Salvage the Bones
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- Create Date：2022-07-14 05:51:36
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Jesmyn Ward
- ISBN：1408897725
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Summary
Winner of the 2011 National Book Award for Fiction
A hurricane is building over the Gulf of Mexico， threatening the coastal town of Bois Sauvage， Mississippi， and Esch's father is growing concerned。 A hard drinker， largely absent， he doesn't show concern for much else。 Esch and her three brothers are stocking food， but there isn't much to save。 Lately， Esch can't keep down what food she gets; she's fourteen and pregnant。 Her brother Skeetah is sneaking scraps for his prized pitbull's new litter， dying one by one in the dirt。 While brothers Randall and Junior try to stake their claim in a family long on child's play and short on parenting。 As the twelve days that comprise the novel's framework yield to the final day and Hurricane Katrina， the unforgettable family at the novel's heart—motherless children sacrificing for each other as they can， protecting and nurturing where love is scarce—pulls itself up to struggle for another day。 A wrenching look at the lonesome， brutal， and restrictive realities of rural poverty， "Salvage the Bone" is muscled with poetry， revelatory， and real。
A hurricane is building over the Gulf of Mexico， threatening the coastal town of Bois Sauvage， Mississippi， and Esch's father is growing concerned。 A hard drinker， largely absent， he doesn't show concern for much else。 Esch and her three brothers are stocking food， but there isn't much to save。 Lately， Esch can't keep down what food she gets; she's fourteen and pregnant。 Her brother Skeetah is sneaking scraps for his prized pitbull's new litter， dying one by one in the dirt。 While brothers Randall and Junior try to stake their claim in a family long on child's play and short on parenting。 As the twelve days that comprise the novel's framework yield to the final day and Hurricane Katrina， the unforgettable family at the novel's heart—motherless children sacrificing for each other as they can， protecting and nurturing where love is scarce—pulls itself up to struggle for another day。 A wrenching look at the lonesome， brutal， and restrictive realities of rural poverty， "Salvage the Bone" is muscled with poetry， revelatory， and real。
Reviews
Cdubbub
，
No one can write tragedy and pain like Jesmyn Ward。 A difficult read but a very good one。
John Pitcher
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I enjoyed the characters and it is very evocative of place。 The dog fighting is hard to take but critical to the storyline。
Kaitlyn Riley
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Powerful。 An imperfect tale of equally imperfect people trying to survive growing up motherless with the mother of storms， Katrina， looming in the background。 Content warning: Dog fighting and underage sex。 Not super graphic。
Julia Dziatkowska
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I didn’t quite get this book and I had nightmares about getting pregnant after reading it。 I’m not saying it’s bad I just didn’t get it。
Sarajane Pinkman
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Great book， but brutal。 The characters were very real and it hit me in a few places that were closer to home than I necessarily wanted。 But extremely well written - I would recommend， but be aware there are some rather brutal scenes of dogfighting and dog death （unconnected to dogfighting） that were upsetting， so be aware。
Kasztan
，
dnfgwiazdka za chęć poruszenia ważnych tematówbrak pozostałych czterech za nieumiejętność zrobienia tego。。。 umiejętnie
Debbi
，
3。5 stars。 A hard book for a dog lover to read as there is dog fighting and abuse。 Takes place in coastal Mississippi before， during， and after Katrina。 Told by a 14 year old girl who has no other females in her life only her two older brothers， a little brother， and her alcoholic father。 They live in terrible poverty with no one employed and stealing is considered necessary。 Very depressing read。
Maggie Unger
，
I skipped a lot of parts in the book。 It was so hard to read with how the characters treated each other and all the dog scenes。 Made me feel sick most of the book。 However， I liked the author's style of writing， and I feel like she got her point across。 I skipped a lot of parts in the book。 It was so hard to read with how the characters treated each other and all the dog scenes。 Made me feel sick most of the book。 However， I liked the author's style of writing， and I feel like she got her point across。 。。。more
Emory Lewman
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Amazing book！ Great read， so captivating， and historical insight on life in Louisiana
Anthony Accinelli
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When every third sentence is a metaphor， they begin to lose their meanings。 Not everything is like something else。 I skimmed the last half of this book and didn’t miss anything major。 So many unnecessary words。 Also just a super depressing story and not in a good way。 Not sad， even。 Just… depressing。
Anne
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The entire time I was reading this book I wanted to look away just the way society has looked away forever。 Amidst the misery， though， there is love and that is redeeming。
Renata Giacomini
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Unfortunately this book did not do it for me。 Too many analogies and very long （and at times repetitive） descriptions of everything and everyone。 The author lost me at many points， although some parts of the book were very interesting。
Brittany Lezu
，
After hearing about the controversy concerning this book， I decided to read it。 Overall， I didn’t like the story and there is no way I would want this on my child’s reading list in high school。 While I can see some of the important life lessons the author is trying teach through this book， it is inappropriate on many levels for a required reading。 I didn’t even enjoy the overall story because it left you wondering what happened to the characters。
Keri
，
This is undoubtedly a good book， but it's also a perfect example of why I stay away from contemporary adult fiction: it is so BLEAK。 Especially now， I am looking for as much escapism as possible， and reading about a young， pregnant black girl resigned but preparing for motherhood is more than I can currently analyze objectively。 This is undoubtedly a good book， but it's also a perfect example of why I stay away from contemporary adult fiction: it is so BLEAK。 Especially now， I am looking for as much escapism as possible， and reading about a young， pregnant black girl resigned but preparing for motherhood is more than I can currently analyze objectively。 。。。more
Jena B
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Beautiful writing， difficult content （as expected）
Melanie
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Seeing him broke the cocoon of my rib cage， and my heart unfurled to fly。Wow！ The language in this book is arresting。 This story is set in the coastal town of Bois Sauvage， Mississippi in the days leading up to Hurricane Katrina -- with the final chapter being the reality of living through a category 5 hurricane unlike any in the history of the region。 Narrated by the teenage Esch this is a coming of age story， in the midst of a natural disaster with elements that called to mind， Were the Red F Seeing him broke the cocoon of my rib cage， and my heart unfurled to fly。Wow！ The language in this book is arresting。 This story is set in the coastal town of Bois Sauvage， Mississippi in the days leading up to Hurricane Katrina -- with the final chapter being the reality of living through a category 5 hurricane unlike any in the history of the region。 Narrated by the teenage Esch this is a coming of age story， in the midst of a natural disaster with elements that called to mind， Were the Red Fern Grows。 It had me from nearly the first pages。 A National Book Award winner， Salvage the Bones is gritty and unapologetic in its look at the realities of being poor and living in rural Mississippi。 This family has little in the way of material goods， but the ties of family are strong and there were times when the language of this book was so exquisitely powerful I was bawling。 The language was so evocative， original， and completely devoid of any pretense that it packed a wallop emotionally。 I highly recommend it。 。。。more
Courtney
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Will never be less than 5 stars for Jesmyn Ward
Ellen
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Prob would have given 4 stars but the dog fighting was so hard for me。
Ray-The-Pilot
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It's hard to believe that so many life changing events can affect a poor black family in a week。 Hurricane Katrina was not even the most significant。 It's hard to believe that so many life changing events can affect a poor black family in a week。 Hurricane Katrina was not even the most significant。 。。。more
Fred Daly
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I was eager to read this because I liked Sing， Unburied， Sing so much。 The characters are vivid， and the story is compelling， but the writing itself was so intense， especially the descriptions， that it was exhausting to read。 You want some sensory detail， but you don't want all of it。 You just don't need that many descriptions of exactly how the characters are sweating。 I was eager to read this because I liked Sing， Unburied， Sing so much。 The characters are vivid， and the story is compelling， but the writing itself was so intense， especially the descriptions， that it was exhausting to read。 You want some sensory detail， but you don't want all of it。 You just don't need that many descriptions of exactly how the characters are sweating。 。。。more
Azu Rikka
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I like all of Jesmyn Wards books。 This one stood out with the two themes: a girl just condoning guys to use her sexually， as she doesn't have any good female role models。 The other fascinating and disturbing theme is the dog fightig。 How the dog owners love their dogs and yet let them fight。 The whole story told against the backdrop of the threatening arrival of a hurricane。 Beautifull， athmospherical。 I like all of Jesmyn Wards books。 This one stood out with the two themes: a girl just condoning guys to use her sexually， as she doesn't have any good female role models。 The other fascinating and disturbing theme is the dog fightig。 How the dog owners love their dogs and yet let them fight。 The whole story told against the backdrop of the threatening arrival of a hurricane。 Beautifull， athmospherical。 。。。more
Ravioli
，
