The book received the National Book Award of the United States, a list of the ten best books of the year by New York Times, and other prestigious awards. It is at once a story of travel and a tale of three generations of a family and their problems with the past. The book has three narrators: Leonie, her son Jojo, and Richie, the boy who died in prison. They set out to get Leonie’s father back from prison, and along the way reveal secrets of the family and life in the American South.