75 pages • 2 hours read
Jesmyn WardSing, Unburied, Sing
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2017A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Before You Read
Super Short Summary
In the fictional southern Mississippi town of Bois Sauvage, a biracial boy named Jojo celebrates his 13th birthday amidst his grandmother's terminal cancer and his mother's drug addiction. The family travels to Parchman to retrieve Jojo’s father, Michael, from prison, encountering a series of supernatural events and complex familial relationships along the way. The novel involves violence, drug use, and racially-motivated murder.
Reviews & Readership
Review Roundup
Jesmyn Ward's Sing, Unburied, Sing is lauded for its lyrical prose and deeply emotional narrative, weaving complex family dynamics with elements of the supernatural. Reviewers praise its exploration of race, trauma, and resilience. Criticisms center on its bleak tone and dense symbolism, which some find overwhelming. Overall, it is a hauntingly powerful read that resonates deeply with its readers.
Who Should Read Sing, Unburied, Sing?
A reader who would enjoy Jesmyn Ward’s Sing, Unburied, Sing appreciates raw, lyrical prose and deep explorations of family, race, and Southern gothic themes. Fans of Toni Morrison’s Beloved and William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying would find the novel’s rich storytelling and complex, haunting narrative appealing.
RecommendedReading Age
18+yearsLexile Level
840L