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kell_xavi's review
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
memoirsofabooklover's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
this story was so poetically written, it was beautiful to read.
it wasn’t too long, the perfect time to tell the story as needed without dragging on.
annis’ story is just so tragic and you think it can’t get worse but it continues to do so.
although difficult this was a really important read; exploring a young woman’s perseverance through loss, grief and insurmountable odds, with magical realism interwoven through the pages to provide hope and guidance.
it wasn’t too long, the perfect time to tell the story as needed without dragging on.
annis’ story is just so tragic and you think it can’t get worse but it continues to do so.
although difficult this was a really important read; exploring a young woman’s perseverance through loss, grief and insurmountable odds, with magical realism interwoven through the pages to provide hope and guidance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Animal death, Infertility, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Pregnancy