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Sing, Unburied, Sing
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Kelvin Harrison Jr., Chris Chalk, Rutina Wesley
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
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Sing, Unburied, Sing
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Publisher's Summary
WINNER of the NATIONAL BOOK AWARD for FICTION
Finalist for the Kirkus Prize
Finalist for the Andrew Carnegie Medal
Publishers Weekly Top 10 of 2017
"The heart of Jesmyn Ward's Sing, Unburied, Sing is story - the yearning for a narrative to help us understand ourselves, the pain of the gaps we'll never fill, the truths that are failed by words and must be translated through ritual and song...Ward's writing throbs with life, grief, and love, and this book is the kind that makes you ache to return to it." (Buzzfeed)
In Jesmyn Ward's first novel since her National Book Award-winning Salvage the Bones, this singular American writer brings the archetypal road novel into rural 21st-century America. An intimate portrait of a family and an epic tale of hope and struggle, Sing, Unburied, Sing journeys through Mississippi's past and present, examining the ugly truths at the heart of the American story and the power - and limitations - of family bonds.
Jojo is 13 years old and trying to understand what it means to be a man. He doesn't lack in fathers to study, chief among them his black grandfather, Pop. But there are other men who complicate his understanding: his absent white father, Michael, who is being released from prison; his absent white grandfather, Big Joseph, who won't acknowledge his existence; and the memories of his dead uncle, Given, who died as a teenager.
His mother, Leonie, is an inconsistent presence in his and his toddler sister's lives. She is an imperfect mother in constant conflict with herself and those around her. She is black, and her children's father is white. She wants to be a better mother but can't put her children above her own needs, especially her drug use. Simultaneously tormented and comforted by visions of her dead brother, which only come to her when she's high, Leonie is embattled in ways that reflect the brutal reality of her circumstances.
When the children's father is released from prison, Leonie packs her kids and a friend into her car and drives north to the heart of Mississippi and Parchman Farm, the state penitentiary. At Parchman, there is another 13-year-old 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.
Rich with Ward's distinctive, lyrical language, Sing, Unburied, Sing is a majestic new work and an unforgettable family story.
A 2018 RUSA “Listen-Alike” for LINCOLN IN THE BARDO
What the critics say
"There is a truth and grittiness here that narrators Kelvin Harrison, Rutina Wesley, and Chris Chalk enhance significantly with their powerful talents.... All in all, this excellent novel makes for exceptional listening." (AudioFile)
What listeners say about Sing, Unburied, Sing
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2018-10-02
Interesting
It was just an interesting story to listen to, or I missed the point. I loved the narrators!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Karen
- 2018-09-18
True Southern Gothicism
This story is told from several different viewpoints but the most resounding voice was a young boy named Jojo. A poverty stricken family living in Mississippi. It’s a powerful, beautiful, heartbreaking story that details love, hate, sadness, death, addiction, poverty, and racism. It’s beautifully written and haunting. The story was so powerful and it completely swept me away. This is one of those kinds of great works of literature that stays with you.
Jesmyn Ward is unbelievably talented and her books are a gift to the literary world.
#Audible1
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Aisha
- 2020-10-17
Loved it!
I don’t usually write reviews, but I loved this book so much, I felt I had to. Beautiful. I can’t wait to read her first novel.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Ramin
- 2020-01-28
Boring as dictionary!
I forced myself to listen for 40 minutes, and stopped listening to prevent killing myself. There was no logical train of thought, something that I could expect the story is about... Just story of miserable child... Sad, but not interesting for a book. Sorry, I am not going to recommend it.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Kathy from Regina, SK
- 2018-07-05
Too much
The narration was very tedious and drawn
out for Leoni’s voice - the overly descriptive phrases were just too much / the ending went on and on - the story went no where - glad I’m done
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Pearl
- 2018-08-05
Not impressed.
The story would have seemed more realistic if the prose was not so flowery and unlike what would have been realistic of the time and circumstances of the characters. It read like one long poem, as if it was a Toni Morrison ripoff. Unfortunately there is only one Toni Morrison and it showed. I like to hear a heart wrenching and heart warming story, this only scratched the surface.
The readers were awesome, except when shrill outbursts made me jump when the reader was acting out the child Makayla’s voice.
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