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Jesmyn Ward
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Where the Line Bleeds: A Novel Kindle Edition

by Jesmyn Ward (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 699 ratings
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The first novel from National Book Award winner and author of Sing, Unburied, Sing Jesmyn Ward, a timeless Southern fable of brotherly love and familial conflict—“a lyrical yet clear-eyed portrait of a rural South and an African American reality that are rarely depicted” (The Boston Globe).

Where the Line Bleeds is Jesmyn Ward’s gorgeous first novel and the first of three novels set in Bois Sauvage—followed by Salvage the Bones and Sing, Unburied, Sing—comprising a loose trilogy about small town sourthern family life. Described as “starkly beautiful” (Publishers Weekly, starred review), “fearless” (Essence), and “emotionally honest” (The Dallas Morning News), it was a finalist for the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award and the Virginia Commonwealth University Cabell First Novelist Award.

Joshua and Christophe are twins, raised by a blind grandmother and a large extended family in rural Bois Sauvage, on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast. They’ve just finished high school and need to find jobs, but after Katrina, it’s not easy. Joshua gets work on the docks, but Christophe’s not so lucky and starts to sell drugs. Christophe’s downward spiral is accelerated first by crack, then by the reappearance of the twins’ parents: Cille, who left for a better job, and Sandman, a dangerous addict. Sandman taunts Christophe, eventually provoking a shocking confrontation that will ultimately damn or save both twins.

Where the Line Bleeds takes place over the course of a single, life-changing summer. It is a delicate and closely observed portrait of fraternal love and strife, of the relentless grind of poverty, of the toll of addiction on a family, and of the bonds that can sustain or torment us. Bois Sauvage, based on Ward’s own hometown, is a character in its own right, as stiflingly hot and as rich with history as it is bereft of opportunity. Ward’s “lushly descriptive prose…and her prodigious talent and fearless portrayal of a world too often overlooked” (Essence) make this novel an essential addition to her incredible body of work.
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  1. Book 3 of 3
    Bois Sauvage
  2. Print length
    258 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Scribner
  5. Publication date
    January 16, 2018
  6. File size
    4.8 MB
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  8. Word Wise
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  9. Enhanced typesetting
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Impoverished twins living along the Mississippi Gulf Coast struggle to survive after high school in Ward's starkly beautiful debut. Abandoned by their mother and raised by their loving but ailing grandmother, Joshua and Christophe DeLisle know job prospects are slim in rural Bois Sauvage, so they spend their days playing basketball and flirting with the local girls. Eventually, even with no work history, Joshua is hired to work on the docks, but Christophe falls in with the brothers' drug-dealing cousin. Too ashamed to admit that he spends his days in the park selling marijuana, Christophe secretly contributes to the family's expenses with regular deposits to his grandmother's purse. But when Christophe decides to start selling more dangerous drugs, tensions between the twins grow, and the arrival of their long-absent drug addict father sparks a violent confrontation. A fresh new voice in American literature, Ward unflinchingly describes a world full of despair but not devoid of hope. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School–African-American twins Joshua and Christophe graduate from high school and try to find jobs. While Joshua has success becoming a dockworker, Christophe is less fortunate and desperation eventually finds him turning to drug dealing. The teens are loyal to their grandmother, who raised them after their mother moved to Atlanta to start a new life and their addict father disappeared. While this plot (and the books cover) may be reminiscent of an urban fiction title, the setting is unique–rural Mississippi–and the writing is distinctive. Wards beautiful language allows the location and characters to come alive, while her dialogue, written in a Southern vernacular, adds further texture. The plot is as leisurely as a hot Mississippi summer day, and although not much happens until the somewhat violent and surprising ending, this fully realized character study will appeal to teens who can see themselves here or who are interested in discovering realities far from their own lives.–Jamie Watson, Harford County Public Library, MD
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B074ZK7XY6
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Scribner; Reprint edition (January 16, 2018)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 16, 2018
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4.8 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 258 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 699 ratings

About the author

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Jesmyn Ward

Jesmyn Ward

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Jesmyn Ward received her MFA from the University of Michigan and has received the MacArthur Genius Grant, a Stegner Fellowship, a John and Renee Grisham Writers Residency, and the Strauss Living Prize. She is the winner of two National Book Awards for Fiction for Sing, Unburied, Sing (2017) and Salvage the Bones (2011). She is also the author of the novel Where the Line Bleeds and the memoir Men We Reaped, which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and won the Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize and the Media for a Just Society Award. She is currently an associate professor of creative writing at Tulane University and lives in Mississippi.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
699 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers enjoyed the book's readability and compelling story. They found the writing quality excellent, with vivid imagery and descriptive dialogue. The characters were well-developed and interesting, aligning the reader immediately beside them. Readers appreciated the author's eye for detail and skill in drawing the reader into the world. Overall, they described the book as a great, high-quality read with relevant political themes.

