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Sunday, May 27, 2018

Salvage the Bones

Jesmyn Ward's novel takes place in Bois Sauvage, Mississippi, during the 12 days leading up to Hurricane Katrina. But in Esch's family, only her often-drunk father seems concerned about the approaching storm. He's running around gathering plywood for the windows and filling empty moonshine jugs with water. Esch and her brothers, on the other hand, are too consumed with their own problems to worry about a hurricane they don't believe is actually going to hit their town. After all, 15-year-old Esch just found out she's pregnant; her oldest brother, Randall, is  trying to figure out how to pay for basketball camp; Skeetah, the middle brother, can't think about anything other than his pit bull, China, and her brand new puppies; and Junior, the youngest, is too young to understand what a real hurricane can do.

This novel is "a wrenching look at the lonesome, brutal, and restrictive realities of rural poverty." It's gritty and raw, from its f-word filled prose to its tough-to-read dog fighting scenes. While I had the most sympathy for Esch and her struggles, I actually liked Randall and their friend, Big Henry, the best. Skeetah was equal parts likeable and frustrating. All of Ward's characters though felt very genuine and real. Overall, while good, this is not an easy book to read. At times it feels like a punch in the gut. Which made it hard for me to love it, or even like it that much. But I will definitely never forget it.

Happy Reading!

20 comments:

  1. Great review, I couldn't read this though, animal violence upsets me so much - the dog fighting scenes I just couldn't. xxx

    Lainy http://www.alwaysreading.net

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    1. The dog fighting scenes were tough...but then so was the opening scene where Skeetah's dog is giving birth. I wanted to close my eyes through both! ;)

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  2. I don't read animal cruelty scenes either-I find it too upsetting!

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    1. Yeah, I did not like those scenes at all!

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  3. I saw this one and was afraid that it would be hard to read. After reading your review, I'm glad I avoided it--even though I know that books that we don't actually like can still make a powerful impression.

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    1. This one did make an impression...but I'm not sure I'd recommend it to friends and family, 'cause I'm pretty sure they wouldn't like it.

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  4. As long as I’m prepared going into this kind I usually like them.

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    1. It's not a bad read...just not easy or always pleasant.

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  5. I remember when this one first came out and it was on everyone's book list. I still haven't gotten around to it but want to!

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    1. I'd love to hear what you think of it if you ever do read it! :)

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  6. Sounds like it would be a difficult book to read, but interesting. Katrina was so devastating to so many who never got to tell their story.

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    1. What's funny is that most of this book takes place before Katrina even hits...which almost makes it more depressing: that their lives were so bad even before the hurricane.

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  7. I am glad you liked this book, and I can imagine how it is not an easy read, just like Sing, unburied, sing is not an easy read. I am glad I still have Salvage the bones on my shelves and I will read it soon.

    Kind regards,

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    1. I can't wait to hear what you think of this one! I hope you review it, but if not, let me know what you thought of this family and this book. :)

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  8. I want to give this a go. I read Sing, Unburied, Sing this year but didn't love it the way everyone else seemed to. I have heard this book is better than her second. But yeah, the animal cruelty aspects will be hard to take.

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    1. Yeah, I kind of skimmed the dog fighting chapter. Reading about the puppies being born was almost as bad. Ward is not an author who shies away from gritty reality. :)

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  9. Yeah, I think I'm going to keep avoiding this one. Too raw.

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  10. I found this to be a difficult read too--because of the animal cruelty aspect. I had read an interview with the author about how controversial that part of her novel was, but she felt it was important to include it because of how integral it was to the culture of her characters and the setting. I do think this was a powerful book in many ways and it will stay with me a long while too. But in the end, I can't say I liked it much. I just couldn't get past my bias.

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    1. Powerful is a good word for this story. But like you, I didn't like it much either. And I'm not sure she needed to be quite so graphic and gritty to tell the story, you know?

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