Salvage the Bones

A Novel

Bloomsbury presents Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward, read by January LaVoy.

Winner of the National Book Award
A New York Times Best Book of the 21st Century
An Atlantic Great American Novel of the Last 100 Years

"A taut, wily novel, smartly plotted and voluptuously written . . . Jesmyn Ward makes beautiful music, plays deftly with her reader’s expectations." —Parul Sehgal, New York Times

The National Book Award-winning novel from the author of Let Us Descend and Men We Reaped—a gritty but tender story of family and poverty in the days leading up to Hurricane Katrina.

A hurricane is building over the Gulf of Mexico, threatening the coastal town of Bois Sauvage, Mississippi, and Esch's father is growing concerned. A hard drinker, largely absent, he doesn't show concern for much else. Esch and her three brothers are stocking food, but there isn't much to save. Lately, Esch can't keep down what food she gets; she's fourteen and pregnant. Her brother Skeetah is sneaking scraps for his prized pitbull's new litter, dying one by one in the dirt. Meanwhile, brothers Randall and Junior try to stake their claim in a family long on child's play and short on parenting.

As the twelve days that make up the novel's framework yield to their dramatic conclusion, this unforgettable family—motherless children sacrificing for one another as they can, protecting and nurturing where love is scarce—pulls itself up to face another day. A big-hearted novel about familial love and community against all odds, and a wrenching look at the lonesome, brutal, and restrictive realities of rural poverty, Salvage the Bones is muscled with poetry, revelatory, and real.©2011 Jesmyn Ward (P)2021 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Raw, realistic, and human

My immediate conclusion right off the bat: this book made me uncomfortable in ways I feel I need to be made uncomfortable, and a few I didn't realize were necessary. This is not an easy read. This is not a pleasant read. And it shouldn't be. Great art should disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed, and this does that in spades. I had to set this down and come back to it when I felt I was in a stronger mental state to handle it, and this book is one of maybe...three?...to hold that distinction. If I were to levy complaint against this work, my only gripe is the personal taste matter of an abundance (in my subjective taste, overabundance) of similes that rapidly became stumbling points for me personally, and while they were vivid and descriptive and likely necessary, at one or two points I did find myself actively thinking they were laid on a bit much. again, that is my personal opinion as far as stylistic choices, and should not reflect the quality of the work as a whole. maybe that's one of the hallmarks of Gothic writing (I found this listed as Gothic fiction I should read) that I haven't picked up on or at least hadn't registered until now, that is entirely possible. still, the story is fantastic and phenomenal and should not be read unless you are in a mindset that is able to handle being challenged and taken outside of your everyday experience.

a beautiful portrait of life, family, and survival

the voice of the reader is superb, just the right amount of southern affectation. the writing has a unique lyricism and rhythm. the story ended and I wanted more, the characters are so rich and so loveable, simple human beings striving under an angry sky. a beautiful harrowing personal intimate look at surviving hurricane Katrina. I love that the Katrina is not the focus of the story but rather the backdrop, in this we get to glimpse into the special, beautiful- ugly of the lives of this family. it evoked a very gentle stubborn ache in my soul. I'm grateful for having read it.

A literary wonder

The strong storyline and rich characters are elevated by the language and metaphors used to tell the story. This book is not for the squeamish as there is blood and sex, but I was enraptured by it.

Jesmyn Ward is a lyrical writer.

Ward’s description throughout this heartbreaking story puts the reader in the eye of the storm.

Beautiful and Heartbreaking

Narrator January LaVoy read Jesmyn Ward’s Salvage the Bones with the depth of a true storyteller. The story was rich, engaging, and heartbreaking.