). Another thing that I love about this book is how human Jesmyn Ward makes the characters seem, like yes they are messed up, cold and cruel but she also shows how human and vulnerable they are, something that I really liked. I mean, we are human after all.

This book talks about death, how people deal with it, the dysfunctional family dynamics and the racial tension as well. A beautiful and well layered story.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