This book charts what happens to a working class african-american family living in southern Mississippi when hurricane Katrina hits. The family were already in a mess and the hurricane did not improve matters. The book is powerfully written and shows you how the family try to manage despite everything

A searing and intense read, Not for the faint hearted reader but also a book that will stick in the memory strongly for anyone., and which introduces the reader to places and experiences so specific but with a universalizing empathy for each characters position within their situations, without ever forgiving the cruel things humans are capable of

I highlighted this book on my Booktube channel. The video can be found here: https://youtu.be/Vuk6cDTe9tU

Very descriptive book and maybe a little too much so as the author goes on so much about the surroundings than telling the story. But as the story goes I thought it was just ok. It fell a little short for me personally with too much emphasis on describing things

Jesmyn Ward is now of one of my favourite contemporary writers. This is a profoundly moving novel about the life of the community around Hurricane Katrina. Ward's writing is observant to the core, understated and full of wisdom. I also loved 'Sing, Unburied Sing' which takes more risks in the way that is told but both are extraordinary novels resonating with the experience of a particular region and community but above all full of humanity.

I loved this book so much that I now have my own copy! It is an unbelievably alive picture of a world I have never seen. It is beautiful and brutal, horrifying and heart wrenching. Jesmyn Ward is a searing talent and I think this only proves it.

"A hurricane is building over the Gulf of Mexico, threatening the coastal town of Bois Sauvage, Mississippi. Esch and her three brothers are stocking food, but there isn't much to save. As the twelve days that comprise the novel's framework yield to the final day and Hurricane Katrina, the unforgettable family at the novel's heart—motherless children sacrificing for each other as they can, protecting and nurturing where love is scarce—pulls itself up to struggle for another day."
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'Salvage the Bones' is visceral and electric. It is a huge kudos to Ward that her writing is able to transport you to the time and place you're reading about. I could see a group of kids being kids who at the same time are thinking about their futures and also trying to be adults for each other. It's also a challenge for me to say Ward's style is similar to x, y or z. The best I can come up with is Harper Lee.
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'Salvage the Bones' is full of heart, heat, and fear. It is also about regeneration and redemption. I look forward to the next time I get to read a book from Jesmyn Ward.

I previously read Sing, Unburied, Sing by Ward and was blown away by her visceral and raw writing skill. In Salvage the Bones, that skill is also present in abundance. It is not an easy read, with a great deal of violence and brutality but it is a powerful and essential read which I would highly recommend.

Salvage the Bones.
by Jesmyn Ward
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ)
General Fiction (Adult) | Literary Fiction
Pub Date 30 Nov 2017

This book came out at a bad time for me. The events of this year meant my mental health was on the floor. My reading was slumped. My review practice patchy. This book was overlooked by me. It should have got a review but didn't.

A storm is approaching. A family waits for it. They prepare, stockpiling wood and food. In the meantime, Esch the young daughter of the house, looks back on her life. She delves into her relationship with her parents. She explores her emerging sexuality and her relationships with men.

I am not sure how much my mental state affected my relationship with this book. Nevertheless, I remember feeling underwhelmed by the work. It should have been my perfect book. It deals with issues of; sexuality, identity, family, and race. The author creates an atmospheric world. The writing is poetic and lyrical. However, I failed to be engrossed. Wrong time, wrong place. I still highly recommend this work.

This was such a beautiful book. I regret that it took me so long to leave this feedback, because I forgot I had requested it in the first place. Jesmyn Ward's writing is always phenomenal, the sentences are so striking and poetic and just <i>gorgeous</i>. She is an immense talent and I think this just shows that perfectly. It's immersive and emotional and so sharply observed that it took my breath away. Everything I read from Ward makes me more and more certain that she is a force to be reckoned with.

It made me want to pick up a book about Hurricane Katrina to learn even more about it, to know more. The lingering threat, the very real threat, the absolute brutality of what is to come and how it is observed as well just took my breath away. Outstanding.

Wonderful, evocative story. You can feel the heat and tension while reading it. Absolutely beautiful writing.

I really liked this author and this book did not disappoint, it was an appropriately paced, page turner that will have me hooked throughout the story.

It’s beautifully written and incredibly evocative, but by golly this is a tough read. It’s a hard life and there is no lightening of the load for the characters in sight. The reverse in fact. Powerful.

This story was brutal, and that made it tough to get into at the beginning. Yet, as I continued reading, it got harder and harder to put this book down. Knowing that Hurricane Katrina was heading straight for them and considering the very difficult situation in which they lived made for a continuously ominous feeling. The characters felt intensely real and the descriptions of setting and events put me completely into this place in Mississippi. In the end, this is a story of incredible perseverance and survival.

Twelve days waiting for the hurricane to hit. Twelve days to prepare. We follow 14 year old Esche as she and her family try and prepare for the incoming hurricane, however, they are incredibly dysfunctional and also struggling financially. This is a difficult book to read, but incredibly rewarding and emotional.

This novel is narrated by 14 year old Esche, living with her father and three brothers in Mississippi. After the death of her mother, Esche and her family are struggling to manage, both financially and emotionally. Their lives are chaotic and dysfunctional. Also on the horizon is Hurricane Katrina, and it is the 12 days awaiting this event which make up the story. Parts of this story are difficult to read, but it is a beautifully written and very important book.

This is the first book I’ve read by Jesmyn Ward and I can say for sure that it won’t be the last. This novel grabbed me from the first page and held me in its spell until after I’d finished reading. It’s a book about a family who are attempting to prepare for Hurricane Katrina, but in the preparations you get to see the dynamics of this family and how they work as a group. They are poverty-stricken, they have lost their mother and they’re trying to survive. The writing in this novel is breath-taking at times. Ward captures the darkest of moments but the beauty in her words kept me reading, when the storyline made me want to look away. I can’t recommend this book highly enough!

A powerful, yet difficult and sometimes harrowing read, 'Salvage the Bones' tells the tale of fourteen year old Esche and her family's struggle for survival in Mississippi ahead of the impending hurricane Katrina.

Esche's mother died in childbirth, her father relies heavily on alcohol, while her brother Skeetah devotes all of his attention to China, a dog who has just given birth to puppies but has been reared to take part in brutal fights. As a result, Esche seeks love and affection elsewhere, which brings added repercussions.

There are elements of affection dotted throughout the novel and, as a reader, it is possible to feel compassion for many of the characters at different points as they all have endured their own heartache which has led them to behave in the way they do.

The tension builds throughout, mirroring how hurricane Katrina is gathering pace as she looms ever nearer to the village. The descriptions of the unrelenting heat along with the subsequent destruction and sense of terror as the storm hits are so vividly written, it is impossible not to get drawn in and empathise with those affected.

After all the drama, the book actually ends on a positive, more hopeful note and provides a welcome sense of relief- a true feeling of calm after the storm.

Gritty, difficult, yet nevertheless a worthwhile read.

With thanks to the author, NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for my review copy.

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This book wasn't for me. Not only did I not like it I didn't particularly rate the writing either. I hated Skeetah, just a weird, creepy, borderline psycho of a character....and not in a "good" way! Also his relationship with the dog is just stomach churning. I didn't like the dog fight scene either. I found I couldn't truly sympathise with the character of Esch as the writing of her felt contrived and distancing. The references to Greek mythology didn't sit comfortably in the narrative and, to me, felt cynical and shoehorned in and out of character with the narrative voice. I just didn't connect emotionally at all with this book and as such the whole thing seemed flat, slow and tedious.