I really enjoyed Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward for its emotional depth and the way it brings history to life. Annis, the protagonist, is so beautifully complex, her journey through unimaginable hardships while holding onto hope was both heartbreaking and inspiring. Ward’s lyrical writing truly pulls you into her world. I was especially moved by the quiet moments of strength that Annis found even in the darkest times.

That said, some parts were difficult to read due to the heavy and intense subject matter, something to bear in mind if you choose to read this. Despite this, the book’s raw honesty is what makes it unforgettable. It’s a deeply emotional and thought-provoking story that stays with you.

Jesmyn Ward has created a haunting masterpiece in Let Us Descend, a reimagining of American slavery that is as beautiful as it is heartbreaking. This novel is not only a testament to Ward's unparalleled storytelling prowess but also a profound exploration of Black American grief, joy, and the resilience of the human spirit. With this novel, Ward cements herself as one of the most singularly brilliant voices of her generation.

Set against the backdrop of pre-Civil War America, Let Us Descend follows Annis, a young enslaved girl sold south to the brutal sugar plantations of Louisiana. Through Annis’s harrowing journey, from the rice fields of the Carolinas to the brutal slave markets of New Orleans, Ward immerses the reader in a world of cruelty, suffering, and unimaginable loss. Yet, even in the midst of such darkness, Annis's story is one of defiance, memory, and, ultimately, rebirth. She seeks solace in her African heritage, drawing strength from memories of her mother and the stories of her warrior grandmother. Her inner journey becomes a powerful counterpoint to the external horrors she faces, as she navigates not only the physical landscape of slavery but also the spirits of earth, water, myth, and history that haunt her every step.

What makes Let Us Descend so special is not just its rich historical context or its vivid, almost tactile descriptions of the land—the swamps, rivers, and forests of the American South—but the deep humanity Ward brings to her characters. The novel is filled with transcendent love, from Annis’s connection to her mother and grandmother to the fleeting moments of tenderness in the midst of trauma. These glimpses of love, both earthly and spiritual, offer a glimmer of hope in a world designed to strip away humanity.

The novel’s lyrical prose, which effortlessly blends the brutality of history with the poetic beauty of Annis's inner world, transports the reader into an entirely different reality. Ward's writing is both precise and lush, capturing the physical and emotional landscapes of slavery with a rare and haunting beauty. Her gift for capturing the emotional undercurrents of grief and resilience is evident in every page.

Let Us Descend is not only a historical novel but also a deeply spiritual one. The spirits that Annis encounters throughout her journey—some nurturing, others manipulative—serve as both metaphors for the larger forces at play in the enslaved community and as guides through the descent into suffering. And, as the title suggests, this descent is not the end but a path toward reclamation and rebirth. It is a story of how, even in the darkest of times, there is the potential for reclamation and transformation.

This is a novel that will stay with you long after you’ve finished reading. Jesmyn Ward has created a story that inscribes Black American grief and joy into the very land, crafting a narrative that is as much about the past as it is about the future. Let Us Descend is a miracle of a novel—gripping, poetic, and ultimately redemptive. Jesmyn Ward has delivered a masterwork for the ages, a book that will resonate for generations to come. It is, without a doubt, one of the most remarkable and important novels of our time.

Another beautifully crafted narrative that hits hard but develops characters into believable and sympathetic persons.

Ward again brings the struggles of women and people of colour to the foreground, showing their integrity and resilience.

Ward's latest novel is steeped in magical realism and the haunting folklore of enslaved Africans in America. A powerful and provocative exploration of freedom and human resilience that will resonate with fans of her earlier work.

Ward's writing is poetic and she creates vivid imagery with her words. The use of the bees as a recurring motif throughout was beautiful and really helped to make Annis' journey a visceral experience, tethering us to her as she was tethered to her ancestors. Ward does not shy away from the violent trauma experienced by Annis and her peers, and while hard to read, the anger and disgust it evokes are feelings that the reader must acknowledge and sit with.

Let Us Descend is certainly not a book for the faint of heart and if you're new to Ward, I'd suggest reading one of her earlier books first as it feels like everything in Let Us Descend is turned up a notch or five. I will revisit this novel at some point in the not-too-distant future as I read it as a digital ARC and I think reading it on my phone did not do it justice. It is a book I want to physically feel in my hands as I read it.

Drawing inspiration from Dante’s Divine Comedy and the descent into the circles of hell, this is the story of Annis, a house slave in the Carolinas, sold on (as her mother was before her) and forced marched south to New Orleans where she is bought by a sugar plantation owner.

The writing is powerful and at times uncomfortable and exposes the brutality and dehumanisation of slavery. Annis is a descendant of a warrior woman and has strength of character but the conditions she faces test her sense of identity to an extreme.

All that tethers her to sanity is her memories of her mother and the appearance of a spirit, Aza, who can control the winds and understands something of Annis’ destiny.

The prominence of spirits affected badly my appreciation of Sing Unburied Sing but here the spiritual makes more sense, linking Annis to her ancestors in Africa before her grandmother was sold into slavery and shipped to America.

An important addition to a growing genre. I’d also recommend the work of Percival Everett and particularly his latest novel, James. But read this too.

This is a (rightly) hard-hitting read. It follows a very important time in history and is full of the horrors and atrocities of the period. But the magical realism doesn't work. It's confusing and detracts from the reader's immersion into the world.

Stunningly written book about slavery, motherhood and identity with the best first line I've read in a long time.
Really reminded me of Beloved with its lyrical prose, gritty themes and the overcoming darkness against the odds.
Highly recommended.

