Sing, Unburied, Sing

by Jesmyn Ward
April 8-21, 2018

A dysfunctional family whose story is told mainly through the eyes of a 13-year old boy who calls his mother by her first name. Jojo needs to be the father to his young sister and the man of the house, emulating his grandfather, because his mother is a meth addict and his father is in jail. Oh, and he sees dead people.

A quick and interesting perspective on the "unburied" but the child neglect was tough to get through. The deeper underlying statements on racism are not for me to judge. But Ward succeeded in developing sympathetic characters that I wanted to know more about. It's crazy what drugs do to an already selfish, immature woman. Leonie knew she needed to be a better mother to her kids, but she chose her boyfriend and meth over them. Every time. I think this is not too uncommon in real life either.

Overall, a profound and poetic take on parenting, racism and drug abuse in the south. Painful to read, but still so important.

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