Bøger af Jesmyn Ward

Jojo og hans lillesøster Kayla bor hos deres bedsteforældre Mam og Pop ved kysten i Mississippi. De ser til tider deres mor Leonie, som kæmper med sit stofmisbrug. Leonie trøstes og hjemsøges på én gang af forestillinger om sin døde bror, som kun kommer til hende, når hun er påvirket, og hun forsvinder gang på gang ind i rusen, væk fra sine børn. Mam er syg af kræft, og Pop forsøger stille at styre husholdningen og vise Jojo, hvordan man er en mand. Da børnenes hvide far bliver løsladt fra fængslet, pakker Leonie sine børn og en ven sammen og sætter af sted i bil på tværs af staten på en både farefuld og løfterig færd. Syng, levende og døde, syng tager livtag med de uskønne sandheder, der hjemsøger den amerikanske drøm i det 21 århundrede. Ward iscenesætter en klassisk roadmovie i Sydstaterne med sit udsøgte sprog, der bringer mindelser om Toni Morrisson og William Faulkner. Et intimt portræt af en familie og en episk fortælling om håb og modgang, på én gang klassisk og indtrængende aktuel.

Over en periode på fem år mister Jesmyn Ward fem unge mænd, der står hende nær, inklusive sin egen bror. De dør af overdosis, selvmord, skuddrab og i to forskellige bilulykker. Dødsfaldene er meningsløse, men alligevel sætter Ward sig for at undersøge, hvorfor de skulle ske.I sin søgen efter svar, føres hun tilbage til sin fattige hjemby DeLisle i sydstaten Mississippi. Her genbesøger hun de fem mænds skæbner, og deres historier flettes sammen med hendes egen, hendes families og hjembyens. Fra dette ståsted bliver det tydeligt, hvordan de fem liv, på trods af de forskellige omstændigheder for deres afslutning, var dybt forbundne.Mænd vi høstede er en bevægende fortælling om racisme, ulighed og tab. Den er et kærligt portræt af det stærke sammenhold, der kan opstå i et lille lokalsamfund præget af tragedier.

WINNER of the NATIONAL BOOK AWARD and A NEW YORK TIMES TOP 10 BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR A finalist for the Kirkus Prize, Andrew Carnegie Medal, Aspen Words Literary Prize, and a New York Times bestseller, this majestic, stirring, and widely praised novel from two-time National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward, the story of a family on a journey through rural Mississippi, is a ';tour de force' (O, The Oprah Magazine) and a timeless work of fiction that is destined to become a classic.Jesmyn Ward's historic second National Book Awardwinner is ';perfectly poised for the moment' (The New York Times), an intimate portrait of three generations of a family and an epic tale of hope and struggle. ';Ward's writing throbs with life, grief, and love this book is the kind that makes you ache to return to it' (Buzzfeed). Jojo is thirteen years old and trying to understand what it means to be a man. He doesn't lack in fathers to study, chief among them his Black grandfather, Pop. But there are other men who complicate his understanding: his absent White father, Michael, who is being released from prison; his absent White grandfather, Big Joseph, who won't acknowledge his existence; and the memories of his dead uncle, Given, who died as a teenager. His mother, Leonie, is an inconsistent presence in his and his toddler sister's lives. She is an imperfect mother in constant conflict with herself and those around her. She is Black and her children's father is White. She wants to be a better mother but can't put her children above her own needs, especially her drug use. Simultaneously tormented and comforted by visions of her dead brother, which only come to her when she's high, Leonie is embattled in ways that reflect the brutal reality of her circumstances. When the children's father is released from prison, Leonie packs her kids and a friend into her car and drives north to the heart of Mississippi and Parchman Farm, the State Penitentiary. At Parchman, there is another thirteen-year-old boy, the ghost of a dead inmate who carries all of the ugly history of the South with him in his wandering. He too has something to teach Jojo about fathers and sons, about legacies, about violence, about love. Rich with Ward's distinctive, lyrical language, Sing, Unburied, Sing is a majestic and unforgettable family story and ';an odyssey through rural Mississippi's past and present' (The Philadelphia Inquirer).

