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Nancy L. (Denver, NC)
Salvage the Bones
This book is an eye-opener and heart-breaker! Who knew how the poverty-stricken coped with the idea of a hurricane approaching and finally hitting Bois Sauvage, Mississippi. The family is so real - the mother has just died having her fourth child. The oldest, Randall, is hoping for his school to pay his way to a basketball camp; the second son, Skeetah, is devoted to his pitbull, China, and her newborn puppies. But the main character, Esch, is a 14-year-old girl who discovers she is pregnant by one of their circle of "friends". We live the prelude to Hurricane Katrina thru Esch.
I hope this author writes more
…more books - she is a poet with descriptive words and phrases. (less)On one hand it is was hard to read about a poor Mississippi family, and on the other hand, the story turned out to be a moving portrayal of survival. It was often hard to read due to the hard edges of very difficult realities as seen through the eyes of children. I would recommend this book with reservation.
Pamela B. (Monona, WI, WI)
Salvage the Bones
Salvage the Bones is not a happy tale. The story centers around a poor family in rural Mississippi, struggling after the death of the matriarch leaves them without direction. The siblings seem to live separate lives, but come together when needed. When life goes from bad to worse, the best comes out.
Mary Lou F. (Naples, FL)
Getting Along
Jesmyn Ward has a wonderful way of using words to describe situations. You can feel the action of the dog fights and, again, during the scary moments of Hurricane Katrina. This book shows that when the chips are down, a dysfunctional family comes together to help each other during a horrific storm -- Hurricane Katrina.
Andi
Salvage the Bones
This book is in no way worthy of a National Book Award. In these times of "Oprah" rated best sellers, it just doesn't meet the cut! I didn't like the book!
Cecelia
near miss
The title “Salvage the Bones” was intriguing to me, but I do not understand the connection of the title with the narrative. Although there were many things needing rescue or salvaging, none of these things made me think of bones. I also had difficulty connecting the dog fights with the rest of the story. I did like the various themes on motherhood as seen in the mother dog, Esch’s mother who had died, and how Esch would have to come to terms with her own unexpected pregnancy.
The author captured the voice of a fourteen year old girl well in that most 14 year olds know how pregnancy occurs but think that it will
…more not happen to them. She also brings in a common theme of an adolescent girl making poor choices about which boy she will pursue and mistaking sex for love. The narrator comparing her own life to the story of Medea may have been a stretch, but may be believable from a histrionic fourteen year old’s point of view. The name of the homestead “the Pit” was confusing especially when used in the same sentence as the pit bull dogs. This book gets good at the climax during the action of the flooding but then just fizzles out. The only resolution is that Esch does see that her quest for love, like Medea’s, was not going to turn out quite the way she would have scripted it. (less)This book was interesting enough to hold my attention but there was not enough depth to the characters to feel emotionally connected to the families' struggles. The prose style was overloaded with far out similes that did not help get to the heart of the story. Overall, a shallow slant on life in the time of Katrina but very readable because of a likable narrator. I did want to know how it ended. It would appeal to dog lovers.
Lee M. (Creve Coeur, MO)
Katrina, better or worse?
In Salvage the Bones Esch, as narrator, describes her father, her four brothers, the dog China, and their preparation for the hurricane Katrina. She introduces us to Bois Savage, just about the meanest hovel in Louisiana and the day to day struggle to keep alive. Difficult to read, especially a vividly described dog fight, Jesmyn Ward makes you feel poverty and hopelessness.
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