''Where the Line Bleeds'' is the debut novel by American writer

Jesmyn Ward Jesmyn Ward (born April 1, 1977) is an American novelist and a Professor of English at Tulane University, where she holds the Andrew W. Mellon Professorship in the Humanities. She won the 2011 National Book Award for Fiction for her second novel ...

. It was published in 2008 by

Agate Publishing Agate Publishing is an independent small press book publisher based in Evanston, Illinois. The company, incorporated in 2002 with its first book published in 2003, was founded by current president Doug Seibold. At its inception, Agate was synonymo ...

Background and publication history

Ward had difficulty finding a publisher for the novel. Between this and the low pay she received from her job as a composition instructor, Ward considered abandoning writing to pursue a career in nursing. Before pursuing a different career, Doug Siebold of

accepted the novel, and the company published it in 2008. Shortly after, Ward was awarded a

Stegner Fellowship The Stegner Fellowship program is a two-year creative writing fellowship at Stanford University. The award is named after American Wallace Stegner (1909–1993), a historian, novelist, short story writer, environmentalist, and Stanford faculty mem ...

which allowed her to continue writing. The book was reissued by

Scribner Scribner may refer to: Media * Charles Scribner's Sons, also known as Scribner or Scribner's, New York City publisher * ''Scribner's Magazine'', pictorial published from 1887–1939 by Charles Scribner's Sons, then merged with the ''Commentator ...

in 2018. Some of the characters from the novel have later appeared in other books by Ward.

Plot

''Where the Line Bleeds'' follows twin brothers, Joshua and Christophe, who are raised by their blind grandmother, and have just graduated from high school on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. Poor and Black, they find few economic opportunities as they struggle to undertake their adult lives.

Reception

Critical reception

The novel received positive reviews. Reviews from ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' and ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' praised the novel as a strong debut. In the ''

Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...

,'' Elizabeth Jackson compared Ward's style to

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most of ...

and noted the potential in “a female, black author invoking the (white) father of Southern letters to explore the world of a poor, rural, black family”, calling it “an exciting proposition, with original and subversive implications”. However, Jackson expresses some reservation, saying Ward's potential remains just that—potential, with some overwritten scenes that Jackson anticipates will improve in future work—but nevertheless says “this reviewer would rather read such a distinctive voice portraying an underexplored landscape than another white author talking about ivory-tower malaise, any day.”

Honors

The novel was shortlisted for the

First Novelist Award The VCU Cabell First Novelist Award is an American literary award for debut novels. It has been presented annually since 2002 on behalf of Virginia Commonwealth University's MFA in Creative Writing Program. Nominations are solicited from MFA progr ...

and the

Hurston-Wright Legacy Award The Hurston/Wright Legacy Awards program honors Black writers in the United States and around the globe for literary achievement. Introduced in 2001, the Legacy Award was the first national award presented to Black writers by a national organizatio ...

References

{{reflist, 30em 2008 American novels 2008 debut novels Novels set in the United States African-American novels Literature by African-American women