Jordan Reads Too Much

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

This is a family drama that is heartbreaking but still filled with love.

Jojo and Kayla are siblings living with their grandparents. Their mother shows up at their home often but these kids are cared for by their elderly grandparents. When their father, Michael, is to be released from prison, their mother, Leonie, takes them on a road trip through contemporary Mississippi to pick him up. Leonie battles drug addiction. Jojo does his best to care for his young sister and himself during the trip while harboring ill-will towards his absent mother.

This is not a long story but a powerful one told in alternating points of view. This family is damaged in several ways. Mostly character driven, this is a book that will really take readers inside the lives of a modern family, for better or worse.

I found that I had to suspend my disbelieve for some of this story. Death and illness are addressed often, but the speaking to or seeing the dead is something that prevents me from falling in love with this book. The prose is strong, and I'm not surprise to find this on the 2017 Nation Book Award finalist list.



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