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ReadabilityStory qualityWriting qualityCharacter developmentEye for detailPacePolitical implicationsTalent
22 customers mention "Readability"19 positive3 negative

Customers find the book easy to read and engaging. They describe it as high literature, wise, and beautiful. However, some readers feel it needs an editor.

"This book was very good and different...." Read more

"...Overall, I really loved the reading experience...." Read more

"i read salvage the bones about a year ago. it is one of the best books i have read in the past 10 years...." Read more

"This was one of my favorite books I read in 2018...." Read more

18 customers mention "Story quality"14 positive4 negative

Customers find the story compelling and touching. They praise the author as a brilliant storyteller who gives an inside look at the characters' lives. The book is fascinating and intense, with a hopeful ending.

"...This book was really fascinating...." Read more

"...The writing is not as good although the story is certainly as compelling...." Read more

"...the two brothers and their loyalty to family was incredible and heartbreaking. The twins' past in basketball had me particularly interested...." Read more

"...and the descriptive passages beautifully written, the story lacked any drama or tension until the very end...." Read more

13 customers mention "Writing quality"13 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the writing quality. They find it well-written and praise the author as a gifted writer. The book contains beautiful poetry from the Gulf Coast.

"...books that I have read so far, the author really has a masterful way of writing descriptions that I really enjoy, so I will definitely be adding..." Read more

"...How are they today? Ward is an amazing writer." Read more

"...characters were well drawn and interesting and the descriptive passages beautifully written, the story lacked any drama or tension until the very end..." Read more

"...Jesmyn Ward is a brilliant storyteller, a lyrical poet, an important voice. Read this and all the others. You won't be disappointed." Read more

4 customers mention "Character development"4 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the well-developed characters. They find the older characters wise and trusted. The book's plot is described as engaging, bringing readers into the characters' lives.

"...This is not a story that relies a lot on plot, but focuses in on character development and why these characters make the decisions they do...." Read more

"...sadly, while the characters were well drawn and interesting and the descriptive passages beautifully written, the story lacked any drama or tension..." Read more

"...They will live here and die here. I love the older characters so, wise and trusted." Read more

"...'s writing draws you in with its fluent details, aligning you immediately beside her characters and in the middle of each scene." Read more

4 customers mention "Eye for detail"4 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the author's eye for detail. They find the imagery vivid and beautiful, rendering the human struggle as compelling.

"...At first glance, it appears to be a lovely cover with some pretty foliage...." Read more

"...Ward has tremendous talent, an eye for detail, dialogue, and description--yes, with a bit of overkill in this effort...." Read more

"...the most ordinary of circumstances to render the human struggle as beautiful and compelling." Read more

"Clear and vivid imagery..." Read more

4 customers mention "Pace"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's pacing okay, but not great. They say it moves along well without getting very exciting.

"...The characters, the plot, the pacing were all just okay, not great. I never got hooked, but I did finish it...." Read more

"...A quick read with an opportunity to touch all of your senses." Read more

"...Slower pace of storytelling but she really captures settings and feelings so poignantly." Read more

"...The novel moves along well without ever getting very exciting, though." Read more

4 customers mention "Political implications"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's political implications relevant in today's world. They also appreciate the well-drawn characters and descriptive passages. The book is the author's first novel, and the political repercussions are as strong and enlightening as her two subsequent novels.

"...sadly, while the characters were well drawn and interesting and the descriptive passages beautifully written, the story lacked any drama or tension..." Read more

"...novel isn't as beautiful but its reality and its political implications are as strong and enlightening as her two subsequent novels...." Read more

"There are several remarkable features of this novel, the first by National Book Award winning writer, Jaemyn Ward (for Salvage the Bones.)..." Read more

"...Her writing is beyond compare and the subject matter is very relevant in today's world." Read more

4 customers mention "Talent"4 positive0 negative

Customers praise the author's talent and skill for drawing readers into the world. They describe her as talented, gifted, and amazing.

"...Jasmine Ward had an exceptional skill for drawing the reader into the world of the novel, into the lives of the characters, and into contemporary..." Read more

"...I found instead a book in need of a good editor. Ward has tremendous talent, an eye for detail, dialogue, and description--yes, with a bit of..." Read more

"...Really gifted author." Read more

"Jesmyn Ward is my new most favorite writer. She's absolutely amazing...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Raven reader
    5.0 out of 5 stars Bayou Blessings
    Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    This book was very good and different. It told the story of young black Louisiana men and the problems that they had which is really the same as any young men growing up in the northeast. There mother Cille had to go to Atlanta to work as she’d done since they were born. No jobs so young ones had to end up selling drugs for pocket monies.
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  • DG_Reads
    4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful writing!
    Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    I have really become a fan of Jesmyn Ward in the last year, so when WHERE THE LINE BLEEDS was selected as a discussion book for the Reading Women Podcast as part of their Working Class Stories theme in June, I knew I’d be picking this book up. This book is part of Ward’s Bois Savage series which are loosely connected in place and time and I had already read and enjoyed the other two, SALVAGE THE BONES and SING, UNBURIED, SING.

