Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

I truly don't know how to describe this book. It is a beautifully worded story, that is for sure, even has it has moments of pure heartbreaking despair.

Jojo is a young boy, only 13, and he has seen more pain than any child should but too many do. He lives with his grandparents and his drug addicted and abusive mother comes in and out of the home. His grandpa, Pop, is a strong Black man who tries to counter his daughter's mistreatment of her children. His grandma, Mam, is loving and tries to care for her grandchildren and love them enough for her and her daughter. Their daughter, Jojo's mom, Leonie, is broken and hiding in her drug addles mind and lashes out at her children. In moments of clarity she knows she loves them but can't love them enough. Michael, Jojo's father, is a white man in jail and about to come home. A trip to go get him is the backdrop for the tale Ward tells.

This story doesn't really delve into the addict's mind and go into why or why not Leonie isn't doing more to get clean or why she is an addict in the first place. It doesn't blame anyone. It isn't really her story. This is Jojo's story. It is about how he tries to figure out who he is and where he is going, what it means to be a man. He is two very different examples, his Pop, who is a responsible, silent, strong, Black man. Not a man of many words, he leaves no doubt that he loves Jojo and his little sister Kayla. Then there is his father Michael and Michael's father Joseph. No love or comfort comes from them. This grandfather is a racist and uses the N word when speaking about his grandchildren and their mother. Michael appears to want to love and care for his children but he is as lost as Leonie and never really is able to follow through.

Using ghosts and crossing over or being stuck here on earth after death as a major catalyst Ward explores how the actions of others can wound so deeply nothing can touch the hurt, except sometimes, when love is there and strong enough and constant, then it can. But it doesn't end the hurt, it just mitigates it.

I'm left feeling conflicted. I really found this a beautifully written book but it isn't easily described and so I am not sure how to tell you about it. I tried. I hope you will read it yourself. Maybe after you do you can come back and tell me what you thought.

(Finished December 26, 2017)