Sing, Unburied, Sing

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward    320 pages 

 Excellent book!   A family's tale through three generations growing up in Mississippi and the racism they were forced to endure.   Encounters so intense that the ghosts of the tortured can't leave, they come back and try hard to connect with the living.    Maybe it is the hurt within each life the ghosts sense and reach out to, the mourning, the grief, the remembering as tales are told and shared down through the generations.   Many individuals, each with problems that feel like mountains to climb without direction on how to get to the top.   A young man, JoJo is the center of the story but the past clings on him as he helps his grandparents raise his sister until the day his mother shows back up with another boyfriend and why are the ghosts contacting JoJo?   Hasn't he got enough to deal with?   Lots revolves around the State Penitentiary and the many men who spent time there.    So much sadness to overcome but a brilliantly told story.    I highly recommend this book.   It is a gripping story that will remain with the reader.   Great character development on all the souls involved and the nurturing spirits of grandparents standing in with all the love that parents ought to be giving.    Well told tale.   I have to go with this being a mature young adult or maybe adult book given that the themes can be so utterly horrifying to think about then to be able to continue reading beyond those points.  Definite recommended reading.