The third, Richie, is a ghost whose violent death is a mystery which has to be resolved for those who are still alive to find peace. The two of them are the main narrators of the story. Leonie is thirty she gave birth to Jojo when she was only seventeen. Sing, Unburied, Sing is the story of a mother and a son and the people who shaped them. I look forward to exploring more of her work, past and future. Her potential has been recognised with the famous MacArthur Fellowship, better known as the “Genius Grant” ($625,000 – allow a moment for this number to sink in) given to individuals residing in the United States who exemplify “extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction”. Ward is also the author of a memoir, Men We Reaped (2013), and the editor of an essay and poetry collection, The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks about Race (2016). She received the National Book Award for it and its predecessor, Salvage the Bones (2011), but already her debut, Where the Lines Bleed (2008), was highly acclaimed. This is no small feat, as she has only turned forty and Sing, Unburied, Sing is only her third novel. Ward is an American novelist and the first woman to win the prestigious National Book Award twice. But I am thrilled that I finally came across her work. Despite her impressive résumé, I had not heard of Jesmyn Ward before her latest novel, Sing, Unburied, Sing, was recommended to me by two local booksellers in the beginning of December.
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