"Let Us Descend is a reimagining of American slavery, as beautifully rendered as it is heart-wrenching. Searching, harrowing, replete with transcendent love, the novel is a journey from the rice fields of the Carolinas to the slave markets of New Orleans and into the fearsome heart of a Louisiana sugar plantation. Annis, sold south by the white enslaver who fathered her, is the reader's guide through this hellscape. As she struggles through the miles-long march, Annis turns inward, seeking comfort from memories of her mother and stories of her African warrior grandmother. Throughout, she opens herself to a world beyond this world, one teeming with spirits: of earth and water, of myth and history; spirits who nurture and give, and those who manipulate and take. While Ward leads readers through the descent, this, her fourth novel, is ultimately a story of rebirth and reclamation."--

From Jesmyn Ward - the two-time National Book Award winner - comes a haunting masterpiece, sure to be an instant classic, about an enslaved girl in the years before the Civil War. This miracle of a novel inscribes Black American grief and joy into the very land; the rich but unforgiving forests, swamps, and rivers of the American South.

'Gripping, mythic, bone-pulverising ... A spectacular achievement' ANTHONY DOERR'Jesmyn Ward is one of the greatest writers of all time. And Let Us Descend, once again, proves it' JACQUELINE WOODSON'Transcendent ... The best book I've read in years'LOUISE KENNEDY'Stunning ... Will grip you from the first word to the last' NATHAN HARRIS-----------------------The first weapon I ever held was my mother's hand.On a slave plantation in the Carolinas, Annis has survived in the light of her mother's resilience, comforted by stories of her African warrior grandmother. Everything she knows, she learned from her mother - how to fight, how to be strong, how to grow up in a world shrouded in darkness.When she is sold south by the white enslaver who fathered her, Annis must venture onward through the rich but unforgiving landscapes of the American South alone: from the rice fields of the Carolinas to the slave markets of New Orleans, and into the fearsome heart of a Louisiana sugar plantation. Searching for relief in memories of her mother, she opens herself to a world beyond her own, teeming with spirits of earth, water, history and myth. A reimagining of American slavery as beautifully rendered as it is heart-wrenching, Let Us Descend offers a magnificent portrait of the strength of the human spirit and its ability to emerge from darkness into light. This is a story of beauty, love, rebirth and reclamation - a masterwork for the ages.Praise for Sing, Unburied, Sing'A must' Margaret Atwood'I am a huge fan of Jesmyn Ward's work, and this book proves that she is one of the most important writers in America today' Ann Patchett'Ward is a lyrical, visceral storyteller' Daily Mail'A visceral and intimate drama that plays out like a grand epic . Staggering' Marlon James'A searing, urgent read' Celeste Ng

"Twin brothers struggle with the responsibilities of adulthood and family in the post-Katrina Mississippi Gulf coast"--Provided by publisher.

Winner of the National Book AwardJesmyn Ward, two-time National Book Award winner and author of Sing, Unburied, Sing, delivers a gritty but tender novel about family and poverty in the days leading up to Hurricane Katrina.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. Meanwhile, 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 make up the novel's framework yield to their dramatic conclusion, this unforgettable family--motherless children sacrificing for one another as they can, protecting and nurturing where love is scarce--pulls itself up to face another day. A big-hearted novel about familial love and community against all odds, and a wrenching look at the lonesome, brutal, and restrictive realities of rural poverty, Salvage the Bones is muscled with poetry, revelatory, and real.

"Jojo and his toddler sister Kayla live with their grandparents, Mam and Pop, and the occasional presence of their drug-addicted mother Leonie on a farm on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. Leonie is simultaneously tormented and comforted by visions of her dead brother, which only come to her when she's high; Mam is dying of cancer; and quiet, steady Pop tries to run the household and teach Jojo how to be a man. When the white father of Leonie's children is released from prison, she packs her kids and a friend into her car and sets out across the state for Parchman farm--the Mississippi State Penitentiary--on a journey rife with danger and promise"--

A revelatory, uplifting, and gorgeously illustrated meditation on dedication, hard work, and the power of perseverance from the beloved, New York Times bestselling, and two-time National Book Award?winning Jesmyn Ward.For Tulane University's 2018 commencement, Jesmyn Ward delivered a stirring speech about the value of hard work and the importance of respect for oneself and others. Speaking about the challenges she and her family overcame, Ward inspired everyone in the audience with her meditation on tenacity in the face of hardship. Ward's moving words will inspire readers as they prepare for the next chapter in their lives, whether, like Ward, they are the first in their families to graduate from college or are preceded by generations, or whether they are embarking on a different kind of journey later in life. Beautifully illustrated in full color by Gina Triplett, this gorgeous and profound book will charm a generation of students?and their parents. Ward's inimitable voice shines through as she shares her experience as a Southern black woman and addresses the themes of grit, adversity, and the importance of family bonds. Navigate Your Stars is a perfect gift for anyone in need of inspiration from the author of Salvage the Bones, Men We Reaped, and Sing, Unburied, Sing.