Take this review with a grain of salt， because it's totally possible that I'm just too stupid to pick up on the deep meanings of this book。The good: I thought the writing was beautiful， and the end was very emotionally impactful。 I thought the characters and setting were very interesting。 I'm especially a fan of Randall and Big Henry; they're literally the only non problematic characters in the book。The not so good: this was probably intentional and I just didn't vibe with it， but the pacing see Take this review with a grain of salt， because it's totally possible that I'm just too stupid to pick up on the deep meanings of this book。The good: I thought the writing was beautiful， and the end was very emotionally impactful。 I thought the characters and setting were very interesting。 I'm especially a fan of Randall and Big Henry; they're literally the only non problematic characters in the book。The not so good: this was probably intentional and I just didn't vibe with it， but the pacing seemed a bit off to me as all of the hurricane plot happened in one chapter。 I get that this book was only partly about the hurricane， but even though the story was interesting up until the hurricane， it felt like a lot of waiting with very little tension。 Despite the characters not believing the hurricane would be bad， I expected the approaching hurricane to be more of a looming presence， but it's barely mentioned up until it abruptly happens。 Also， I'm genuinely confused by how much breasts are talked about in this book。 Like really， if you took a shot every time JUST the dog's breasts are mentioned in just the first three chapters， you'd have alcohol poisoning。 Maybe it's like some metaphor for motherhood or something， but I was really confused on this fixation and it kind of took away from the flow of the story and the plot for me。 。。。more
Ashley
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I really struggled to finish this book。 Slow moving story and it wasn’t that engaging。 Also， I thought the author tried too hard to write in a way that was over the top so it just became a jumbled mess。 Glad it’s over。
Libby Swofford
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Book club #5。 when I picked up this book at Greenlight， the store clerk told me it was heavy。 She wasn’t wrong。 I found myself getting distracted while reading （it wasn’t as captivating to me as the thrillers I’m drawn to） but then I was thinking about the story all the time despite that。 The second half sucked me in more and the last two chapters were super suspenseful。 A lot of tragedy and symbolism。 Esch was so poetic and sad。 It was a lot。 I enjoyed reading about the author’s own story and Q Book club #5。 when I picked up this book at Greenlight， the store clerk told me it was heavy。 She wasn’t wrong。 I found myself getting distracted while reading （it wasn’t as captivating to me as the thrillers I’m drawn to） but then I was thinking about the story all the time despite that。 The second half sucked me in more and the last two chapters were super suspenseful。 A lot of tragedy and symbolism。 Esch was so poetic and sad。 It was a lot。 I enjoyed reading about the author’s own story and Q&A at the end。 。。。more
Natalie
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3。5 stars。 Has some uncomfortable topics like dog fighting and teenage promiscuity/rape。 When I read the last page I was like…that’s it？ That’s the end？ I guess I like things more wrapped up。 There were so many things I still wanted to know。
Kristi Lamont
，
Oh My God but that was all hella hella anxious-making。And bleak， and horrific， and accurate in fact and soul。 And incredibly， incredibly POWERFUL （and not completely without hope）。 Felt when finishing it like I was coming out of a fever dream， like I'd been down on the bayou in Mississippi when a Category 5 hurricane was coming， like I was Esch。Absolutely deserving of the National Book Award。 Sitting here gobsmacked that it didn't win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2011 or 2012， especially se Oh My God but that was all hella hella anxious-making。And bleak， and horrific， and accurate in fact and soul。 And incredibly， incredibly POWERFUL （and not completely without hope）。 Felt when finishing it like I was coming out of a fever dream， like I'd been down on the bayou in Mississippi when a Category 5 hurricane was coming， like I was Esch。Absolutely deserving of the National Book Award。 Sitting here gobsmacked that it didn't win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2011 or 2012， especially seeing as how THE AWARD WAS NOT GIVEN IN THAT CATEGORY in the latter year！ What in the name？ What a travesty！！ What a true dismissal of Jesmyn Ward's genius。Goodness。So， yeah， anyway: Once again I probably enjoyed a book more than some folks might because of my lived experiences in Mississippi and Louisiana， especially those lived in weirdly slow-yet-charged days of hot and humid summers。 That said， its depiction/evocation of a people， place， and time are worthy of appreciation by anyone who longs for a story true。 。。。more
Emily Nelson
，
This book was hard to read， but absolutely riveting in parts。 It really isn't a happy book， and the descriptions are brutal and blunt。 But it is a compelling story， and although slow in paces， the characters and narrative drew me in。 This book was hard to read， but absolutely riveting in parts。 It really isn't a happy book， and the descriptions are brutal and blunt。 But it is a compelling story， and although slow in paces， the characters and narrative drew me in。 。。。more
Maya Johnson
，
This book is a “hard” read。 It’s told from the POV of a teenage girl， Esch。 I would describe the content of this book as “grimy”。 The content can be hard to swallow， but there are truths and realities that many people are unaware of。
Elizabeth
，
10
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Salvage the Bones
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Salvage the Bones&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Salvage the Bones&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0