With masterful storytelling and exquisite prose, Jesmyn Ward introduces us to Annis and her grandmother and great-grandmother, all enslaved. LET US DESCEND is beautifully written but a difficult story to read because of the subject matter. We walk with Annis as the story explores generational trauma and the ways in which the woman hang on to their humanity when others worked doggedly to steal it from them. Ward's writing is poetic and her talent is so evident. Brimming with metaphors and words to savor, this heartbreaking story is one worthy of discussion.

Many thanks to Scribner for an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Let Us Descend is hauntingly beautiful and Jesmyn Ward’s writing is stunning. I haven’t read Dante’s Inferno so I worry that aspects Of the novel went over my head. I almost wish the novel were longer because I would have loved getting more time getting to know Anise better.

Jesmyn Ward is a captivating writer, she is incredibly talented and I have enjoyed her books immensely. This was well-written, but the magical realism was not really my cup of tea. I struggled a bit to suspend disbelief enough to be swept up in the story of the spirits and warriors, and I found myself wanting more of the day-to-day story. This was wrenching to read, and so vivid, I’m very glad to have read it, but it wasn’t my favorite of Ward’s books. There was just a bit too much going on for me.

My thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for an advance reader’s copy.

5 stars

“The first weapon I ever held was my mother’s hand.”

This is one of the best books I read in 2024. Ward’s story of an enslaved girl haunted by the memory of her mother and the presence of a protective but fickle spirit embarks on a project akin to Saidiya Hartman’s critical fabulation. It emphasizes the power of storytelling to both forget the pain of the present and to call forth the lessons of the past. There is a reverence and love for ancestors and ancestral knowledge, but also an emphasis on self-determination. The heroine, Annis/Arese, makes you want to root for her. This is a story of women helping one another, of the importance of self-image and of human community. Spirits and magic can lend a hand, but they cannot be overly relied upon; it's in ourselves that Ward’s novel says we should put our trust.

There is an air of grief and mourning to the whole work (perhaps because the novel was written after the death of Ward’s partner in 2020) which is deeply affecting, and entirely appropriate to the historical subject matter. This is a beautifully, poetic work of literary historical fiction, and I did not want to put it down. It is a book I will be re-reading in the future; I am sure I will glean more from another encounter.

Let us Descend is an engaging and new take on the lives of enslaved people. While it has similarities to the Water Dancer, I found this book much more cohesive and interesting to read.

Jesmyn Ward is a true master of her craft. Her writing is so lyrical and emotional. It evokes feelings like no author I've ever experienced. Let Us Descend is another example of her brilliant prose. The characters are deep and well-developed. Her stories go well beyond words on a page into true experiences.

Let Us Descent beautifully blends historical fiction with folklore. It also explores emotions that are seemingly opposites. Grief and love. Loss and strength. I also loved how the theme of slavery was explored from such a deeply personal perspective. The book takes something so easy to package as a whole and breathes life and into individual stories. I'll be thinking about these characters for a very long time. In the end, I wanted more of the story. I wanted the "after" even more than I wanted the road there.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.

While Ward is clearly a very masterful writer and has a way with language, the overall structure of this book did not work for me. I enjoyed the beginning, as we are introduced to Annis and her mother. However, when the setting changed and Annis began talking extensively with a spirit, I lost interest. I’m not sure whether to categorize this as magical realism or not, but either way it didn’t work for me.

Other reviews on Goodreads told me this drew inspiration from Dante’s Inferno. Knowing this may or may not have changed my reading experience.

I am interested to try another work in Ward’s catalog, but hesitate to recommend this one.

Let Us Descend follows Annis, an enslaved woman, on the journey that begins when she is sold by the man who both fathered and enslaved her. The majority of the book focuses on her travels between the locations she is sold to and how the spirits of her ancestors help her survive.

This is not a “bad” book. The problem is that it’s completely outside of my taste. Picking up a historical fiction is always a risk for me. This time the risk didn’t pay off.
It’s extremely unsettling to be reading a book with such intense content and not feel anything at all. But I didn’t care about the characters or the story. I think this book bored me more than anything else I’ve read in a very long time. Nothing about the writing drew me in. Nothing about the characters drew me in. Nothing about the plot drew me in. I couldn’t connect with it. All I could think about was finishing it.
All of the characters were unbearable. And I do mean all of them. It’s hard to get into a book like this if you hate all of the characters.
Most of the reviews I’ve seen of this book have highly praised the writing. Everyone is calling the writing beautiful. But I don’t get along with Jesmyn Ward’s writing style, and I knew that from the very first chapter. I even took a glance at another book of hers and confirmed that it’s her writing style in general, and not just in this book, that frankly I can’t stand. This, again, is just a matter of personal taste. I thought it felt hollow and distant, which of course didn’t help with the fact that I already felt distant from the entire story.

I wish I could find something I liked about this to compliment it but I can’t. I don’t recommend it.

A gripping reflection on the horrors of slavery, Let Us Descend is Jesmyn Ward at her best and also most different. The writing, like in all her other novels is stunning. Ward is unparalleled at painting a world for her readers. The move into historical fiction and magical realism was a huge change but worked so incredibly well nonetheless. I was immediately gripped by Annis and her story - finishing this novel in two days. 5/5 stars.

I am a HUGE Jesmyn Ward fan. She is truly one of the most brilliant writers of our time, and I've read and been challenged by so many of her books. This one was no different in that sense. What WAS different was it being a slavery story, a historical fiction novel. And I think she did a phenomenal job and telling it. As is usually the case with her books, I feel a little too dumb for them, but am more than happy to go along for the ride and enjoy her exquisite writing. I'll just need to find some folks (who are more literary than I am) to discuss with, and maybe an author interview or too.

