Sing, Unburied, Sing

Compare and contrast the first and last chapters of the novel. What, if anything, has changed? In what ways does that reflect the novel’s themes?

Several characters in the novel have meaningful names: Pop’s name (“River”) connects him to the novel’s water motif; Jojo is named after the racist grandfather who rejects him; and Leonie insists on calling Kayla “Michaela” to underscore her relationship to Michael. How does Ward use names to develop the work’s overall meaning?

Compare and contrast Richie and Jojo. How do their storylines and personalities parallel or diverge from one another?

Unlike her children, Leonie can only see the spirit of one dead person—her brother Given—and then only when she’s high. How does the form Leonie’s psychic abilities take contribute to our overall understanding of her character?

What role does Jojo’s “white family”—Michael and his parents—play in the novel? Why might Ward have chosen to tell the story of a mixed-race family?

Richie at one point claims Jojo doesn’t understand the meaning of home. Does home mean the same thing to all the novel’s characters? What does the novel itself ultimately suggest is the nature of home or homecoming?

Discuss the different forms of racial violence in the novel. How does this violence intersect with the motif of poisoning and disease?

What sorts of things can Jojo hear the animals around him “saying”? How do the animals’ words underscore the novel’s spiritual worldview?