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 a