Although Esch is no stranger to sex, having lost her virginity a few years ago to Skeetah's friend, Marquise, she feels that sex with Manny is different from her past affairs. Manny and Esch occasionally sneak away to have passionate yet unromantic sex, and Esch is concerned that she might be pregnant with his child. Randall's friends, including his closest friend, Manny, often play basketball on the family's property, called the Pit. Esch's mother, to whom she refers as Mama, died giving birth to Junior seven years ago, leaving Esch to navigate a testosterone-fueled environment. Randall, Esch's 17-year-old brother, plays basketball with his friends, and her younger brother, Junior, hides under their porch. He has just learned of a bad hurricane approaching the Gulf Coast, and he is hell-bent on preparing for it.Įsch's brothers, however, are not concerned by Daddy's warnings. Outside the shed where China gives birth, Esch's father, to whom she refers as Daddy, hammers plywood onto every conceivable surface. China belongs to Skeetah, Esch's 16-year-old brother, who treasures China like other men treasure the loves of their lives. Esch, a 15-year-old girl living in the fictional Bois Sauvage, Mississippi, is the novel's first-person narrator.Įsch begins the novel witnessing the dog China giving birth to a litter of puppies. Ward's novel is divided into twelve chapters, each corresponding with a day either preceding, during, or following the strike of Hurricane Katrina.
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