This one I had to sit with for a while. While Ward's writing is beautiful, the story of Annis is hard to get through and harder to reconcile. For some reason, the magical realism in this book didn't resonate with me as much as in SIng, Unburied, Sing and I actually found myself wanting more of Annis herself as she was such a strong character. A solid 3.5 stars. Thank you to Scribner and NetGalley for the early access in exchange for my honest opinion.

Don’t listen to the couple of naysayers about this book — listen to the vast majority of (both professional and hobby) reviewers. Or listen to Oprah. Or you can just listen to the chills you get when you read the opening line: “The first weapon I ever held was my mother’s hand.”

Jesmyn Ward has indeed done it again.

Sensory and immersive, brutal and beautiful, Let Us Descend is about an enslaved girl whose mother is sold away from her, who is made to march many miles to a new brutal life, who dares to defy enslaver and and spirits both. It’s both like and unlike Ward’s other books — most similar on the sentence level, where she will break your heart and sweep you away. But perhaps least similar in the amount of magical realism here. That’s always a big plus in my book — I loved The Underground Railroad, The Water Dancer, Hamnet, etc — but it also just fits perfectly with these characters, this time period, and this story. I also loved the thematic focuses on mothers and daughters, bonds between women, and the spirit and self.

Screw the New York Times. This book is a masterpiece.

"Let Us Descend" is the latest gut-punch offering from Jesym Ward. With references to Dante's "Inferno", she shows us the horror of generations of slavery in the United States. If you are not moved to tears by the torturous story of the black men and women who were ripped from their home continent of Africa to find themselves enslaved to rich white men who felt entitled to the flesh of generations in perpetuity, then you have no heart. "Let Us Descend" is a top must read novel of 2023.

I received a drc from the publisher via NetGalley. Many thanks.

I love Ward’s books and how she tackles the tough subjects. Thanks for the review copy. I can see why Oprah picked this one for her book club.

A beautifully written novel about a young slave girl. Hauntingly written and deftly plotted. A novel not to be missed. Perfect for book clubs.

Jesmyn Ward's writing is evocative. Often, I cannot recommend her books based on what happens in the novel but how profoundly I feel after reading them. "Let Us Descend" is no exception.

This was another one I so desperately wanted to love. That was probably my downfall! My expectations were so dang high, this just didn't live up to what I wanted in my head. Still good! Still new! but not 100% wow for me.

Jesmyn Ward is a stellar storyteller - she is knowledgeable about the history and that is seen in the novel. The plot is grounded in truth which makes is hard sometimes to get though, which is not fault to the author or her story telling talents.

Gorgeous and terribly sad. I will never not read what Jesmyn Ward writes; this was beautiful if very, very difficult.

LET US DESCEND

By Jesmyn Ward

Published by Scribner (October 24, 2023)

Hardcover $18.31

Audiobook $12.99

Reviewed by Ashley Riggleson

I have read many great books this year but few more beautifully written than Jesmyn Ward’s newest novel, Let Us Descend. Ward, a two-time winner of The National Book Award, returns with a different but no less poignant novel set during slavery.

Readers follow Arese (or Annis, as the enslavers call her), who, when the novel opens, is an enslaved girl living on a plantation with her mother. The two work in the house by day and practice fighting in secret by night. Although it is risky to form bonds when people can be sold at any moment, Arese and her mother have a very tender relationship. So, it is unsurprising when, after her mother is sold south, Arese is devastated and consumed by grief. But even then, she is not without love, for she soon finds solace in the companionship of another slave, a girl named Safi. Soon their relationship turns into something more, and when the two are discovered, they too are sold.

All of this could be a novel in itself, but in Let Us Descend, there is still much more. A great deal of the book tells of the journey south. This descent is grueling and not everyone survives. When, after great physical and emotional pain, Arese arrives in New Orleans, she is given very little time to recover before she is purchased and enslaved on a plantation that is, if possible, even worse. The slaves here are starved and forced, on their meager diets, to harvest sugar cane or face harsh punishment.

These circumstances are, obviously, not ideal for development and growth and are instead quite oppressive. It would be easy to say that this novel is about the horrors of slavery, however, to say that Let Us Descend is only about slavery is to do the novel, and Arese herself, a great disservice. Arese shows great strength and resilience over the course of the text, and while her circumstances may stifle most, Arese amazingly and against all odds, comes into her own.

So, yes, Let Us Descend is about slavery, deprivation, and starvation. It is about a girl who is pushed to the limits of what a human can endure. But it is also about love. Arese holds onto the bonds that shaped her, until, by communing with the fickle and manipulative spirits of the water and earth, she discovers what happened to her mother and must come to terms with her losses.

Ward is, as always, a beautiful prose stylist. And, although there are hard topics in here (readers should be warned that sexual assault, starvation, depression, and the impacts of systemic racism are key parts of the plot), I savored this book. Ward writes about dark themes, but the novel never feels hopeless. Instead, there are moments of love and joy, even amid the horror. Arese, with her indomitable spirit, is a memorable character whose presence will continue to resound with readers well after they finish Ward’s epic yet intimate novel.

Ashley Riggleson is a free-lance book reviewer from Rappahannock County. When she is not reading or writing book reviews, she can usually be found playing with her pets, listening to podcasts, or watching television with friends and family.