Where the Line Bleeds
{{short description|2008 debut novel by American writer Jesmyn Ward}}
{{Use American English|date=April 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox book
| name = Where the Line Bleeds
| orig title =
| translator =
| image = Where_the_Line_Bleeds_2008_first_edition.jpeg
| caption = 2008 cover from Agate Bolden Books
| author = Jesmyn Ward
| cover_artist =
| country = United States
| language = English
| series =
| genre = Literary fiction
| publisher = Agate Publishing
| media_type = Print
| pages = 230 pp.
| isbn = 9781932841381
| dewey =
| congress =
| oclc = 223918265
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
| pub_date = November 1, 2008
}}
Where the Line Bleeds is the debut novel by American writer Jesmyn Ward. It was published in 2008 by Agate Publishing.
Background and publication history
Ward needed help finding a publisher for the novel.{{cite news |last1=Warner |first1=John |title=#PublishingPaidMe reveals inequity, raises questions: How many authors are we missing out on reading? |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/books/ct-books-biblioracle-0621-20200616-rncfx6ndijhudelgxn4u257uli-story.html |access-date=January 18, 2021 |work=Chicago Tribune |date=June 16, 2020 |archive-date=November 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201118094138/https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/books/ct-books-biblioracle-0621-20200616-rncfx6ndijhudelgxn4u257uli-story.html |url-status=live}} 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.{{cite news |last1=Kellogg |first1=Carolyn |title=An interview with National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward |url=https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2012/04/jesmyn-ward-interview-national-book-award.html |access-date= January 18, 2021 |work=The Los Angeles Times |date= April 19, 2012 |archive-date= January 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127200725/https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2012/04/jesmyn-ward-interview-national-book-award.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Flood |first1=Alison |title=Hurricane Katrina novel wins National Book Award |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/nov/17/hurricane-katrina-novel-national-book-award |access-date= January 18, 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=November 17, 2011 |language=en |archive-date= March 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322034117/http://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/nov/17/hurricane-katrina-novel-national-book-award |url-status=live }} Before pursuing a different career, Doug Siebold of Agate Publishing accepted the novel, and the company published it in 2008. Shortly after, Ward was awarded a Stegner Fellowship, allowing her to continue writing.{{Cite web |title=Former Stegner Fellows {{!}} Creative Writing Program |url=https://creativewriting.stanford.edu/stegner-fellowship/current-fellows/former-stegner-fellows |access-date=2022-06-28 |website=creativewriting.stanford.edu}} The book was reissued by Scribner in 2018.{{cite news |last1=Enjeti |first1=Anjali |title=Twin brothers come of age on Gulf coast |url=https://www.ajc.com/entertainment/books--literature/twin-brothers-come-age-gulf-coast/HyGnikM7hnS6QBWNratlCL/ |access-date= January 18, 2021 |work=Atlanta Journal-Constitution |date= February 16, 2018 |language=English |archive-date= October 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020093346/https://www.ajc.com/entertainment/books--literature/twin-brothers-come-age-gulf-coast/HyGnikM7hnS6QBWNratlCL/ |url-status=live }}
Some of the characters from the novel later appeared in other books by Ward.{{cite news |last1=Berry |first1=Nico |title=Getting the South Right: an Interview with Jesmyn Ward |url=https://fictionwritersreview.com/interview/getting-the-south-right-an-interview-with-jesmyn-ward/ |access-date= January 18, 2021 |work=Fiction Writers Review |date= September 7, 2017 |archive-date= January 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127200325/https://fictionwritersreview.com/interview/getting-the-south-right-an-interview-with-jesmyn-ward/ |url-status=live }}
Plot
The Line Bleeds follows twin brothers Joshua and Christophe, who were raised by their blind grandmother and had 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
The novel received positive reviews. Reviews from Kirkus Reviews and Publishers Weekly praised the novel as a strong debut.{{cite news |title=WHERE THE LINE BLEEDS |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jesmyn-ward/where-the-line-bleeds/ |access-date= January 18, 2021 |work=Kirkus Reviews |date= November 20, 2008 |language=en |archive-date= February 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210217185329/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jesmyn-ward/where-the-line-bleeds/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=Where the Line Bleeds |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-932841-38-1 |access-date= January 18, 2021 |work=www.publishersweekly.com |issue=Publishers Weekly |date=2008 |archive-date= October 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028211004/https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-932841-38-1 |url-status=live }} In The Austin Chronicle, Elizabeth Jackson compared Ward's style to William Faulkner{{'s}}. She 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 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."{{cite news |last1=Jackson |first1=Elizabeth |title=Where the Line Bleeds: A Novel |url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/books/2008-12-19/717747/ |access-date= January 18, 2021 |work=Austin Chronicle |date= December 19, 2008 |archive-date= September 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911034713/http://www.austinchronicle.com/books/2008-12-19/717747/ |url-status=live }}
Awards
The novel was shortlisted for the First Novelist Award and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award.{{cite journal |last1=Ward |first1=Jesmyn |last2=Taylor |first2=Danille K. |title=Literary Voice of the Dirty South: an Interview with Jesmyn Ward |journal=CLA Journal |date=2016 |volume=60 |issue=2 |pages=266–268 |jstor=26355922 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26355922 |access-date= January 18, 2021 |issn=0007-8549 |archive-date= February 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210217185401/https://www.jstor.org/stable/26355922 |url-status=live }}
| class="wikitable sortable"
!Year !Award !Category !Result !Ref. |
| 2008
|—|| {{sho|Finalist}} | |
|---|
| 2009
|Fiction|| {{nom}} | |