This book is, not surprisingly, gorgeously written. It is also brutal (and this, too, is not at all surprising). The novel tells the harrowing story of Annis who is marched to New Orleans after her Mama is sold off. It is raw and gritty. Also featured are spirits who guide Annis in her journey. It is not at all an easy read, but it is certainly an important one. There's a bit too much magical realism for my personal taste in books but that portion of the novel is, of course, very well done.

I loved this story. Of all the authors who I look forward to new books being published Jesmyn Ward is at the top of the list. This book was tragic with out being torture porn. The relationships Annis had with her mother, and others were caring and loving, with moments of sweetness intertwined into the horror. I wasn't sure how I would feel about the magical realism in the story because that isn't the stories I'm typically drawn to but somehow it worked. This is one of the best stories I've read so far this year.

It's hard to review a book like this, because it was both incredibly well written and incredibly difficult to read. I've read a lot of Jesmyn Ward's work - not all of it, but enough to know that I could expect this to be a tough one, even before I read the full description and saw that it was about an enslaved girl in the American South. Annis, the daughter of an enslaved woman and her white enslaver, is sold (not too long after her mother was also sold) south and starts off on a punishing march to Louisiana, through constant hunger, and pain, and difficult terrain. Throughout the journey, she becomes increasingly open to a spirit world, where she engages with a figure based on her mother's stories of her grandmother, an African warrior who was stolen, chained, and brought to America as an enslaved woman. This element of the book almost felt like magic realism, which I mostly associate with South American literature, but was definitely the vibe I was getting from Annis's conversations with this figure. This was beautifully written, which was a jarring juxtaposition to the horror of the actual plot. The word that keeps coming to my mind for this book is relentless - not only is Annis relentlessly exposed to physical and emotional violence, but somehow she herself is also relentless in the face of it. I finished this a few weeks ago but I've thought about it so often since then, trying to untangle my feelings about this relentlessness. As a white woman in the 21st century, I can't even begin to imagine the experience of a young enslaved woman before the US Civil War, and I've been thinking a lot about Annis and her strength - it's not like she had any other choice but to be strong and relentless. I think that Jesmyn Ward handles that well in this book, and I'm sure I'll be thinking about Annis and her story for a long time.

Another fantastic book by Jesmyn Ward! This one is set in the south during slavery, as opposed to her other books that took place closer to the events of Hurricane Katrina.

Let Us Descend is a stunning work of art. Much like the bees that accompany Annis on her descent, Ward's language alternates between the stinging, hyper-realism of her protagonist's plight and the honeyed lyricism of Annis's interior world. The evocative imagery and potent symbolism of this novel are a huge testament to Ward's craft, reaffirming her positionality as one of this century's foremost wordsmiths and storytellers.

The writing was lyrical and beautiful, but I just couldn’t get into the story. The pacing was so slow and I didn’t understand the spirits. I also thought the main character was kind of flat, defined mostly by her suffering.

This is a powerful book about a difficult subject, American slavery. At a time when the worst among us are trying to depict slavery as beneficial to the enslaved, I challenge everyone to read this book and not be moved by the harrowing story and horrific treatment inflicted upon Annis and the other Black individuals in the story. Ultimately, Ward has given us a tale of hope and survival in a world full of despair and pain. Highly recommended.
I was given an advanced copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Annis is a slave girl born into a world of unthinkable injustice. Mama is her only shield from "her sire," a white man who owns a Carolina rice field that serves as the only home Annis has ever known. When in a blink, Annis' entire world is upended and she's moved further south to be sold, her grief takes the form of a visceral being as she makes the incomprehensible journey on foot alongside of other sold slaves to New Orleans where her future hangs in the balance.

Through undeniably masterful storytelling, Ward tells the story of Annis' journey as she makes her way through deplorable conditions to the New Orleans slave markets and eventually onto a Louisiana sugar plantation. As the story marches further into dread-filled darkness, spirit guides and otherworldly beings emerge from the swamp, the dark wood, and the waters to guide Annis along the way.

And despite the remarkable storytelling in "Let Us Descend," I found that I never fully connected to the story despite its shocking (but tragically-familiar?) brutality. Ward pens a lyrical story reminiscent of Dante's "Inferno" that woven with magical realism, folklore, and graphic depictions of slavery before the Civil War. And yet, this is a story nearly drowned in its own grief; the gorgeous prose felt so bogged down that it lacked the crisp clarity of a well-woven plot.

In reading "Let Us Descend" I simultaneously acknowledged the important truth Ward is telling while recognizing it lacked the originality necessary to make it stand apart from other novels of a similar kind. At the end of the day, I have no doubt this book will have a massive following simply because of Ward's beloved status and her undeniable abilities, but this did not work the way I'd hoped for me. I'm interested to visit some of her older works in the near future, however.

Jasmyn Ward writes beautifully about a hard topic. The depiction of slavery is honestly brutal. The love between mother and daughter tender and beautiful.

Jesmyn Ward is an incredibly talented writer. Not only can she paint a vivid scene, but more impressively, she evokes such intense feelings in the reader's mind. It's an experience to immerse yourself in one of her books, and it's impossible to come away not having been deeply moved in some way.

Annis is an enslaved girl sold during Pre-Civil War times. She, along with many others, is forced to walk to New Orleans - through swamps and rivers infested by crocodiles. The journey is long and arduous...and with Ward's writing, the reader feels every pebble prick, painful joint, and shackle bleed.

Grief is a heavily explored theme in this book, and realizing that Ward lost her husband at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, she presumably takes the opportunity to explore grief on the pages and through Annis. There is such depth to the emotion of loss and longing that prevade every thought, and the way she has Annis move with that grief was beautiful. If you've been around my page for any amount of time, you know that I gravitate towards stories that deal with grief, so it's no surprise that I really liked this aspect of this story.

