Salvage the Bones: A Novel (original 2011; edition 2012)

I can see why this novel won the National Book Award. It is well written, tells a good story, and the climax is Hurricane Katrina. There were several aspects of it that I found disturbing. In this great country of ours, devastating poverty still exists and people are surviving as they would have in the 19th century, only they have electricity. Living in flimsy housing, baring eking out a living, eating squirrels. The main character is intelligent, a reader with a remarkable ability to apply Greek myths to her life in very meaningful ways. She is 15 years old and pregnant. The characters survive because of the closeness and the commitment they have for each other. When the catastrophe arrives, they endure because of this commitment. ( )

This novel takes place in a coastal town of Mississippi days before Hurricane Katrina. The main character Esch is a fourteen year old girl, growing up in a motherless impoverished home with a drunken father, three brothers, and a fighting pit bull. She has recently discovered she is pregnant and although she is in love with the father, he does not acknowledge her existence in public.

The writing was beautiful but I often found it to be contrived or it seemed that the author was trying too hard to be good. My other main quibble is the ‘between the lines’ comparison of China (the pit bull) and Esch. Yes, both females were pregnant (China had a rather graphic birthing scene in the first chapter), but it seemed to me that Esch was holding up China and Skeetah’s relationship as the Holy Grail example of love (Skeetah is Esch’s older brother and China’s owner). And whenever that aspect was brought to the fore front of the book I had a big “What the what?!?” going through my head. Not that there was any bestiality and there were some sweet scenes displaying Skeetah’s care and concern for China, but he raised her to fight. Is this really the best relationship Esch has ever witnessed? I thought the most compelling aspect of the book was the bond between the siblings and the loyalty and love they showed to each other. ( )

I had a hard time reading this book. I was waiting for Katrina to hit the coast but found the descriptions of the dog raising and dog fighting to be brutal subject matter and tough to get through. Despite my squeamishness, it's a powerful coming of age story about a pregnant teenager who discovers her own power and voice in a world that's been ravaged by poverty, addiction and epic destruction by hurricane Katrina in the bayou of Louisiana ( )

This book left me stunned! ( )

From The Book Wheel:

Following Hurricane Katrina, a slew of books about it came out in quick succession over the course of a year or two. It was a “popular” topic and I avoided every single one. I try not to read books that are written by authors who are attempting to capitalize on a catastrophic event while the event is still unfolding. There’s a big difference between historical fiction and riding that wave. So, even though it’s 8 years later, I was hesitant to read this book.

I’m not sure where I first saw it, but it had a good review and one of the things that jumped out at me what that the reviewer went out of their way to say that while this was a book that took place during Hurricane Katrina, the hurricane is a backdrop and in no way dictates the story. Basically, it could have been any number of hurricanes or rainstorms down in the bayou, and that the author was not attempting to profit from a sensational story about tragedy.

Let me just say that I flew through this book and the writer of that review (thanks to whoever you are) was entirely correct. Hurricane Katrina set the tone for the book, but did not propel the story on its own. Instead, the book takes place over 12 days, with each chapter representing a day and beginning the day Hurricane Katrina formed while ending after she makes landfall.

The story itself is about the Batiste family, who live in fictional Bois Sauvage, Mississippi. Poor and living in the Pit, Esche and her three brothers struggle with day to day life 9 years after the death of their mother.

For the full review, click here. ( )