Saturday Samplers Book Group to Discuss "Sing, Unburied, Sing"

Bernardsville Library’s book group, Saturday Samplers, will meet on Saturday, July 7 at 11:00 am to discuss "Sing, Unburied, Sing" (2017) by two-time National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward. An intimate portrait of a family and an epic tale of hope and struggle, "Sing, Unburied, Sing" examines the ugly truths at the heart of the American story and the power – and limitations – of family bonds. A winner of the National Book Award and a New York Times Top 10 Best Book of the Year, the book was a finalist for the Kirkus Prize and was a New York Times bestseller. This majestic, stirring, and widely praised novel, the story of a family on a journey through rural Mississippi, is a “tour de force” (O, the Oprah Magazine). The book was the first pick for the PBS NewsHour-New York Times book club.

The story follows Jojo, thirteen years old and trying to understand what it means to be a man. His mother, Leonie, is in constant conflict with herself and those around her. She is black and her children’s father is white. Embattled in ways that reflect the brutal reality of her circumstances, she wants to be a better mother, but can’t put her children above her own needs, especially her drug use. When the children’s father is released from prison, Leonie packs her kids and a friend into her car and drives north to the heart of Mississippi and Parchman Farm, the State Penitentiary. At Parchman, there is another boy, the ghost of a dead inmate who carries all of the ugly history of the South with him in his wandering. He too has something to teach Jojo about fathers and sons, about legacies, about violence, about love.

Saturday Samplers is a book discussion group dedicated to sampling various kinds of literature, including short stories, nonfiction, new and old novels, and teen fiction. Its goal is to search out interesting, noteworthy, and sometimes overlooked literary and narrative works. No sign-up is needed to join the discussion. Call the library at 766-0118 for more information.