The Book I'm Carrying Around: Salvage the Bones

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This past spring, I participated in World Book Night - a national day to hand out a selection of books for free to folks who may not really be readers.  I chose "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" - click here to go back and read more about that interesting experience.  I noticed today that this book is one of the one's selected for next spring.  Its a good pick that will definitely get people thinking.  After Katrina, and then most recently, the SuperStorm Sandy along the East Coast, and the many floods and storms that dot our news radar, I think we all get a little jittery when there's any threat of an inch or more of rain.  And at some level, we all have to make a decide whether we can survive the potential damage or not.  And when the sun comes out - we find out if we were right or wrong.

It took me longer to read this book then it really should because I usually wait 'til I've climbed in the bed at the end of a long day to read.  Okay, maybe more information than you really need for a book review, but it does serve a point - this isn't the book to read as you are fighting your eyelids.  That said, I do like this book.  Jesmyn Ward has pretty, lyrical writing, even when describing a dog fight or tangle with a tractor.  Some of her writing is so pretty, when something bad happens, it catches you by surprise.

The book opens with a pitbull in labor - I know, makes you wonder where's this story going, right?  We then meet Skeetah, the owner of the dog; Randall, his older brother; Junior, their baby brother; and their sister, Esch, our main character, a tomboy-ish, yet sexually promiscuous girl, hanging out with her brothers and their friends, figuring out that she's pregnant.  They're being raised by their usually drunk father, having lost their mother when she died after giving birth to the youngest brother.  As I moved through the story, I saw China, the pitbull, as a metaphor for the kids' lives.  She (the dog) is the primary mother figure, the one Esch looks to for a model of what motherhood looks like.

The suspense in the story is not only built into the pace of Ward's writing, but the timing of the story.  Its set in a rural area in Mississippi days before Hurricane Katrina.  You want to yell through the pages "get the dog, get your dad, and get out of town!" while at the same time, wondering how or if, this family is going to survive.  You revisit those questions that ran through the nation's head as we watched the waters flood New Orleans - why didn't they get out?  What were they thinking?  What are they going to do now?  Ward provides some answers, at least for this family.  They were pulling the framing out of their attic for plywood to board up the house and were eating Ramen noodles for every meal every day.  They clearly did not have the means to evacuate, and if so, they weren't getting far in the not-really-running pickup truck sitting in the dirt yard.

Salvage the Bones is a story of love and desperation, and the things that happen when those two strong feelings are confused one for another.


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World Book Night - what was I thinking?

It sounded like a good idea.  Give away 20 copies of a book you enjoy to people who may not be readers to share the love of books and reading.  That sounds nice, easy, all hold-hands and sing Kumba-ya, right? (Now that I think about it, when was the last time, I sang "Kumba-ya"?  Where and why did I use to sing it?  Was it something we sang in school, or was it a children's choir song?  Either way, that was a long time ago.  I don't even know if I've ever heard my kids sing it, if they even know it.  Hmm, maybe I'll ask them tomorrow, but for now - back to World book Night.)

My box of books, ready to be shared with the world

Okay, so it was supposed to be easy.  (This is what I said, not the WBN people.)  I was going to get my pile of books, take them to a women's shelter and hand them out and be done.  The book I chose was Maya Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" - you can catch up with my blogpost from Feb. 16.  But, I couldn't make it to the shelter because, as usual, I had a jam-packed kid schedule.  Now what?  I thought I'd try a Metro station - it was along my route for the day, maybe people getting on the subway or on the bus would like something to read.

*Personal note here - this was not even an easy decision because I do not like talking to strangers.  Believe me when I say I was in heart-thumping panic and a many sided argument with myself as I tried to figure out what to do with this box of books that were now my responsibility.  I was very tempted to set them on top of the newspaper box and forget it, but that would be against the "rules" and I knew I'd feel bad for leaving Maya Angelou's beautiful books out there in the damp air.*

Let me tell you how hard it is to give away something for FREE.  And a book, no less.  Folks look at you like you're some kinda political, religious, philanthropic, scam-running crazed person.  A book?  For free?  Must be up to something.  Finally, after about 10 offers, a woman finally took the book with a tentative and skeptical "thanks".

My official lapel pin (did it make me seem less trustworthy?  Not sure)

The reactions in giving away the rest of the pile of books ranged from skepticism to surprise to thankfulness and whatever other emotions are in between.  There were a lot who said "no, thanks", just shook their head, or tried to avoid eye contact with me.  But I did find some people who accepted my gift.  One woman actually turned back and asked if she could have another one.  A guy waiting in his car asked if he could have one and wanted to know more about the project.  Someone asked me if I wrote the book - wow, don't I wish!  One man took it, looked appreciative, but admitted that he might not get around to reading it; I told him that was okay, maybe he would.  One guy asked what it was about, nodded when I told him, said thanks and tucked it in his messenger bag.  One young woman looked at and before walking off asked me, just to be sure, "can I keep it?"  She smiled as she held on to it and headed along her way.

The Bible - or Shakespeare - said it is better to give than receive.  I know, sometimes we don't believe that or it doesn't exactly feel that way.  But when the folks accepted the book from me, I realized that it was true.  I don't know what it did for those people, receiving this little surprise on a rainy, cold day, this small token of words, a story.  But I know when they accepted it from me, the pleasure was mine.

My last book.

Happy reading, folks!

For more information, check out their webpage World Book Night or look for them on FaceBook.

If you had to pick one book, what would it be?

World Book Night will be celebrated in the U.S., U.K., and Ireland on April 23. The mission is to spread the pleasure of reading by having "book givers" go out and give books to people who may not be readers. How they are to determine who is a reader or not and where they will give out their books is up to each giver.

I am going to be one of the givers. Each giver chose 3 out of the 30 featured books and we will get 20 copies of one of the titles we picked to give away. I would like to give my books to women, where and how I'm still figuring out, but having that in mind helped me to think about which books I chose. Now, of the 30 titles, which did I think a grown women, who may not read a lot, enjoy? Which book would I want to receive?

I wanted a book about positive women and/or a strong message for women. By a woman would be good, but not required. I wanted a good story. And I thought it most responsible to choose a book that I have read, because there were some others that probably fit my criteria, but I hadn't read them.

A few I considered:
The Poisonwood Bible - one of my all-time favorite books, but I thought it was a bit long for someone who may not read that much
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - although I've heard wonderful reviews (professional and regular people) and thought it would be educational, I haven't read it yet
A Reliable Wife - a good story, but she wasn't really a positive woman, was she?

And these are the three I chose:
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou - its a story about the beginnings of a strong, creative, beautiful women, a phenomenal poet, and one of our national treasures, who wouldn't want to read it?
Kindred by Octavia Butler - a little bit of sci-fi and history wrapped up together
Little Bee by Chris Cleave - because it made me laugh, cry, and wiggle my fingers as I sat on the beach

Take a look at the 30 books on the World Book Night website.  Do you agree with my choices or would you have picked something different?

(I think I find out what book I get sometime next week - check back and to see which one it is.)

UPDATE 2/29: my book is I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou!