June 2018 Sing, Unburied, Sing

[Val]

Our June book is Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward.

Reviews:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/22/bo...
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entert...
https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/bo...
https://www.ft.com/content/bec9d588-c...

[Penny]

I have this already but not the May book. This one looks a slimmer book so might be a quicker read

[Val]

This was the 'bookies favourite' before the prize announcement and I think it deserved its place on the shortlist.
Is anyone else intending to read it?
If you have already read it, what did you think?

[Penny]

I am about a quarter through - it's good so far with an original voice.

[Lagullande]

Val wrote: "This was the 'bookies favourite' before the prize announcement and I think it deserved its place on the shortlist.
Is anyone else intending to read it?
If you have already read it, what did you think?"

I am intending to read it, Val, and I have it downloaded on my Kindle to take on holiday. But good intentions and all that.....

[Penny]

enjoy your holiday Lagullande - sometimes its a good time for getting through a book!

[Val]

Kindles really come into their own on holiday, hundreds of books to read without excess baggage fees. Have a great time Lagullande and if you don't get around to reading much, I hope it is because you are doing something exciting.

[Ace]

I have already read this one, not too long ago and will chime in when the discussion gets going. I really liked some parts of this book, some characters especially. But I did have some issues with the book.
I more recently read her Salvage the Bones and perhaps could have benefitted from reading these the other way around. Ward has a way of describing the grim life of poor families of America.

[Ace]

Enjoy your holiday Lagullande!

[Val]

Ace, (view spoiler)[was that the problem telling Jojo and his mother apart? I think you could raise that now, as it not a plot spoiler. (hide spoiler)]

[Ace]

Val, one of my issues was with Leonie (view spoiler)[and the way she thought vs the way she spoke. It didn't seem like the same person to me. I have had this discussion around her well spoken inner monologue with another group and others also detected a bit of a mismatch there. Not everyone was bothered by it, some defended it. (hide spoiler)]


(To be honest, I really hate myself for criticising Jesmyn Ward, she is super cool in real life. )

[Val]

I have a similar issue with Elif Batuman. I like her articles, but disliked her novel.

[Val]

The discussion never really got going on this one. Would you like me to find some book club type questions?
(This discussion will remain active and prioritised, even though we are starting a new book tomorrow.)

[Penny]

I'm still reading this but -got my copy of the and to my complete surprise I'm loving it! So I have the 2 on the go!

[Penny]

So I finally finished this one.
My thoughts - the writing is original and fresh, it is, in places, gritty, rough and raw and in others ephemeral. For me the cross over of ghost's voices and the real world was where I lost the plot a bit. I don't read fantasy or magical realism very often as I find it unbelievable. I found that the main story clashed with this side of the story - I was often lost as to who was real and who was dead. My biggest stumbling block was Leonie and Michael being such appalling parents. Jojo cares more for Kayla than Leonie does, in fact Leonie is consistently selfish and irresponsible, placing her children in bad situations with drugs and people she can't trust. I could not like her nor her friend. I was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt but as the story continued I was less willing to do so. Michael too is uncaring towards his children and doesn't place value on his family. Michael's relationship with his parents seemed just about redeemable but they didn't take the opportunity. Leonie's parents were the most decent in the book and without them the 2 children would have had no safety at all.

I struggled to finish this book mainly due to the characters of Leonie and Michael, and the style of writing. At times the writing was poetic - but in snippets. Other sections were in short jagged sentences that I found disrupted the flow of the narrative. Sometimes I would have to stop to work out what the subject of the sentence was. Add into that the ghosts appearing and the choppy timeline - I wasn't gripped and, while I'm glad I read it, I would not say it was a great read.