*This information about Jesmyn Ward is copied directly from the back cover of Salvage the Bones: I picked up the latter mainly because I read The Fire Next Time, an essay by James Baldwin, earlier this semester. Sing, Unburied, Sing is sitting on my dresser waiting for me to find free time, along with The Fire This Time, a collection of essays and poems addressing race in the United States.
There wasn’t anything that I truly disliked about Salvage the Bones, except for that one previously mentioned, and truly horrendous, character, but some of my classmates didn’t particularly enjoy the detailed descriptions that the narrator offers.Īlthough I had mixed feelings when I first picked up the book, Salvage the Bones has become one of my favorites, and I’m excited to start reading Ward’s other books. If you read this, you will meet a character that you will absolutely abhor (my classmates were in unanimous agreement about this), and characters who you will root for throughout the entire novel. One of the reasons why I loved Salvage the Bones so much was because of Jesmyn Ward’s ability to evoke such intense emotions. While some of the male characters in the book underestimate her strength, both physical and emotional, she proves that like the hurricane, she is a force to be reckoned with. Esch was a strong female character, navigating life among men, and acting as a strong force in her family. The novel was beautifully written, and one aspect that I appreciated was the ubiquitous theme of femininity. This story captures the importance of family, love, loyalty, and survival. Although Esch has no women in her life to look up to, she finds her female role models in unlikely places. Esch narrates the twelve-day journey that leads her to the discovery of her own feminine power and the acceptance of her newly-discovered pregnancy, while she also struggles along with her family to prepare for the impending hurricane.
The story is told through the eyes of Esch, a fifteen-year-old motherless young woman who is living among her three brothers and father. Salvage the Bones is set in Bois Sauvage, Mississippi, and takes place right before, during, and immediately after Hurricane Katrina. Apparently, one of my friends cried when she finished the book.
Things like passionate hatred, deep concern, and that profound, penetrating warmth that bubbles up when something a bit too sweet happens.
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