I Wish I Had Read This, When It First Came Out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                          Jesmyn Ward did not come to my attention, until "Salvage The Bones," in 2011.  I have been a follower of hers for nine years.  I never  knew of this book till two weeks ago, when during our NYC Staycation, David and I were walking down Fifth Avenue, near Central Park, and spotted The Strand Kiosk.  Of course, I just had to look, and lo' and behold, look what I found!

                                           "Where The Line Bleeds," written back in 2008, is a metaphorical title for an incident later in the book, and the blood lines of twin brothers, Joshua and Christophe.  The setting is a post Katrina Mississippi, right on the Delta, and the boys have graduated high school, and are forced to find jobs in rural Bois Sauvage.  Joshua scores with work at the dockyards, but Christophe descends into drug selling.  One fears a downward trajectory, but with their grandmother, Ma-mee, their mother, Cile, who abandoned them for a career in Atlanta, and their drug addicted father Samuel, known as Sandman, they have support, of a sort.  When these parental figures convene on this trio, a series of confrontations leads to tragedy, and possibly Chirstophe's redemption.

                                              I actually liked this better than "Sing, Unburied, Sing".  The region is captured in beautiful language, while telling what is essentially a Cain And Abel type story.  The supporting characters are outstanding, and, this being Ward's debut, I am not surprised by what followed.  I eagerly await her next work.

                                                So, if you have not read "Where The Line Bleeds," do so.

                                                It is one of the best I have read so far this year!