Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward

 

"What's done in the dark always comes to the light." Jesmyn Ward, Salvage the Bones

Today's review is short and to the point. I don't really feel the need to summarize the book as it's blurb is pretty accurate, except where it calls Skeet's dog his "prize pitbull." The dog, China reads as her own unique character, same as the kids her fight and loyalty run strong in her blood. But for those of you who've never heard of it, this is about a family living in rural Mississippi. It's about the kids who rule the household as the father drinks himself into a stupor, at a time when Hurricane Katrina is coming ashore to tear their worlds apart.

The opening chapter is kind of weird, detailing the dog giving birth, but afterwards, I couldn't put the story down. The bond between the children runs deep, which is good thing because the father is not Father of the Year. His kids take care of him, rather than the other way around. The hurricane bares down on four sibling and one dog as they're too caught up in their own dramas to care or understand.

Poverty is only one part of the book. It's also about what it means to be a mother, what it means to be in love, and where sex and love separate from each other, and devotion to family.

The only negative I will say, is if you are sensitive to bad things happening to animals you may want to avoid this book, otherwise your experience will be full of heartache.