Salvage the Bones is the 2nd in the trilogy of novels by Jesmyn Ward set in the Louisiana delta (I’ve already written about Where the Line Bleeds and Sing, Unburied, Sing–I read and wrote about them out of order).
Salvage the Bones is set in the same small community (the twins from Where the Line Bleeds make a brief appearance, even); here, however, historical events dominate the narrative: the book covers just under 2 weeks surrounding the landfall of hurricane Katrina.
The protagonist is a teenage girl, the youngest of a set of siblings who live with their father. One brother is a possible basketball recruit, the other raises and fights pit bulls, and the girl, who has been sexually active for a few years, discovers in the first few chapters that she is pregnant.
Salvage the Bones is similar to Where the Line Bleeds in that, in one sense, very little happens: the father is concerned about the oncoming storm, but nobody else is; one brother’s pit bull has a litter of puppies; the other has an important upcoming game that will determine a possible scholarship opportunity; the girl longs with the intensity of early teen puppy love for a boy–who does not know she is carrying his child–to pay her more attention.
But like Where the Line Bleeds, there is so much more here. The emotional arc of the girl is handled with a directness and sensitivity that is truly rare: when was the last time you read an early-teen woman who was both fully vulnerable and in full control of her sexual agency?
There are two parallel plots, one driven by the brother and his fighting dog, the other by the storm, and they each provide dramatic highs in the novel, one a dogfight, the other what befalls the family the night the storm rips through. Both moments are thrilling, kinetic, and terrifying.
Ward’s delta trilogy is quite an accomplishment, and one that richly presents a rural existence on the fringes of the American dream. Highly recommended throughout.
#WhatIWishICouldDo
Wards’ mastery of voice is so complete: the characters are distinct, and they are thoroughly identifiable: even the protagonist’s teenage instability maintains a consistency of pitch and tone throughout.