2.83k reviews for:

Let Us Descend

Jesmyn Ward

3.86 AVERAGE

cosmia's profile picture

cosmia's review

5.0
challenging dark 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
carladmartin's profile picture

carladmartin's review

4.5
adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense

This was a tough read. The brutality of a slave's journey and the encouragement and interference of the spirit world somehow did not mesh for me. A bit of a slog to finish

literarilydeb's review

3.5
emotional reflective sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I mixed feelings about this read. It is beautifully written, but lacks a clear plot line. I struggled too fine a point or direction to the story. There was a lot of symbolism, I’m may have missed the subtle message behind the writing. I find that magical realism mixed with historical fiction often muddies the water for me. Due to this and the slow pacing, I didn’t enjoy this read as much as I thought I would. May try reading again… but one can only read so many books in a lifetime.
hopeful inspiring tense 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
itshoneybri's profile picture

itshoneybri's review

5.0
challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense fast-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

katrinajr's review

3.0

Beautiful writing, and little heavy in the magical realism.

kstones's review

5.0

Annis has a bright light the reader will love to follow through this darkness, similar to Esch from Salvage the Bones. Nice blending in of the Odyssey and Dante’s Inferno. Mysticism used in such a smart and interesting way, to showcase inherited resilience, the freedom of minds and spirit which can’t be shackled along with bodies, the persistence of hope, the visiting body of grief, and Annis’s strength of character.
Best first line ever.
Jesmyn Ward is no question one of my favorite authors. I know some people have trouble getting into her.. I feel like her writing is a descendant of Toni Morrison’s, so if you don’t like one you probably won’t like the other. (And you would be wrong..).





kav2's review

4.0

Dark. At first hard to read but once you catch the rhythm between the spirit world and a slave descended from a warrior women tribe in Africa, it’s a tough story of slave life through 3 generations. Focused mostly on the amazingly strong will to supervise of Arese, a black girl, it demonstrates the intense longing for freeedom to be oneself.
alexacath's profile picture

alexacath's review

4.0
adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No