Where the Line Bleeds
Books | Fiction / Literary
3.7
(82)
Jesmyn Ward
The first novel from National Book Award winner and author of Sing, Unburied, Sing Jesmyn Ward, a timeless Southern fable of brotherly love and familial conflict—“a lyrical yet clear-eyed portrait of a rural South and an African American reality that are rarely depicted” (The Boston Globe).Where the Line Bleeds is Jesmyn Ward’s gorgeous first novel and the first of three novels set in Bois Sauvage—followed by Salvage the Bones and Sing, Unburied, Sing—comprising a loose trilogy about small town sourthern family life. Described as “starkly beautiful” (Publishers Weekly, starred review), “fearless” (Essence), and “emotionally honest” (The Dallas Morning News), it was a finalist for the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award and the Virginia Commonwealth University Cabell First Novelist Award. Joshua and Christophe are twins, raised by a blind grandmother and a large extended family in rural Bois Sauvage, on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast. They’ve just finished high school and need to find jobs, but after Katrina, it’s not easy. Joshua gets work on the docks, but Christophe’s not so lucky and starts to sell drugs. Christophe’s downward spiral is accelerated first by crack, then by the reappearance of the twins’ parents: Cille, who left for a better job, and Sandman, a dangerous addict. Sandman taunts Christophe, eventually provoking a shocking confrontation that will ultimately damn or save both twins. Where the Line Bleeds takes place over the course of a single, life-changing summer. It is a delicate and closely observed portrait of fraternal love and strife, of the relentless grind of poverty, of the toll of addiction on a family, and of the bonds that can sustain or torment us. Bois Sauvage, based on Ward’s own hometown, is a character in its own right, as stiflingly hot and as rich with history as it is bereft of opportunity. Ward’s “lushly descriptive prose…and her prodigious talent and fearless portrayal of a world too often overlooked” (Essence) make this novel an essential addition to her incredible body of work.
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More Details:
Author
Jesmyn Ward
Pages
256
Publisher
Simon and Schuster
Published Date
2018-01-16
ISBN
1501164341 9781501164347
Community ReviewsSee all
"Good book. I disliked the third person writing from this author and found the plot to have been given away by the description. The plot itself was kind of predictable but the book makes up for a lot of its short comings with its slice of life aspect and through the relationships in the story. I enjoyed this story but wouldn’t read it again. I liked all characters and all the relationships between each character. I liked the complications and complexities of the family. I liked the climax of an ending and the way it was able to keep me on the edge of my seat, anxious, moved - a large slur of emotions that only good writing can cause. I disliked that the book felt like it lacked direction for so long. I disliked the way this author wrote in third person. I disliked how much the author would monologue about the setting throughout the entire book (so so so much description of the land) . Still altogether this was worth the read."
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Hailey Danielson
