It was with pleasure that I read this insightful review of Sing, Unburied, Sing from Trish Reviews by the Book. Trish discusses Ward’s use of ghost to give a voice to the voiceless slaves of the South whose lives were brutally stolen from them. Trish also discusses the metaphor of journey in the novel. I recommend that you read her insightful blog post.

In Jesmyn Ward’s novel, the unburied who yearn to be heard are the ghosts of the slaves who were denied justice in their lifetimes. One such murdered ghost, thirteen-year-old Richie, attaches himself to another thirteen-year-old, Jojo, and refuses to let go until his story is told in full, until he is heard. The telling of Richie’s story provides part of the framework of Jojo’s coming-of-age quest in which Jojo tries “to understand what it means to be a man.” Ironically, aside from grandparents Pop and Mam, Jojo is the most grown-up character in the novel.

Pop is wise and compassionate, and along with Mam, establishes the perfect role model for Jojo. As a young man unjustly incarcerated at Parchman, Pop was forced to witness atrocities and to act in ways contrary to his nature. Yet Pop never lost his inner core of humanity and does his best to pass that legacy to his grandchildren. (If you’re wondering about the history behind Parchman Farms established in 1901—a “legalized” form of post-reconstruction slavery in which black men were rounded up on trumped-up charges—you can find some background information here.)

Despite grandfather Pop’s gentle life lessons, Jojo has yet to understand death. In the beginning, Jojo vomits when Pop butchers a hog for their dinner; at the same time, Jojo knows grandmother Mam is dying of cancer. What better guide to the mysteries of inevitable, impending death than a ghost? The ghost Richie teaches Jojo about death just as Jojo guides Richie to understand his past.

Sing, Unburied, Sing is also a sort of Romeo and Juliet story—forbidden, passionate, consuming love borne of enemy families. The obsessive relationship between Jojo’s parents Michael and Leonie is what you might imagine if Romeo and Juliet had survived to adulthood and produced children. You could imagine Romeo and Juliet abandoning their children to the care of others just as Michael and Leonie do, even resent them for interfering with their exclusive love affair. Sing, Unburied, Sing features another Romeo and Juliet parallel concerning one of Leonie’s kinsmen, but I’ll leave that one for you to discover.

Leonie (my least favorite character; I admit I sort of skimmed her sections) yearns to spend time with her ghost brother Given. It is only under the influence of meth that she is able to see Given. The desire to see her brother is, in fact, what has led her and Michael to a meth addiction. The journey to and from fetching Michael (convicted on drug charges) from Parchman forms the other main framework of the novel. These two storylines converge, for it is at Parchman that the ghost Ritchie attaches himself to Jojo.

Author Jesmyn Ward’s language is lyrical, song-like throughout, just as you’d expect from the title. Ghosts, each with a story to be heard, form the backdrop of this beautiful novel. The climax includes a crescendo of music from the dead. The unburied sing.