SING, UNBURIED, SING by Jesmyn Ward

SING, UNBURIED, SING

by

Jesmyn Ward

            Jojo, 13, lives with Mam and Pop and Leonie and baby sister Kayla. Leonie is his mother; Mam and Pop are her parents. His father, Michael, is in prison. Leonie and her family are black; Michael and his family are white. His uncle, Given – Leonie’s brother – had been killed by one of Michael’s relatives. And, they live in rural Mississippi. As we follow Jojo and his family, we learn the backstory of the characters, witness Michael’s release from prison and Mam’s battle with cancer, and experience the many tensions that pervade this book.

            Ward’s Sing, Unburied, Sing is the 2017 National Book Award winner. There is not much that I like about this book. I do not like the characters, the story, or the writing. I read one review of the book wherein the reviewer noted that he/she did not like the “magical realism and fantasy” found in the book; those are the parts that I did like.

            I keep trying to understand my knee jerk negative response to this book, starting from the animal slaughter at the beginning through the end of the book. I keep trying to understand this book’s acclaim. I suppose the facts that the book engendered such a strong negative response in me – and that I have continued wondering why I have had this reaction – demonstrate why it is deserving of such acclaim. But, it was not a pleasant experience.