Ward is masterful at Southern lit and Let Us Descend is another example in her impressive resume of outstanding and evocative writing. She is a go-to author for me in this genre, and I encourage you to get your preorders in for her latest! This book is out on October 3, 2023!

Jesmyn Ward has written another beautifully dark harrowing novel.From page to page the pain of slavery the sadness the harrowing scenes tore at my heart but I continued reading drawn in by her storytelling.#netgalley #scribner

Let Us Descend is a beautiful and heartbreaking story of slavery and strength. Annis is taught by her mother sparring skills passed down through the women warriors that she is descended from. Annis loses her mother and then she gets sold from her plantation as punishment. As her hardships grow from the brutal and chained walk south, she reaches out to a spirit mother Aza. Jesmyn Ward is an incredible storyteller with beautiful flowing language. I prefer some of her other works, but I am so glad to have read this one. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I have been a fan of Ward for a long time but she really outdid herself in this latest novel. This book is intense. I had to read it a chapter at a time and then give myself a break in reading because it is such an emotional read. This book is like swimming in grief. This book is a powerful story about one woman's journey through enslavement and the deep family ties that bind her through generations. It is a story about finding strength and comfort where you can even in a sea of troubles. It is about the spirits that inhabit the natural world. The book is beautifully written though the subject matter is often harsh. Watching Annis continue to endure and refuse to surrender herself is a journey I won't soon forget. One of the best books of 2023.

Thank you to Netgalley and Scribner for an advance reading copy of this novel for review.

A beautiful, heart-wrenching, and unique journey into the familiar history of chattel slavery. Ward manages to make the wounds of slavery fresh while also using the speculative arc to give hope to the children of the future. Beautiful.

A very well written book. Not as difficult to read as some books I have read about slavery. Relatively short and well paced. Not sure how I felt about the magical realism pieces. Worth the read!

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Scribner for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Time: Pre-civil war North Carolina. Focus: Annis, a young black woman and her mother and the sire, Annis's father, who turned out to have impregnated her mother and had two white daughters. The daughters were educated by tutors; it was overhearing conversations that Annis grasped some of the lessons of Dante's Inferno, whose theme follows throughout the book. The mother was descended from a warrior queen and covertly taught Annis how to fight and parry, building up strength and flexibility. As happens too often in these stories, the mother is torn away to be sold and soon Annis is sent on a grueling horrific long march to New Orleans to be auctioned off at a slave market. Here she meets the spirit of Mama Aza and the remaining part of the book is filled with heavy magic realism. Mama Aza became a guardian spirit or angel that served to safeguard her against other sinister spirits. Unfortunately, I could not completely follow alot of the dialogue; I understood the dread, fear, inhumanity and grinding labor told in poetic prose at an experiential level, but not sure I grasped all that it meant to say. Her lush sentences, though, will appeal to many.

4.5 stars
It’s brutal to read and not surprisingly. It’s about slavery after all . But that doesn’t mean it can’t be beautifully written. It’s written by Jesmyn Ward, after all . She takes us on the harrowing and horrific journey of Annis , a young slave woman as she is led, tied in ropes to other slave women, made to walk a treacherous landscape, cross rivers, while starving and wounded from from North Carolina to Louisiana. Horrific doesn’t adequately describe it, nor does gut wrenching and heartbreaking, but for lack of better words… Her wounds run deeper than on the body, deep in her heart and soul, suffering losses, and struggling to find her self. Annis’ journey is more than this brutal journey. It is a journey to be the strong woman her mother taught her to be, through stories, through her legacy to defend herself, a journey to be free.

I won’t say more about the plot. This is a story you should experience for yourself. I loved Jesmyn Ward’s [book:Sing, Unburied, Sing|32920226] and loved the ghost there , but there was a little too much magical realism here for me. I can’t quite give it 5 stars, but overall this is a stunning read that will shake you to your core .

Ward’s writing is just so beautiful: “ There's a green hill, trees all around us in an overturned bowl, a waterfall tossing down into a pool the same deep green as the trees around us. It's so beautiful I feel a turning in my chest, my heart a small bird stirring in its nest. For a moment, I don't feel bound. I forget what holds me. But the ache of me, through wrist and hip and thigh, tunnels me back down into my body, along with the rope. “


I received an advanced copy of this from Scribner through NetGalley.

Truly a perfect novel! I will not be surprised if Jesmyn Ward gets her 3rd National Book Award for this one!

Let Us Descend is a stunningly beautiful novel that looks at the atrocities of slavery through the story of a young woman's journey. This story is heartbreaking, gut-wrenching, and harrowing, at the same time it is full of love and hope. That is such a fine line to ride and Ward does so with such masterful storytelling, beautiful, lush prose, and visceral threads of magical realism. Although the novel reads quickly, do yourself a favor and take the time to fully sink in and savor.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Let Us Descend is as beautifully written as Ward’s other books, though this may be the best example of it. While this book is so unlike Ward’s other books, it holds the things that stick with us from her other books: the intense love of family and spirits. Let Us Descend is a book about slavery, and it honors the cultures of both Africa and African Americans. There is a heavier tone throughout this book that isn’t as prevalent in her other novels. But it’s this heaviness that makes the ending all the more freeing. My overarching feelings after finishing the book were: 1. that I really have no words to adequately describe the experience of reading it and 2. that I need to immediately read it again, slower in a way that brings out the nuance that is often missed in a first devouring. This novel lives up to the hype. Read it.
I received an ARC from NetGalley

I am in the minority on this one and maybe I just wasn’t in the mood or right mindset for this book. I ended up not finishing it. It was slow for me and I had a hard time with the way the characters spoke.