Sing, Unburied, Sing
by Jesmyn Ward
Talk about a book with enormous amounts of praise. This book has sky-rocketed in popularity ever since it was published back in September 2017. It is a New York Times bestseller, won the National Book Award, was named one of the NYT best books of 2017, and was nominated for numerous other accolades. And it became the first choice for the Now Read This feature sponsored by PBS NewsHour and the New York Times, which is what pushed me to request the e-book from my local library.
Does it live up to the hype? Sing, Unburied, Sing is powerful and has an important message that needs to be heard in our society. There are scenes throughout the novel which so clearly highlight the challenges faced by poor, rural African Americans. The everyday racism integrated into daily life in many parts of the country are exposed in this novel through episodes faced by the family. You see the discrimination of these characters in connection with the subjects of incarceration, class, and race.
There is one powerful scene that sums up the message of the book most clearly for me. The story is told from the perspectives of JoJo, a thirteen year old biracial boy, and Leonie, his black mother. On their way back from picking up JoJo's white father from prison they are stopped by a cop. Leonie and the father are not saints by any stretch of the imagination and getting stopped could have some major consequences for them. During the traffic stop the cop is justifiably suspicious that something illegal is being covered up. His reaction is to forcefully handcuff both of JoJo's parents. What happens next is what makes this novel so significant to the telling of the American story.
Remember, JoJo is only a thirteen year old boy and at this point we have become well acquainted with his character. He is a kind boy who dotes on his much younger sister and strives to do good in the world. But the cop can't see that. All he can see is a young black man and despite no evidence that he is involved in his parents' wrongdoing he takes the young girl away from her brother and just as forcefully handcuffs him as well. The boy, frightened, unthinkably reaches for his pocket where he keeps a trinket given to him by his grandfather which results in a gun being pointed directly at his head while the cop yells violently at him. It is a story that we have seen so many times in recent years that so often ends in the shooting of what frequently turns out to be an unarmed man, or in too many cases a young unarmed boy.
And that is why a novel of this magnitude is so critical in this cultural moment. Because it is not impossible to see how things escalated so quickly. Something illegal was going down, someone moved in an unexpected way. And yet when you see it from the perspective of the innocent one who faces down the gun you can't help but see the failure in a system that is so ingrained in prejudice. To read a story from that perspective is how we as readers are able to empathize with our fellow citizens. For us to understand an experience that is not our own. For us to face down the barrel of a gun that shouldn't be meant for us. And all because of something we have no power to change.
I am grateful a novel like this has such critical acclaim and continues to be popular and highly requested at libraries across America. And I hope that this title makes its way into classrooms all across America because this is the type of story that can help spur a cultural revolution.
Head here for the Now Read This discussion guide.
Does it live up to the hype? Sing, Unburied, Sing is powerful and has an important message that needs to be heard in our society. There are scenes throughout the novel which so clearly highlight the challenges faced by poor, rural African Americans. The everyday racism integrated into daily life in many parts of the country are exposed in this novel through episodes faced by the family. You see the discrimination of these characters in connection with the subjects of incarceration, class, and race.
There is one powerful scene that sums up the message of the book most clearly for me. The story is told from the perspectives of JoJo, a thirteen year old biracial boy, and Leonie, his black mother. On their way back from picking up JoJo's white father from prison they are stopped by a cop. Leonie and the father are not saints by any stretch of the imagination and getting stopped could have some major consequences for them. During the traffic stop the cop is justifiably suspicious that something illegal is being covered up. His reaction is to forcefully handcuff both of JoJo's parents. What happens next is what makes this novel so significant to the telling of the American story.
Remember, JoJo is only a thirteen year old boy and at this point we have become well acquainted with his character. He is a kind boy who dotes on his much younger sister and strives to do good in the world. But the cop can't see that. All he can see is a young black man and despite no evidence that he is involved in his parents' wrongdoing he takes the young girl away from her brother and just as forcefully handcuffs him as well. The boy, frightened, unthinkably reaches for his pocket where he keeps a trinket given to him by his grandfather which results in a gun being pointed directly at his head while the cop yells violently at him. It is a story that we have seen so many times in recent years that so often ends in the shooting of what frequently turns out to be an unarmed man, or in too many cases a young unarmed boy.
And that is why a novel of this magnitude is so critical in this cultural moment. Because it is not impossible to see how things escalated so quickly. Something illegal was going down, someone moved in an unexpected way. And yet when you see it from the perspective of the innocent one who faces down the gun you can't help but see the failure in a system that is so ingrained in prejudice. To read a story from that perspective is how we as readers are able to empathize with our fellow citizens. For us to understand an experience that is not our own. For us to face down the barrel of a gun that shouldn't be meant for us. And all because of something we have no power to change.
I am grateful a novel like this has such critical acclaim and continues to be popular and highly requested at libraries across America. And I hope that this title makes its way into classrooms all across America because this is the type of story that can help spur a cultural revolution.
Head here for the Now Read This discussion guide.
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