Salvage the Bones
United States

Salvage the Bones

by Jesmyn Ward

Family & Heritage Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Contemporary Fiction Fiction 2012

Summary

Set in rural Mississippi in the days leading up to Hurricane Katrina, Salvage the Bones follows fifteen-year-old Esch Batiste and her three brothers as they navigate poverty, family tensions, and the looming threat of a devastating storm. Living with their father in a neglected community, the siblings struggle to prepare for the hurricane while confronting their own emotional and personal challenges. Esch, who is pregnant and quietly in love with her brother’s friend, finds parallels between her experiences and the mythological story of Medea. As the storm approaches, the family must rely on one another to survive. Through vivid storytelling and lyrical prose, Jesmyn Ward explores the bonds of family, the resilience of marginalized communities, and the enduring power of love amid hardship. The novel portrays the devastating intersection of poverty, race, and environmental disaster while celebrating the strength of those who endure.

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Country
United States
North America
About the author
Jesmyn Ward
Jesmyn Ward

Jesmyn Ward is an American novelist and essayist known for her powerful portrayals of African American life in the American South. Born in 1977 in California and raised in Mississippi, she draws on her Southern roots to explore race, poverty, family, grief, and the enduring legacy of slavery and systemic inequality. Her novels often combine social realism with lyrical prose and elements of mythology and the supernatural, giving voice to marginalized communities and examining the bonds that sustain them through hardship. Her notable works include Salvage the Bones (2011), which won the National Book Award, and Sing, Unburied, Sing (2017), which earned her a second National Book Award. Ward made history as the first woman and first African American to win the National Book Award for Fiction twice. Her writing offers an intimate portrait of the American South and the complex realities of its people.

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Details
Published
2012
Author
Jesmyn Ward