    WHERE THE LINE BLEEDS tells the story of two young men, twins Joshua and Christophe. As the book begins, they are graduating from high school and ready to take on life. They haven’t had a traditional home life. Their father was a drug addict and not in the picture and their mother left town when they were very young. They’ve been cared for by their grandmother who is going blind as a result of diabetes so they are becoming her caregivers more and more.

    In a difficult economic climate, the Joshua and Christophe put in application after application at the same places, sharing a car and an ambition to get work. As it turns out, only Joshua gets hired. Desperate to start making money, Christope is convinced to start selling drugs. This continues to drive a wedge between the brothers who have only known how to tackle life up to now as a pair.

    This book was really fascinating. This is not a story that relies a lot on plot, but focuses in on character development and why these characters make the decisions they do. In some twist of fate, largely based on luck, Joshua gets an opportunity to better his situation and is forced in many ways to leave Christophe behind.

    I have enjoyed reading a few novels this year that really explore the consequences of different choices and how life might have been different if a different choice was made. In this novel, this same theme gets a twist in that you have two boys who are very much the same until high school graduation, but are put on different paths with just one minor difference in getting and not getting a job offer.

    Also, a little bit of cover appreciation. At first glance, it appears to be a lovely cover with some pretty foliage. While it is that, it also depicts the twins and the widening river between them and their lives in the novel.

    Overall, I really loved the reading experience. As with all of Ward’s books that I have read so far, the author really has a masterful way of writing descriptions that I really enjoy, so I will definitely be adding more Jesmyn Ward titles to my TBR!
    18 people found this helpful
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  • kcmagpie
    5.0 out of 5 stars The first of Bois Sauvage
    Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    Amazon lists this as the 3rd Bois Sauvage novel but it's Ward's 1st and predates the other 2 novels. The writing is not as good although the story is certainly as compelling. Chapters jump between characters and time making this one a slightly more difficult read. I may not have been as eager for Salvage The Bones and Sing,Unburied,Sing if I had started with this one. In the end, I was left wondering how Joshua and Christophe turned out. How did they fair through Katrina? How much longer did they have with Ma-mee? How are they today? Ward is an amazing writer.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Carol
    3.0 out of 5 stars just ok
    Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    i read salvage the bones about a year ago. it is one of the best books i have read in the past 10 years. so i was very much looking forward to this read. sadly, while the characters were well drawn and interesting and the descriptive passages beautifully written, the story lacked any drama or tension until the very end. i kept asking myself where is this story going. it took endless pages of detailing what the twins ate, wore, drank,smoked, how they smelled and how often they showered to arrive at the central conflict. finally i could not put the book down but that was 90 percent through the story.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Eric M.
    5.0 out of 5 stars A story for everyone
    Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    This was one of my favorite books I read in 2018. The relationship between the two brothers and their loyalty to family was incredible and heartbreaking. The twins' past in basketball had me particularly interested. I don't read enough characters that identify a athletes. I love that this took place in 2005, right before Katrina hit. It was a strange time to be alive, and for these characters and so many others, this book takes place "before" a massive "after." This book helped me get into Jesmyn Ward, as I hadn't read her yet. I can see why she has so many accolades. I can't wait to read more from her.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Erin
    4.0 out of 5 stars my Favorite Author writes another Great Book
    Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    Ward is great at creating vibrant relationships between siblings and families and communities. I appreciate her returning to the South every time. I feel the heat from the gulf. I picture the rickety homes. I understand their hunger. There is always a sorrow floating in the background. This time, was especially sorrowful as I realized this is it. They will live here and die here. I love the older characters so, wise and trusted.
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  • Robert E Airhart II
    5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling installment in Ward’s Bois Sauvage series
    Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    A story of twin brothers trying to find love, respect, family and friends in the Golf Coast region of southern Mississippi. Opportunities for employment are limited. Their mother left them when they were 5 to seek a life in Atlanta. They are raised their visually impaired grandmother who gives her all to give them a chance at life.

    Jasmine Ward had an exceptional skill for drawing the reader into the world of the novel, into the lives of the characters, and into contemporary American realities.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • shoesarei
    5.0 out of 5 stars This earlier novel isn't as beautiful but its reality and its political implications are as ...
    Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    After reading SIng, Unburied, Sing, I was enchanted. This earlier novel isn't as beautiful but its reality and its political implications are as strong and enlightening as her two subsequent novels. After reading her memoir, Men we Buried, I understand better the passion behind Ward's work. I recommend ALL of her work. Jesmyn Ward is a brilliant storyteller, a lyrical poet, an important voice. Read this and all the others. You won't be disappointed.
    10 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Dayna King
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
    Reviewed in Canada on January 4, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    I could not put this book down it was a really good read. I am looking forward to reading the next two.
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  • Camille
    5.0 out of 5 stars Superbe!
    Reviewed in France on May 23, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Une œuvre superbement écrite : une transcription authentique du Sud Profond.
    Report

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