Salvage the Bones

Painfully beautiful language. I was absorbed immediately and spent hours in someone else's shoes. Soaking up their reality. Remembering to see through someone else's eyes.

It took me a while to get to this, but when I did Salvage the Bones was gripping from the first page as it explores a family preparing for Hurricane Katrina. It's about poverty, family, survival and love. Recommended.

A moving exploration of sibling love amid chaos and poverty.

This really seemed like a young adult book and I'm just not keen on that particular genre. It was also so grim it really wasn't fir me

a good read, though a bit disturbing at times especially for dog lovers who may be upset by the description of the dog fighting

Tension builds up as the hurricane blows nearer and nearer until it hits with full force. Tender, without the hearts and flowers, cruel and sad and savage..

Beautiful language in stark contrast to gritty difficult themes. A story of struggle and survival that feels normal to it's characters.

Wonderfully descripivte narative ,kept me spell bound , even she’d a tear!

Su capacidad descriptiva es muy buena, te sientes como si estuvieras ahì. Sensible pero fuerte. Una historia que me atrapò de inmediato y me conmoviò profundamente.

It takes a lot nowadays for me to rate any Fiction book 5 stars. I read way more non-fiction, and usually only read highly recommended fiction, or some that's given to me. There are plenty of other reviews here that tell you how it's not a "happy" book (why that matters i dont know), so i wont go on about that part. I dont base my reading choices on whether they have a happy fantasy story. This story is very real. The writing is really good. I have several points that i use to rate a book: the story itself, the actual writing style, the 'entertainment' value, the emotions it brings out - laughter, sadness, etc., and if it's very memorable - either by being very different than anything i've ever read, or by something else about it being very different. The only point out of all of those that i wouldnt give a 5 would be the writing style/prose - which i'd give a 4. It's very good, but not "amazing" to me like some authors are. The author brought me into the characters - where i could feel what they were feeling, and i understood why they did the 'bad' things they did - totally. I felt the way they lived, the area, the poverty... As the story progressed, i stayed up one night for HOURS wanting to know what happened - until the sun rose actually. As the finale was coming - which i had no idea would be the way it was - i was literally gripping the book with both hands and holding it up to my face. I realized this and laughed to myself since i hadnt even noticed. Then - i sobbed thru the last 20 pgs - i havent cried from ANY fiction for a long time. Yes, i get into books and really let them take me away, but this book has a special kind of writing and a special story that i never expected to effect me sooo much. The author THEN does something so amazing at the very end - when i couldnt believe it could get any better. I KNEW what i wanted to happen - and i kept thinking to myself, "no, it wont - because it will just seem to corny if it does." (Even tho i wanted it so much.) She made it happen in a special way, without making it corny but while bringing me the hope and good feeling i needed after all the sobbing. (I dont want to give anything away just in case you dont know the story.) This book scores an A+. If you love good, moving, American fiction you will love this.

Having read half the book I am still bored. Nothing happens, I don’t like the style and I can’t relate to any of the characters who are basically a bunch of degenerates.

A clear description of the typical lives of people living in the destructive zone of Katrina. Insightful poignant but a thoughtful frank look at lives of the people who were the survivors. A book for all ages

著者ジャスミン・ウォードは３２歳の黒人女性作家。わずか２冊目が全米図書賞を受賞して話題になった。ハリケーンカトリ―ナという題材が受賞を後押ししたとも言われる。しかし多感な１４歳の少女エッシュの性と生を描いて秀逸だ。まちがいなく読む価値がある。 エッシュの目下の悩みは妊娠だ。相手は兄の仲間マニー。男の中で育った彼女は、拒否するより受け入れる方が簡単と、求められるまま身体を許す。しかしアモラルなわけではない。真実の愛は必ずそれと知れると確信している。彼女の真実の愛とは、次兄スキータが闘犬チャイナに注ぐ慈しみの愛。しかし妊娠相手のマニーは彼女を「やらせる女」としか思わない。やがて巨大ハリケーンが一家を襲う。 黒人女性作家といえば、社会派のアリス・ウォーカーやトニ・モリソンを思い出す。彼女たちは暴力的な南部の未開を怨嗟した。しかし、この本には罵倒も否定もない。むしろ南部の若者の闘犬にかける愛や、そのためには盗みも辞さない一途さが肯定的に描かれる。都市文化に嫌気のさした読者が、今、未開の中にこそ救済を見たとして不思議ではない。 勿論著者は南部へのオマージュだけでは終わらない。彼女は登場人物の身体に傷を描き込むことで現実の暴力性を鮮明にしてみせる。マニーの頬に残る痛々しい傷跡。スキータの脇腹の血のにじむ傷。父親は作業中３本の指を切断、回想の母の手のひらにも釣り針の傷跡が残る。生きることは、身体に傷をつけることなのかもしれない。 タイトルと地名にあるsalvageとsavageは著者の好きな言葉だそうだ。一家が住むのはBoir Sauvage未開の森。その未開こそ豊饒のシンボル。その森では、放し飼いの鶏が卵を取られないによう隠すので、知らぬ間に孵化して鶏の数が増えるという。その卵を捜して、森を歩きまわる死んだ母親の姿を、エッシュは印象的に回想している