Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward

7 reviews

noel44's review

adventurous emotional inspiring sad medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

A beautiful, tragic, and powerful book

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Classism

amandaacat's review

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

diamond627's review

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring fast-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? It's complicated

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Eating disorder, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder

zalouis's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Abandonment

laynemandros's review

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Glad I started off the year with such a banger, and if my first book of 2024 indicated how the rest of my reading year will go, then we’re off to a good start. 

One thing about me is that I love Jesmyn Ward, she’s hands down one of my top five favorite authors of all time. I expected to be blown away by this book because I’ve had visceral, emotional reactions to all of her work (I’ve read all of her books except “The Fire This Time), but I wasn’t. To be clear, I enjoyed this read, but I wasn’t as enthralled with this one as I have been with Ward’s work in the past. I guess it might be a little unfair to compare her books to each other when so many of them are my absolute favs. 

I have no bones to pick with this book, if you like beautiful, moving writing with layered prose and incredible plot execution then you’ll want to pick this one up. Overall, I enjoyed the book, but I felt the middle of the novel lagged for me a bit. I feel like this might be twofold, I’m not really a fan of historical fiction or magical realism— two things that dominate this novel. 

As always, the climax and falling actions of Jesmyn Ward’s writing absolutely captivated me. This is a beautiful and complex story of ancestry, particularly motherhood, of Black women who were enslaved in the south. The motif of water and the reclamation of water after the trauma of ancestors being forcibly transported to America via the Atlantic Ocean was particularly poignant for me throughout this read. 

Not much else to say about this one, Jesmyn Ward never misses. In 2024 I hope to check off the last book of hers that I’ve yet to read. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Colonisation

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.

---

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

qqjj's review

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