Let Us Descend

A Novel

by Jesmyn Ward

288 pages

English language

Published July 28, 2023 by Scribner.

ISBN:: 978-1-9821-0449-8

(5 reviews)

Annis, sold south by the white enslaver who fathered her, is the reader’s guide. As she struggles through the miles-long march, Annis turns inward, seeking comfort from memories of her mother and stories of her African warrior grandmother. Throughout, she opens herself to a world beyond this world, one teeming with spirits: of earth and water, of myth and history; spirits who nurture and give, and those who manipulate and take. While Annis leads readers through the descent, hers is ultimately a story of rebirth and reclamation.

7 editions

screamsbeneath reviewed Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward

A True Descent

5 stars

Listen. This book is brutal. It’s Dante’s descent into Inferno, except your Dante and Ward is your Virgil. Prose that hooks you deep and won’t let you go, sparse dialog that contains multitudes of hidden depth, your mirror neurons will be firing on all cylinders. This story sank into my marrow and ravaged my soul. So why would one even want to embark on this journey? To see and to learn, to commune with the spirits and walk through the bloodstained landscape of history. When we all turn away from what’s uncomfortable, hate flies free and love dies in the dark.

Just remember to not over do it, burnout is real and not healthy or helpful to anyone.