Sing, Unburied, Sing cover art

Sing, Unburied, Sing

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Sing, Unburied, Sing

By: Jesmyn Ward
Narrated by: Kelvin Harrison Jr., Chris Chalk, Rutina Wesley
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About this listen

An intimate portrait of a family and an epic tale of hope and struggle, Sing, Unburied, Sing examines 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. His mother, Leonie, is in constant conflict with herself and those around her. She is black and her children's father is white. Embattled in ways that reflect the brutal reality of her circumstances, she wants to be a better mother but can't put her children above her own needs, especially her drug use.

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 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 brings the archetypal road story into rural 21st century America. It is a majestic new work from an extraordinary and singular author.

©2017 Jesmyn Ward (P)2017 Audible, Ltd African American Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction

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All stars
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Rutina Wesley´s reading is incredible. The other performances are good as well, but she really stands out. The story starts slow and I was zoning out a lot, but half-way through it gets really good so it is worth sticking with it.

Takes some time but gets really good

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I loved this novel. The three voices perfectly narrated the visceral ache in the lives of all the . The landscape of the deep south and its humanity, family relationships and poverty treated with the utmost respect.

Dark , lyrical and beautiful

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I loved this book, a beautifully written piece that drew me in. Distressing subject but worth the trouble to listen. Great Narration by all the actors.

Excellent

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A very moving story. All of the characters were compelling, but particularly Leonie - the author had so much compassion for her without letting her off the hook for her selfishness. The magical realism elements were great: they added to the story and to the characters and fitted in v well.

The production was well done, with excellent narrators

very moving, with great characters

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Intensifying Captivating and poetic. so much depth and feeling. It allows you to see every scene.

Great read.

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This is a beautiful and painful story of a poor, mixed raced family dealing with the issues of racism, drugs, murder, cancer, prison, coming of age and family history. Chapters are told, and read, by different character voices. Principally there is Jojo, a teenage boy who is a surrogate parent to his baby sister, due to the parental failings of their needy, drug-using mother.They are on a journey to collect their mother's boyfriend from state penitentiary and during the trip we hear the family's dark histories. There are also the spirits of grieved characters along the way and JoJo acts as a conduit with his grandparents including the strong Pops and the dying grandmother. The story is massively overwritten and Ward is the queen of simile which she exploits throughout the story. This is beautifully written and performed but will leave the reader feeling wiser but mournful

A road trip through America's modern day racism

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I loved this audio. I also have the book so I read and listened to the audio depending on what I was doing. The audio was captivating as I sure if only read it would have also been. The story was written well from each point of view so easy to be caught up with each character and their perspective. I loved it

Captivating

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I didn’t see the point of the story. There were too many ghosts telling the story. The best character was Jo-Jo.

Not my favourite book

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