Jesmyn Ward displays her prodigious talents in this 2011 novel, once again creating a living, breathing family struggling against social, racial, environmental, and economic forces.
Set against the backdrop of the arrival of Hurricane Katrina, "Salvage the Bones" features Esch and her brothers fighting for the small life they have carved out in the Mississippi backwaters. Meanwhile, Esch protects a secret, steels her heart, and shields her family from Mother Nature and an unforgiving landscape. Ward manages to insert setting as character, creating a forebidding presence that looms over all.
Ward's "Sing, Unburied, Sing" was my 2019 Scootie Award Winner as book of the year, so I'm an unequivocal fan. A giant of Southern literature, she has lived up to that mantle here, delivering a moving work that unwittingly makes us the eye in a storm of emotions.
No comments:
Post a Comment