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Sing, Unburied, Sing

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Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

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By Jesmyn Ward

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2 reviews

Jojo is thirteen years old and trying to understand what it means to be a man. His mother, Leonie, is in constant conflict with herself and those around her. She is black and her children’s father is white. Embattled in ways that reflect the brutal reality of her circumstances, she wants to be a better mother but can’t put her children above her own needs, especially her drug use.

When the children’s father is released from prison, Leonie packs her kids and friend into her car and drives north to the heart of Mississippi and Parchman Farm, the State Penitentiary. At Parchman, there is another boy, the ghost of a dead inmate who carries all of the ugly history of the South with him in his wandering. He too has something to teach Jojo about fathers and sons, about legacies, about violence, about love.

Reviews

01 Oct 2018

Annette

Brilliant book. Beautifully written, great characters (especially Jojo), painful, thought provoking, gripping, moving. Everything a good book should be. Loved it.

29 May 2018

karen

A great story with very strong voices throughout. There are characters you root for all the way through, and others with just moments of humanity. I found the story of the older generation and what they went through even more interesting than the modern storyline.

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