Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward

7 reviews

booksbeyondthebinary's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Slavery, and Grief

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Confinement

Minor: Incest

ktdakotareads's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Bullying, Grief, Confinement, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault and Infertility

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Rape and Confinement

qqjj's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Rape, Grief, Violence, Body horror, Confinement, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

emelynreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Heart wrenching historical fiction about the realities of slavery in the American south. Even though it's seems like a short read (wide line spacing) it is challenging to read because of the traumatic subject nature. After finishing the book, I mainly felt a deep sorrow.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery and Physical abuse

Moderate: Vomit, Violence, Torture, Confinement, and Body horror

Minor: Rape

caseythereader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Thanks to Scribner Books for the free copy of this book.

 - LET US DESCEND takes the framework of Dante's INFERNO and applies it to the story of a young enslaved girl. As you might expect, this book is dark and often horrific read, but in Ward's hands the story gives us both the beauty and the pain of Annis, the people she encounters, and the landscape she inhabits.
- This book is a study in the many forms grief can take, both on personal and community-wide levels, born both out of pain and love.
- Personally, I wished for a little more detail on the spirits Annis encountered, but that might just be the sci-fi/fantasy reader in me, I always want more there. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Alcohol, Animal death, Grief, Blood, Rape, Slavery, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Vomit, Physical abuse, Violence, Trafficking, Pregnancy, and Suicidal thoughts

renskunk's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Ward's writing is always stunning and this isn't any different. We follow Annis as she descends through the levels of hell made manifest through slavery and the systems built in the US to profit off of it. I love elements of the supernatural and the natural world turned character, and this delivers on both of those.  The story rapidly picks up its pace through the last two chapters, which I read holding my breath. Beautiful and brilliant. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Racism, and Slavery

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Incest

This is a book that honestly details the lived realities of enslaved people in the United States and all of the abuse and trauma that was inflicted through the institution of slavery.