Reviews with content warning for Slavery - Este mundo ciego

Gut-wrenching and emotionally taxing from start to finish, but written beautifully. I love Jesmyn Ward’s prose - it’s so raw and visceral. An important story.

Content Warnings

christine_s's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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

Loved the prose and writing style, completing drew me in from the beginning.

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zemily83's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
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

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natalieba's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad 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? No

5.0

Loved this one, even though it was tough to get through at times. Her writing is beautiful and I wanted to pick it up despite the difficult content. The main character was interesting and well-drawn, and I enjoyed the spiritual/magical aspect of the novel -that Annis drew strength from the spirits around her was compelling and thought-provoking. Highly recommend the audio, which is ready by the author.

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bleach226's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

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mugsandmanuscripts's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad tense

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

5.0

It's hard to write a book about slavery that strikes the balance between a realistic portrayal of the brutality of the institution and the resilience of the human spirit. I think Jesmyn Ward mastered it in this book.

The violence of slavery—physical, emotional, and sexual—cannot be overstated (and should never be understated). For that reason, I was hesitant to read this book. As I work on decolonizing my bookshelves, I've been adding books that speak to the experience of being Black in America, and part of that is reading slavery narratives (both historical and fictional). These narratives are always heavy and never easy. But I keep reminding myself that if people experienced this violence, I have no excuse for not reading about it.

That said, Let Us Descend is heavy, but artfully crafted and beautiful in its portrayal of the human spirit. The book follows Annis (nicknamed Arese by her mother) on her harrowing journey from the plantation on which she was born (the product of the slaveowner and one of his slaves) to another plantation to which she is sold and beyond. It starts with her close relationship with her loving mother and follows the other relationships Annis cultivates in spite of (and because of) her status as a slave.

The relationships Annis develops—some more intimate/longer than others—form the heart of the novel and the life of our main character. Each relationship becomes a part of who Annis is. Along her journey, she becomes acquainted with several ancestral spirits, one in particular who has followed three generations of women in Annis's family line.

Over the course of the novel, Annis fights to develop her own sense of self, which is especially difficult given that she lives within the confines of slavery. The result is a beautiful story woven with strings of loss, strength, love, grief, oppression, resilience and self-discovery.

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alyssa_ep's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

5.0

Let Us Descend is heartbreaking and also beautiful. I loved the imagery of birds and bees throughout and the element of magical realism with Annis’ ability to communicate with the spirits.

Some of my favorite quotes:
“It’s so beautiful I feel a turning in my chest, my heart a small bird stirring in its nest. For a moment, I don’t feel bound. I forget what holds me. But the ache of me, through wrist and hip and thigh, tunnels me back down into my body, along with this rope. I yank when we stop, pull the wire of it with my arms, just so it can beat back that beauty. I want it to turn my awe to bitter.”
“To feel the bees that I have come to think of as my own descend in the night to land on my wrists, my feet, and then alight back to their hive; this makes me wonder what bitter nectar they collect from me. This makes me wonder where they taking my sorrow. This makes me wonder if my sobbing is a soothing call to them, and why they the only witness to my grief.”

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qkitten's review against another edition

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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

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