As an adult, I learned this: persist. Work hard. Face rejection, weather the setbacks, until you meet the gatekeeper who will open a door for you. Jesmyn Ward grew up in a poor, rural community in Mississippi. Today, as the first woman to win the National Book Award twice, she is celebrated as one of America's greatest living writers.Navigate Your Stars is a stirring reflection on the value of hard work and the importance of respect for oneself and others. First delivered as a 2018 commencement address at Tulane University, it captures Ward's inimitable voice as she reflects on her experiences as a Southern black woman, addressing the themes of grit, adversity and the importance of family bonds.Beautifully illustrated in full colour, this is a meditative and profound book that will inspire all readers preparing for the next chapter in their lives.

The first novel from two-time National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward, a timeless Southern fable of brotherly love and familial conflictJoshua and Christophe are twins, raised by a blind grandmother and a large extended family in a rural town on Mississippi's Gulf Coast. Over the course of a single, life-changing summer, as they struggle to find work and contend with the reappearance of their parents - Cille, who left town for a better job, and Sandman, a dangerous addict - the brothers are forced into a series of decisions that will ultimately damn or save them. A delicate and closely observed portrait of fraternal love and strife and the bonds that can sustain and torment us, Where the Line Bleeds marks the beginning of Jesmyn Ward's extraordinary career in fiction.

WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD

Esch bor med sine tre brødre og sin far i det sydøstlige hjørne af USA ud til Den Mexikanske Golf. De er sorte og fattige og må stå sammen i kampen for et tåleligt liv og det daglige brød. Sex er det eneste, der falder Esch let. Når fyrene tager hende med ned til floden, kan hun for en kort stund forestille sig, at hun er Eurydike eller Medea, de ombejlede kvinder fra den græske mytologi, som hun elsker så højt. Men bagefter vil fyrene ikke se hende i øjnene, og det bliver stadig vanskeligere at lægge sig ned og forestille sig, at hun er en anden eller et helt andet sted. Hun sidder godt og grundigt fast i Bois Sauvage, Mississippi, og en orkan, de har døbt Katrina, har direkte kurs mod dem.Jesmyn Ward fik i 2011 USA‘s mest prestigefyldte skønlitterære pris, 'National Book Award', for denne stramt komponerede og smukt fortalte roman, der i tilgift rummer et meget stærkt og mindeværdigt portræt af en ung kvinde. "En fantastisk skildring af en udfordret familie i Mississipis sumpe og en stærk pigeskildring, afgjort ikke en bog for sarte sjæle. En familieskildring af den barskere slags, for læsere der kan lide socialrealisme og at læse om racisme i Sydstaterne. I høj grad også for modne unge, da forfatteren selv er ung og skriver om en søskendeflok og deres venner. Tåler sammenligning med filmen Hushpuppy (og) den intense Winter's Bone, (og) Heidi W.Durrows Pigen der faldt ned fra himlen." - Lektør: Jette LandbergJesmyn Ward (f. 1977) voksede op i den lille by DeLisle i Mississippi, hvorfra hun sammen med sin familie måtte flygte, da flodbølgen efter orkanen Katrina oversvømmede og ødelagde deres hjem. Hun er uddannet fra University of Michigan og er nu ansat ved University of South Alabama. Foruden "Hvad reddes kan" har hun skrevet romanen "Where the Line Bleeds".

Esch bor med sine tre brødre og sin far i det sydøstlige hjørne af USA ud til Den Mexikanske Golf. De er sorte og fattige og må stå sammen i kampen for et tåleligt liv og det daglige brød.Sex er det eneste, der falder Esch let. Når fyrene tager hende med ned til floden, kan hun for en kort stund forestille sig, at hun er Eurydike eller Medea, de ombejlede kvinder fra den græske mytologi, som hun elsker så højt. Men bagefter vil fyrene ikke se hende i øjnene, og det bliver stadig vanskeligere at lægge sig ned og forestille sig, at hun er en anden eller et helt andet sted. Hun sidder godt og grundigt fast i Bois Sauvage, Mississippi, og en orkan, de har døbt Katrina, har direkte kurs mod dem.Jesmyn Ward fik i 2011 USA’s mest prestigefyldte skønlitterære pris, 'National Book Award', for denne stramt komponerede og smukt fortalte roman, der i tilgift rummer et meget stærkt og mindeværdigt portræt af en ung kvinde.Jesmyn Ward fik i 2011 USA’s mest prestigefyldte skønlitterære pris, 'National Book Award', for denne stramt komponerede og smukt fortalte roman, der i tilgift rummer et meget stærkt og mindeværdigt portræt af en ung kvinde.