Although an initial look at the blurb for this would make you think it's a dark and depressing tale of life on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, it's so much more. The paranormal aspects of the novel- when the ghosts talk to poor Jojo- are the best part because they impart so much wisdom, even it might not seem so on the surface. All of these characters are sympathetic, even Jojo's lost mother, because you might recognize them, even across the boundaries of race and class. Ward has a lovely style of writing which is both literary and accessible. I believe this will be a wonderful book club selection and I'd recommend it to everyone, both young and old. Younger readers may focus on Jojo, older on Pop and Mam, and Leonie. Thanks for the ARC. This is a special book.

I read all Jesmyn Ward’s books. “Salvage the Bones” was one of my all time most loved books, and this one is every bit as good. Seeringly honest, emotional, sad, uncomfortable, and stunningly written. A story about poverty, and racism through the lens of an understandably dysfunctional mixed race family in Mississippi, but laced with small islands of good. Ghosts as well, but not in the usual sense. Ward has proven that she is truly a great writer who can continie to write great books. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an Advance Reader Copy.

Having reading multiple award-winning Jesmyn Ward's other books, I was anxious to read her latest novel, due out this September. This is a stunning tale, showing both the beauty and the pain in the Mississippi Delta of today and the decades past. Told through the eyes of multiple narrators, this is a powerful exploration of southern history: Jojo, a thirteen year old boy who lives with his grandparents and baby sister, while his drug-addicted mother passes through his life; Leonie, the mother who sees her murdered brother only when she is high; and Richie, a ghost of a young boy whose complicated friendship with the grandfather provides context for the past. As Leonie goes on an odyssey to retrieve her white boyfriend from prison, we see shades of Greek heroes as obstacles must be overcome and oracles show the path that lies ahead. Surrealism, akin to Toni Morrison's writing, are sprinkled throughout as Jojo, his grandmother, and even his baby sister see the ghosts of times long ago who listen for the songs to be sung. Imbued with truly stunning writing, the tangled tragedies of the past affect all the character's present, highlighting issues with racism, drugs, and parenting choices not only in prison, in our schools and in families. This is a powerful book; it would be an excellent choice for a book club or a classroom, providing some provocative discussion points.

Liked a lot, but not loved. I do actually think it's perfect for fall so the release date (9/5/17) is spot-on. It felt a little like a Toni Morrison novel but may be but as well fleshed out.

This novel is a raw, yet lyrical, journey into the brokenness of an American family. Wards writing is beautiful, however, I felt like I was working the whole way through trying to figure out the deeper meaning. Like a poem that sounds beautiful, but is difficult to understand. It was short & did keep me reading. In the end it just didn't work for me.... I think I needed to be in the right mood for this & I wasn't. I know that I'm in the vast minority in my thoughts on this one. 3 stars.

At first, I was very confused by where this was going. The POVs sort of jumped all over the place, and it was downright depressing. But then it occurred to me that these are the stories that families like mine don't tell--the stories of the bodies that form the roots of their family tree, the ones that fell from the branches, or were pulled down, and those who are left to seed.

This is both a book about a road trip AND a ghost story, and neither are optimistic. The pages are literally covered in vomit from beginning to end, and the whole thing reeks of it. These people are surrounded by family, but their circumstances drag them down down down and Jesmyn Ward holds back nothing as she shows us exactly what race, poverty, and drug addiction will do to a person. Add in grief and cancer--it's just a devastating mess.

Phew. That is a lot of sadness in one paragraph. I should tell you that the writing is fantastic. The book is not an easy one to get through because of the subject matter, but there are a lot of people comparing this to Morrison or Faulkner. Personally, I had a hard time connecting to it, but from a reviewer's standpoint, this book is going to get a lot of acclaim--Ward has already won a National Book Award for Salvage the Bones, and I wouldn't be surprised to see her take awards for this one as well. I rate this somewhere between a 3 and a 4. I struggled with it, but that doesn't at all negate the author's brilliance--more my personal shortcomings.

Haunting. Jesmyn Ward has been described as the heir to Toni Morrison, and she absolutely deserves that title. She relentlessly depicts the effects of poverty, racism, and drugs in the deep South. But while Salvage the Bones shows the strength of family ties, Sing, Unburied, Sing heartbreakingly shows their limitations. This is a devastating story that I will be thinking about for a long time.

A contemporary setting with a classic feel. The incredible depth of personal and family tragedy makes this one incredibly heart-wrenching and unforgettable. It is impossible to read it and not think of great American authors such as William Faulkner and Toni Morrison.

Ward pushes you through the emotional wringer as she plunges you into the life of a mixed race family with the past seeping blatantly into their daily dysfunctional lives. I became emotionally attached to 13-year-old JoJo and kept wishing him strength as he becomes a man as the son of a black mother - Leonie, who shows no love, and a white father - Michael, who in the first part of the book is in prison.

This story is full of abuse and neglect. It also shows how the history of slavery and discrimination survives the past to continue to influence lives. It also contain some paranormal undertones.

