54 Book Review
Sing, Unburied, Sing By Jesmyn Ward Reviewed by Kristy Dolson
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
October 2020
ARTS & CULTURE
I
n my last review, I vowed to amplify historically marginalized voices, so this month I would like to bring Jesmyn Ward’s phenomenal novel Sing, Unburied, Sing to your attention. It is a narrative driven by ghosts, and it filled me with an increasing sense of horror. As such, this timely take on the road-trip novel is a perfect recommendation for October. The novel opens on the thirteenth birthday of Jojo, the main protagonist. He lives with his black maternal grandparents on their Mississippi Gulf Coast farm. The family is poor, but their love for each other is evident in the acts they carry out together to survive. JoJo’s white father, a man named Michael, is about to be released from the state penitentiary. So, Leonie, his drug-addicted and mostly absent mother, decides to take him and his threeyear-old sister Kayla on a journey across the state to bring Michael home. Along the way, Ward’s characters confront the power and limitations of the bonds of family while grappling with the oppressive racial and class history of America. The narrative unfolds through the perspectives of three principal characters: JoJo, his mother Leonie, and the ghost Ritchie. Alone, these characters are unable to deliver the full story. By providing multiple perspectives of this family’s history, Ward invites readers to consider how complex family ties can bind and alienate simultaneously. It is a beautifully layered book that keeps readers engaged. However, that engagement comes with a price. My feelings for this novel are complicated, and I am still actively sifting through my thoughts. Ward’s writing is intimate and powerful, sure to leave readers devastated. The more I reflect on the book, the more I can identify distinct elements of the horror genre at work here. The horror genre has historically been used to portray evil aspects of humanity with the intention of invoking fear and disgust. Readers are meant to reflect on these aspects and feelings in order to confront social ills and make efforts to reduce or eliminate them. Think of such
2020�10��(October)_2.indd 54
classics as Frankenstein, Dracula, or The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. But historically, whiteness, and the systems that promote the privilege of whiteness have never been positioned as inherently evil. In Sing, Unburied, Sing, white people and the systems they represent are positioned as the monster. A climactic incident – the family pulled over by a white police officer – reverberates through the remainder of the novel. As witnesses to this life-threatening event, we cannot look away. We must not. At this moment in time, black lives continue to be devalued and dismissed. It is critical for white readers to see themselves through the eyes of those they have enslaved and oppressed. Otherwise, we will never understand the pain and fear of people who are systemically othered. Nor will we feel compelled to change the systems responsible for this continued oppression. The novel is an exhausting experience and not for the faint of heart. The ghosts in our collective psyche are real. Ward’s novel deserves a place in the canon of American literature and a broad readership. Together we must confront them with the hope of creating a better future.
The Reviewer
Kristy Dolson lived in South Korea for five years before taking a year off to travel, read, and spend time with her family in Canada and Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Education and has now returned to Gwangju, where she splits her time between teaching at the new Jeollanamdo International Education Institute and reading as much as she can.
9/23/2020 11:05:44 AM
