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lelodo13's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This book reminds me of an epic poem. Every line is carefully crafted to convey such raw pain, beauty, horrors, and love.
This book was recommended to me so I didn't fully know what I was getting into. The story has supernatural elements that act as a coping mechanism for the main character.
I would highly recommend this book.
*listened to audiobook narrated by the author through Everand
This book was recommended to me so I didn't fully know what I was getting into. The story has supernatural elements that act as a coping mechanism for the main character.
I would highly recommend this book.
*listened to audiobook narrated by the author through Everand
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
amalas_bookstop's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book was so descriptive, for better or for worse you felt everything that Annis was going through. I did the full immersion on this one (audio and physical) which I think helped when it came to being able to follow along with the descriptive writing. I have been slowly making my way through this authors books and have not been disappointed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Grief
Minor: Pregnancy
amandaacat's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
I could not get behind this book and only kept reading for the sake of the book club I’m in. I did not like the writing style and would have preferred the story without the supernatural elements. It’s a tough read, with the story being about a girl sold into slavery and her experiences, however I found the spirits in the book distracting and would have rather just her story on its own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Excrement, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism
bookishkellyn's review against another edition
challenging
dark
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
I don’t even really understand what I just read–or what the point of the book was–so I’m withholding a numerical rating. The synopsis was accurate but really undersold how big a role the spirits played in the storyline. I almost felt like the spiritual element got more face time than the main character (Annis/Arese). It revolved heavily around the ambiguous nature of her ‘ancestral’ spirit (Aza). The vibe was ultra gloomy with fleeting tender moments from love interests (Safi & Bastian). If this hadn’t been a book club read, I would’ve DNF’d for sure.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Rape, and Grief
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Vomit, and Pregnancy
ka_cam's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
4.5
Brutal and lyrical, follows a young woman born into US slavery and sold down the river after her mother and with, though quickly separated from, her lover. Spirit-ful and spiritual reflections on grief, intergenerational trauma, mother’s love, the connections between people, places and times. Good, heartbreaking, read
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
campredwood's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
I’ve never wanted so badly to be finished with such a beautifully written book. Gut wrenching. I dreaded picking it back up and following Annis’s story. But if some atrocities had to be lived, if this author out this much into this book- it deserves to be read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Slavery, Torture, Grief, and Pregnancy
lyricalsoul's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Beautifully written and read like poetry by the author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
kell_xavi's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
4.5
Perhaps the most heartfelt writer I have read. Jesmyn Ward writes Annie and her mother, her companions, with strength and depth; she writes their daily struggles as the subjects of unending cruelty in sharp detail, from a character full of determination and despair, until both she and her reality are stark and fully imagined before us, until we are immersed in that dark place—and in the bloom of scents, the pain of cut palms, the seeping presence of spirits to watch and intercede. It is a hard story, because the history, the knowledge that these acts of enslavement, brutality, rape, starvation, torture and confinement were common and that thousands of people lived through them and bear their legacy. Ward reminds us, much like the spirit who records the names of those who cross the sea remembers, so the lives, the harms, and the fires can be felt in the land and the people we are among today. So that we can imagine what bodies were forced to bear, and the poetry and love that those extremely resilient people still found and shared, the will to live that carried skills and knowledge from person to person, and across generations unto freedom.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Terminal illness, and Torture
Moderate: Confinement, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
qkitten's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, and Colonisation
Moderate: Homophobia and Pregnancy
thecriticalreader's review against another edition
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
Context:
I chose Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward for my November 2023 Book of the Month pick. It is my second Jesmyn Ward book; I read Sing, Unburied, Sing a while back and loved it.
Review:
I had a lot of conflicting thoughts when reading Let Us Descend. Ward is an incredibly talented writer, and this book features many instances of her beautiful prose. I love the way she describes things—from the natural world to character descriptions, Let Us Descend is full of evocative word choices. On the other hand, the main character Annis and her central storyline felt flat to me. The story places a lot of emotional weight on Annis’s relationship with her mother and a fellow enslaved girl, but these relationships are hastily developed. Annis herself remains somewhat of a blank slate; I found the story’s side characters to be much more interesting.
In general, I liked the portions of the story in which Annis interacts with other people and disliked the portions that involved the spirit world. I’m not opposed to magical realism, but the fantasy elements in Let Us Descend really, really did not work for me. I cannot see what they contribute to Annis’s story or the thematic elements of the story as a whole. Naturally, the last part of the book, which follows Annis’s journey with the spirits, dragged for me. It felt like Ward used the last portion of the book as a personal emotional catharsis, and in the process lost sight of the story.
The Run-Down:
You might like Let Us Descend if . . .
· You want to read an empowering magical realism story about slavery that draws upon Dante’s Inferno
· You appreciate beautiful sentences
You might not like Let Us Descend if . . .
· You disliked unexplained magical elements
· You want a book with a well-written main character and a tightly constructed plot
· You don’t want to read descriptions that border on body horror
A Similar Book:
Trinity by Zelda Lockhart.
Similarities include:
· Magical realism/Black Americans haunted by spirits
· Lyrical writing
· Thematic exploration of the power of maternal love and intergenerational strength
Key Differences include:
· Trinity takes place in the twentieth century, Let Us Descend in the nineteenth
· Trinity features three POVs, whereas Let Us Descend has one POV
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Vomit, Grief, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Incest, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death