Many thanks to Jesmyn Ward and Scribner through Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Relentlessly sad and beautifully written. Sing, Unburied, Sing is about the evil that festers from deep seated poverty and racism. It's also about the small pockets of good and sanity people manage to build in horribly adverse circumstances. Jojo and Kayla live with their mother and grandparents in Mississippi. Their mother Leonie is black and their father Michael is white. Their parents have no idea how to be parents, and thankfully their mother's parents do. Leonie and Jojo are haunted by ghosts, bringing a touch of magical realism to the mix. Ward is a ridiculously talented writer. Half the book takes place over a two day car ride that Ward manages to make riveting by giving so much life to the nuanced emotions between the characters. I'm not big into ghosts, but I was ok with what Ward does with these ghosts. Really, I think that Ward could write about pretty much anything and make me interested. Smart, moving, uncomfortable, and, again, relentlessly sad. Highly recommended. Thanks to Angela and Diane for another great monthly buddy read -- we all seemed to gallop through this one. And thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.

I almost always read just before going to sleep, and occasionally I wake up thinking about the characters, feeling like I have to get back to the book because I just have to know what's going to happen to them . This is what happened with this story. To me that's so telling about how Jesmyn Ward creates characters that are so real that you worry about them as if they were people you know, children that you want to be safe. That's just one of the strengths of her writing - the intimacy that we as readers get to share with these characters. It's a gritty, unbearably sad story of a Mississippi family. I'm not even going to touch on the plot. You can read the Goodreads description for that. I would prefer to try and convey how much I was impacted by this story. I can say that I loved Jojo, the thirteen year old son of a black woman and a white man. A boy who becomes a man, in spite of parental neglect and abuse because he has grandparents who care for him and who love him and his three year old sister so deeply. There are poignant moments when Pop tells Jojo stories - "He tells me stories. Stories about eating cattails after his daddy been out gathering them from the marsh. Stories about how his mama and her people used to collect Spanish moss to stuff their mattresses. Sometimes he'll tell me the same story three, even four times. Hearing him tell them makes me feel like his voice is a hand he's reached out to me... ". Then there are the moments when Jojo reaches out his hand to Kayla by telling her stories.

I loved his grandfather, Pop, and also Richie, the ghost of Pop's past who comes to Jojo and sees what we as readers see: "Riv hugs them even when he's not in the same room with them, even when he's not touching them. The boy, JoJo, and the girl, Kayla. Riv holds them close.... they go off to to Riv's garden, where they pick strawberries and blackberries and weed until the sun is high. They eat the berries from the bush. I expect to see a winged shadow over them, but there is nothing but this : the garden, green and sweet. Life-giving flowers, ushering forth sweetness from fruit."

To say this is an intense read is putting it mildly. Readers should know they will find drugs and violence and racism of the past and present and death and ghosts here. There will be times when the incompetent and senseless treatment of these children at the hands of their parents will make you sick. But there is also love and understanding and traces of hope because there are people who love them. This story not only spoke to me, it sang about home and heart and love that exists amid the heartbreak.

A monthly read along with two of my favorite book buddies , Diane and Esil. The quotes are from an advanced copy so may change in the finished book.)I received an advanced copy of this book from Scribner through NetGalley and Edelweiss.

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32920226-sing-unburied-sing" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Sing, Unburied, Sing" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1499340866m/32920226.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32920226-sing-unburied-sing">Sing, Unburied, Sing</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1676417.Jesmyn_Ward">Jesmyn Ward</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1891827253">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
I would give this book a 4.5 rating.<br />Beautifully written, haunting, very sad. In this story we have biracial children being taken care of by the grandparents, a drug addicted mother, their father in prison, a grandmother who is dying, and a loving grandfather. Oh, and we also have ghosts, yes, quite a few ghosts.<br />Jojo one of a few different narrators of this book is just bogged down with the responsibility of his little sister Kayla..he is the only constant for her, he and his grandfather really pulled at my heartstrings!<br />I plan to read more by this author, this is the first of hers that I've read.<br /><br />Many thanks to Scribner for the ARC.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/12851291-karen">View all my reviews</a>

This is the first book I have read by Jesmyn Ward, and it made me want to go out and buy all of her other books. The majority of this book takes place in a car, and moves quickly. The writing is engaging and perfectly timed. It deals with difficult topics and situations in the most real way. Everyone should read this book

I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book tackles things like racism, poverty, drug addiction, lack of healthcare, and...ghosts?

It's a story about 13 year old Jojo having to be much older than he is, acting like a parent for his sister. It's about his mother Leonie who doesn't have much room for love for her children in her heart, but going out of her way to drag them to their father's release from prison. It's about grandpa Riv and the guilt and memories he's carried from Parchman prison while taking care of his dying wife. And it's about all the ghosts that haunt them.

Switching from different POVs so you can see how they see each other, it's a story about how hardships can bring people together or force them apart.

