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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Paris in the Present Tense

by Mark Helprin
March 14-April 5, 2018

What a delightful book! I love all things France, and with that add incredibly intelligent dialogue, and I'm hooked.

Jules is a 74-year old man who has a LOT going on in his life. And now he's got to make sure his family is taken care of and that certain people get what's coming to them before he makes a graceful exit. While some parts tended to drag and get a little overdone, the rest was so good that it made up for the lag. It's been a while since I've read dialogue that can make me laugh out loud.

"He couldn't resist adding, in English, 'I'm having a whale time.'

 Arnaud, whose English was only elementary, thought that whatever the reference to a whale, it was very sophisticated. '...Why are you having fun like a whale?'"

Taken in context, this was very funny. Jules could literally outsmart anyone with his words. And yet, he was poetic and poignant too.

"Quite simply, and make of it what you will: music is the voice of God."

With all that happened throughout the book I worried that it might fall apart at the end. I held my breath and hoped for a satisfying conclusion. I got it. It was as though the gates of heaven opened up, the light shined brightly and the characters faded out.

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