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Sing, Unburied, Sing

Jesmyn Ward

Jesmyn Ward’s writing is a thing of beauty. Sentences are so gorgeous and poetic, you want to luxuriate in them. Much of what she writes about in “Sing, Unburied, Sing,” on the other hand, isn’t beautiful — parental neglect, racial prejudice, drug addiction, poverty. Jojo, 13, is a laconic but deep-feeling boy who is a surrogate parent to his toddler sister Kayla. They are all but ignored by mother Leonie; she is addicted to drugs and to their father, Michael, who is in jail. Leonie is black; Michael is white. That doesn’t please some people, including his parents. Fortunately, Leonie’s parents are a positive, affectionate influence on Jojo and Kayla. “Sing” dips into magical realism, too, as Leonie’s murdered brother appears to her, and a boy who died after being sentenced to prison shadows Jojo. Ward weaves it all into a haunting read.