While Leonie is a very difficult character to like, Jesmyn Ward did a good job making her easy to understand. The "ghost" subplots were a bit out there and it sort of came together in the end. Sort of.

4.25/5 stars.

Copy furnished by Net Galley for the price of a review.

Beautiful words tell a sad story. Restless spirits, unhappy lives, pure love, and hope. There are those who can see, and those who cannot. The ways in which we differ, and yet end up being all the same. Fixing things to make up for what cannot be repaired. A haunting cadence that sings the song of life. This one is something special.

Jojo is about to turn 13. He lives with his maternal grandparents, his mostly absent mother (Leonie), and his younger sister (Kayla). Jojo's father (Michael) is about to get out of prison. But there are secrets here. Jesmyn Ward's novel Sing, Unburied, Sing is beautifully written. Told in alternating viewpoints, it is captivating from the first page.

There is something Toni Morrison-esque about the way Ward weaves the personal histories of these individuals and the revelations they provide.

I'm conflicted about SING UNBURIED SING. While reading, it is abundantly clear you are in the presence of an incredibly skilled writer. There were breathtakingly beautiful metaphors and similes like "they turn to each other like plants following the sun across the sky. They are each other's light." The syncopation to the dialogue, the stops and starts of the threads in paragraphs, all help this story move in and out of time, defined by it but not constrained. Pop's stories about Richie that trail off and try to contain a multitude of horrors help set up the Pandora's box feeling, the "waiting for the other shoe to drop" sense permeating the whole narrative. But what kept me in admiration rather than love was that the characters' thoughts and actions always felt a little too orchestrated to me, a bit too much authorial hand. Kayla and Jojo came the closest; I'd love to see Kayla get her own novel as a grown woman. So though I wished for characters who came off the page a little more, overall, it must be said that this is an artfully crafted novel raising critical questions about who we count as family, and what our obligations are to those we love and who have loved us.

****4.5****

An intense and haunting book by Ward, who is also a National Book Award winner for “Salvage the Bones”.

I received an E-ARC from the published and I was reluctant to read this as I knew that some intense story is involved but yet I wanted to know it.

It’s a story about Jojo’s family. Jojo’s Mam and Pop, his mother Leoni, Father Michael and his toddler sister Kayla. This is also a story of addiction, of poverty, of dreams. Narrated through Jojo and his mother Leoni, slowly the story unfolds.

“A clean burning shot through my bones, and then I forgot. The shoes I didn’t buy, the melted cake…”

Jojo and Kayla are looked after by his maternal grandparents whom he calls as Mam and Pop. Pop still hardworking but tired. Mam, bedridden because of cancer. Leoni addicted to coke usually forgets to be a normal-caring mother, Michael who is in prison and Kayla still a toddler. Jojo’s only distraction is the ghost of a boy from his Pop’s youth. Leoni finds solace in her dead brother Given’s ghost.

But when Michael gets released from the prison, Leoni takes up a road trip along with her kids and friend to pick her husband from the prison. There is always a slight difference between losing the sanity and not losing it. Each and everyone struggling to cope with the demons that are haunting them. Road trip ends back at Pop’s house but the tragic end breaks our heart.

Brilliant narration which did justice to different issues like racism, poverty, addiction and also dreams, hopes.

ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

A native of Louisiana and growing up in the rural South, this novel reached deep down and took hold of my heart. Ms. Ward's understanding and nuance in the depiction of rural poverty in the South, especially the black community is so familiar and haunting. The familial ties and love shared between JoJo and Kayla, two children with old souls shaped by their fierce, loving grandparents and flawed parents make their journey resonate in every page. Jesmyn Ward has crafted another beautiful work that gives voice to the unheard black rural community in the South and its rich, layered lyrical language lingers in your mind long after closing the book.

I should say upfront that I didn’t really bond with Sing Unburied Sing.

I am sure the novel is worthy; dealing with poverty and racial identity in southern Mississippi. I am sure the language is poetic and the imagery is evocative. But there was something that just wasn’t there for me. Perhaps it was that the three voices — a mother, a teenage boy, and the ghost of a juvenile convict — were indistinguishable. Perhaps it was that much of the story (surely there was one) was obscured by over-elaborate metaphor and convoluted language. Perhaps it was the constant presence of two ghosts, each seen by a different narrator, became confusing. Perhaps it was the drifting from past to present, from direct narration to reporting of other narrators…

Whatever it was, it made it difficult to really feel invested in the fates of Jojo, his mother Leonie, his sister Kayla, his elderly grandparents and his convict father. Individual scenes might have sparkled — Leonie (black) and Jojo (mixed race) pitching up at Leonie’s white racist parents in law; or Jojo stepping in to nurture Kayla when Leonie was not interested. But together, the whole thing just doesn’t have enough narrative drive or character development to sustain interest.

I did persevere to the end in the hope that something would click and it would all come together. Be warned, it doesn’t. As long as you are loving the book, keep reading. But if you aren’t then be aware that all that lies ahead of you is more of the same…