75 pages 2 hours read

Jesmyn Ward

Sing, Unburied, Sing

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2017

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Before You Read

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Super Short Summary

In the fictional southern Mississippi town of Bois Sauvage, a biracial boy named Jojo celebrates his 13th birthday amidst his grandmother's terminal cancer and his mother's drug addiction. The family travels to Parchman to retrieve Jojo’s father, Michael, from prison, encountering a series of supernatural events and complex familial relationships along the way. The novel involves violence, drug use, and racially-motivated murder.

Reviews & Readership

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Review Roundup

Jesmyn Ward's Sing, Unburied, Sing is lauded for its lyrical prose and deeply emotional narrative, weaving complex family dynamics with elements of the supernatural. Reviewers praise its exploration of race, trauma, and resilience. Criticisms center on its bleak tone and dense symbolism, which some find overwhelming. Overall, it is a hauntingly powerful read that resonates deeply with its readers.

Who should read this

Who Should Read Sing, Unburied, Sing?

A reader who would enjoy Jesmyn Ward’s Sing, Unburied, Sing appreciates raw, lyrical prose and deep explorations of family, race, and Southern gothic themes. Fans of Toni Morrison’s Beloved and William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying would find the novel’s rich storytelling and complex, haunting narrative appealing.

RecommendedReading Age

18+years

Lexile Level

840L

Book Details

Themes

Relationships: Family