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burnourhistory's review against another edition
dark
sad
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? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Rape, Slavery, Violence, Grief, and Death of parent
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
_annika__'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-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? No
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Death of parent, and Colonisation
haley313's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
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
4.5
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
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Grief, and Death of parent
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
kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
this book was well-written, enjoyable even, but not necessarily one I’d rate highly or recommend, as it felt like it was missing something
this book is more of a character study than a story, which I didn’t expect. Annis is an interesting, incredible woman, and I love her bi/pan existence- no unnecessary waffling about why she likes who she likes, just love of all shapes and kinds with multiple genders. platonic, romantic, etc. very refreshing, especially for a historical time period. The book is very very slow to start, and even slower to really move beyond just plain suffering and pain for Annis, but you come to love as care for her as the few events unfold. I do mean few events- this book bristles with emotion, but there is not a lot “happening”. I wasn’t opposed to that per se, but it took me a bit to stop going “so when does she do stuff ?”
the prose is lovely- it reminded me of reading their eyes were watching god. a treat for the eyes, with many phrases i turned over in my mind out of pure enjoyment. the author clearly dedicates a lot of time to style, even if it is at the expense of structure/pacing.
the spiritual aspect of this book was oddly developed. there was so much teeming under the surface, but the parts we saw were rushed and half-explained. some of that could be attributed to the fact that as a slave, Annis has to rebuild her history and understanding of spirits from word of mouth info from her mother, and glimpses from the Water (?)— things are half-explained, because she is having to piece them together on her own. that being said, sometimes it just felt like the author wasn’t sure how to link all the pieces together and just kinda threw a spiritual universe in without thinking deeply on its structure. i often find that literary/speculative books struggle with the fantasy-adjacent aspects of their stories, because they don’t spend as much developing the world behind them. I think that is what is at play here
as a result, the ending felt… disjointed. Annis goes from mostly confusion & fear in the face of spirits to being able to command and manipulate them over the span of a chapter or two, and it led to such a strange conclusion. Annis deserves peace and love, and i liked that aspect of it, but it felt like the author got tired of lead-up and just short-circuited Annis directly to it. i got to the last page and was like ? already ?
for that reason, this book is a 3.5 for me. very beautiful, sad, and profound, Annis was a heartfelt, incredible character, and the prose is lovely, but ultimately the lack of structure in some elements and rushed ending left me a bit dissatisfied.
this book is more of a character study than a story, which I didn’t expect. Annis is an interesting, incredible woman, and I love her bi/pan existence- no unnecessary waffling about why she likes who she likes, just love of all shapes and kinds with multiple genders. platonic, romantic, etc. very refreshing, especially for a historical time period. The book is very very slow to start, and even slower to really move beyond just plain suffering and pain for Annis, but you come to love as care for her as the few events unfold. I do mean few events- this book bristles with emotion, but there is not a lot “happening”. I wasn’t opposed to that per se, but it took me a bit to stop going “so when does she do stuff ?”
the prose is lovely- it reminded me of reading their eyes were watching god. a treat for the eyes, with many phrases i turned over in my mind out of pure enjoyment. the author clearly dedicates a lot of time to style, even if it is at the expense of structure/pacing.
the spiritual aspect of this book was oddly developed. there was so much teeming under the surface, but the parts we saw were rushed and half-explained. some of that could be attributed to the fact that as a slave, Annis has to rebuild her history and understanding of spirits from word of mouth info from her mother, and glimpses from the Water (?)— things are half-explained, because she is having to piece them together on her own. that being said, sometimes it just felt like the author wasn’t sure how to link all the pieces together and just kinda threw a spiritual universe in without thinking deeply on its structure. i often find that literary/speculative books struggle with the fantasy-adjacent aspects of their stories, because they don’t spend as much developing the world behind them. I think that is what is at play here
as a result, the ending felt… disjointed. Annis goes from mostly confusion & fear in the face of spirits to being able to command and manipulate them over the span of a chapter or two, and it led to such a strange conclusion. Annis deserves peace and love, and i liked that aspect of it, but it felt like the author got tired of lead-up and just short-circuited Annis directly to it. i got to the last page and was like ? already ?
for that reason, this book is a 3.5 for me. very beautiful, sad, and profound, Annis was a heartfelt, incredible character, and the prose is lovely, but ultimately the lack of structure in some elements and rushed ending left me a bit dissatisfied.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Trafficking, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Incest and Suicidal thoughts
triseke's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Slavery, Grief, and Death of parent
ssbassill's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, and Death of parent
Minor: Rape
kathrynjl's review against another edition
challenging
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? It's complicated
3.75
Let Us Descend is a beautifully crafted but challenging read; truthfully, I don’t know how to rate it. Ward’s prose is lyrical and evocative, but this story is so slow-paced and deeply sad that I’m not sure if I actually enjoyed reading it. Things started to pick up for me in the last third of the book, and the ending is hopeful. I look forward to reading more of Jesmyn Ward’s books because her style is magnificent.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Excrement, Kidnapping, Grief, and Death of parent
laynemandros's review against another edition
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