Let Us Descend

A Novel

By: Jesmyn Ward

Narrated by: Jesmyn Ward

Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • Instant New York Times Bestseller • Named one of the best books of 2023 by The Washington Post, Vanity Fair, The Boston Globe, Time, The New Yorker, and more.

“Nothing short of epic, magical, and intensely moving.” —Vogue • “A novel of triumph.” —The Washington Post • “Harrowing, immersive, and other-worldly.” —People

From “one of America’s finest living writers” (San Francisco Chronicle) and “heir apparent to Toni Morrison” (LitHub)—comes a haunting masterpiece about an enslaved girl in the years before the Civil War that’s destined to become a classic.

Let Us Descend describes a journey from the rice fields of the Carolinas to the slave markets of New Orleans and into the fearsome heart of a Louisiana sugar plantation. A journey that is as beautifully rendered as it is heart wrenching, the novel is “[t]he literary equivalent of an open wound from which poetry pours” (NPR).

Annis, sold south by the white enslaver who fathered her, is the listener’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 listeners through the descent, hers is ultimately a story of rebirth and reclamation.

From one of the most singularly brilliant and beloved writers of her generation, this “[s]earing and lyrical…raw, transcendent, and ultimately hopeful” (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution) novel inscribes Black American grief and joy into the very land—the rich but unforgiving forests, swamps, and rivers of the American South. Let Us Descend is Jesmyn Ward’s most magnificent novel yet.

©2023 Jesmyn Ward (P)2023 Simon & Schuster Audio

amazing writing, as always

both the story and performance are beautiful, sorrowful, and give hope. highly recommend as long as you are ok with painful descriptions of slavery

She rocks

The lyrical prose and spiritual sensibility of the main character were deeply felt. I could have read on indefinitely.

Riveting

The love transcends through Jesmyns words over and over. Captivating story keeps you entwined until the very end.

Pure Poetry

This painful story is told in words like no other. Each scene is so vividly depicted that I cried several times along the way.

Stunning imagery

This raw and honest telling is brought with poetry, and brings the reader in. I couldn’t stop listening 

Best Read in a Lifetime

A mixture of gut wrenching prose and tragic storytelling. Azza her spiritual companion can either be her delusional imagination or spirit brought to life to witness the tragical Atlantic Crossing.
It is books like this that would be a loss if critical race theory falls victim to cancel culture. We all need to read this book.

Read Beautifully by the Author

The author ‘s reading helps to connect to the main character. You quickly get a sense of who Annis is and all of the hurts and pain she suffered in her short life. But still the lyrical imaginative
pose seemed to keep Annis at a distance. The writing style is adaptive but if you’re looking for a story that is developed in the sense that it explores the historical timeframe and other characters aound Annis you won’t get it here because Annis is wrestling with the spiritual elements . Still it left me wanting to know more.

The writing is amazing

The incredibly heartwrenching description of life as a slave. Words painted a picture that will not be soon forgotten.

Powerful

This novel was an amazing depiction of the love, strength and will of African American women of yesterday and today. I found my own strength in the manner in which the author would paint the picture, it felt as though you were there living it breathing it. Amazing ‼️

Such beauty of writing in the dark of the storm

I’d recommend this book to all who hear the glory in the song of the bees