Puzzling.
I enjoyed this book at the start. found it involving as it described the life of slaves on the plantation. Annis is the daughter of the master of the house, her Mother teaches her to fight so she can protect herself. Annis confides in her Mother about the way her Father looks at her, her Mother is sold of, leaving Annis to fend for herself, She is befriended by Safi and the two become lovers. Her Father sees the two of them together and sells them to a man who transports them along with others on a horrific journey, Annis barely survives but is visited by a spirit who advises her. This part of the story was confusing as the spirit changed and I was not sure what its purpose was.
Thank you Jesmyn and NetGalley.

What an incredible, moving, generous and beautiful novel this is, full of hope, redemption, anger and love. It is surely going to be read for years to come.

This was a phenomenal, heart wrenching read that I'm so glad I had the opportunity to read early. The length of the novel was perfect and I'm going to be thinking about ancestral ghosts for a very long time.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I've always been a fan of the magical realism genre and Jesamyn Ward is definitely staking her claim here after this novel, with its heartbreaking and yet life-affirming narrative. Ward weaves her narrative in and out of the brutal realism of slavery in the South and the mythology of spiritualism through the story of Annis and her family. The support of her family's goddess can help her, but ultimately Annis must save herself. A worthy addition to the canon.

jesmyn Ward is a wordsmith, no doubt. this is a harrowing read but one that is written with such immediacy, urgency and lucidity that one can't look away. i did find her prose too laboured at times, a lot of descriptions and so on, although striking on a sentence-level, felt overdone, distracting almost.

I’ve read two of Jesmyn Ward’s contemporary novels and enjoyed both the magical realism of her lyrical prose and the glimpses into other, very different, lives that her works give us. This book takes us back in time to the Southern states of America in the years before the Civil War, where we follow the life of an enslaved woman, Annis. Annis is the granddaughter of a proud warrior woman, whom she knows only through the stories her mother tells her as they practice fighting in the way of their ancestors. Her father is the white enslaver on whose property Annis was born and where she labours, as our story opens.

Annis dreams of other worlds: those in the stories of her grandmother and those in the classical literature read by her white half-sisters and their tutor, including Dante’s Inferno, from which the novel’s title is taken. As Annis reaches adulthood, she is separated from first her mother, then from their home, and eventually from the woman she has fallen in love with, during a harrowing journey to New Orleans and a new enslaver.

On the long walk, Annis encounters a spirit that takes her grandmother’s name, and she is able to take strength from the images the spirit shares with her. Her new enslaver is no less cruel than the previous one, though in different ways, and Annis has to endure starvation and disease before she finally finds a way out, along with a potential new, free life.

I loved this book, difficult as it was at times to read about the hardships and dangers that Annis endures. It all gave an excellent insight into parts of history that need to be taught more in schools and also in the wider media.

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.

Sing Unburied Sing by Jesmyn Ward is one of my all time favourite books and I am, in fact, yet to read anything written by Ward that isn’t stunning. Her writing is lyrical and transcendent, yet never compromises on raw, brutal power. Let Us Descend is the story of Annis, as she is sold south by the white slaveowner who fathered her and the traumatic and harrowing journey through the South and beyond. The novel is infused with a magical realism aspect that is connected to both the spirit world and to Annis’s mother and grandmother. The strange thing about Let Us Descend is that there are a few moments where I wasn’t 100% sure exactly what was going on because of the spiritual elements and yet it doesn’t matter in the slightest. The writing is so powerful that the feeling and emotion comes through with a razor sharp accuracy and it is impossible not to be drawn in completely to the fluidity of the story. It is a harsh and grim world that Ward describes, as is historically accurate, and whilst there are parts which are difficult to read, Let Us Descend somehow manages to not feel like a depressing or hopeless read. It is a book about survival, devotion and strength of will which I couldn’t recommend more highly.

Annis is the daughter of a proud slave woman and her master. Her mother teaches her about her warrior heritage and about the spirits that guide her. However when Annis and her mother are separated she has no guide. Finally her master/father send Annis down to the slave markets of New Orleans and Annis is sold to a sugar plantation. Here she learns to listen to her ancestors and to free herself.
This is a book which comes with many rave reviews and I am always a little skeptical however the hype is mainly justified. This is the story of slavery from a single perspective and the plot is excellent. What makes it more is the careful handling for the spiritual element which could be completely overblown and cliched but Ward is sensible enough to use it to drive the narrative without it taking over.

I received an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Bloomsbury Publishing, and the author Jesmyn Ward.
While I can appreciate the beautiful and lyrical writing, it just didn't grab me and it was a struggle to persevere with. The book touches on extremely important topics around slavery, independence and ownership with a heavy dose of magical realism but the subject wasn't strong enough to hold my attention well and just wasn't for me unfortunately.

A brutal story about a teenage slave, and her harrowing, terrifying life, and the ancestral spirits that guide her...

Let us descend is a book of heartbreak and hope, fragility and strength and an act of remembrance.
Following the forced sale from her mother in Carolina, Annis embarks on a gruelling slave drive to the depths of the South in New Orleans and the harsh sugar plantations.

Exploring themes of African spirituality, Annis finds strength from her ancestors and the skills of survival provided by her mother. Annis lack of autonomy is no match for the the durability of the human spirit.

Jesmyn Ward's beautiful narrative deserves to be read and will definitely be remembered and recounted.

This is historical fiction about the trauma and bondage of American slavery, written with very lyrical prose and interwoven with magical realism. The style of this novel didn't work for me. I became tired of wading through the poetic language and found the cyclical nature of the narrative became a little tedious. The magical realism was an interesting device to express the inner world of our protagonist, but again I just couldn't engage with it. Not an enjoyable read for me.
This honest review is given with thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.