Annis is a slave girl born into a world of unthinkable injustice. Mama is her only shield from "her sire," a white man who owns a Carolina rice field that serves as the only home Annis has ever known. When in a blink, Annis' entire world is upended and she's moved further south to be sold, her grief takes the form of a visceral being as she makes the incomprehensible journey on foot alongside of other sold slaves to New Orleans where her future hangs in the balance.
Through undeniably masterful storytelling, Ward tells the story of Annis' journey as she makes her way through deplorable conditions to the New Orleans slave markets and eventually onto a Louisiana sugar plantation. As the story marches further into dread-filled darkness, spirit guides and otherworldly beings emerge from the swamp, the dark wood, and the waters to guide Annis along the way.
And despite the remarkable storytelling in "Let Us Descend," I found that I never fully connected to the story despite its shocking (but tragically-familiar?) brutality. Ward pens a lyrical story reminiscent of Dante's "Inferno" that woven with magical realism, folklore, and graphic depictions of slavery before the Civil War. And yet, this is a story nearly drowned in its own grief; the gorgeous prose felt so bogged down that it lacked the crisp clarity of a well-woven plot.
In reading "Let Us Descend" I simultaneously acknowledged the important truth Ward is telling while recognizing it lacked the originality necessary to make it stand apart from other novels of a similar kind. At the end of the day, I have no doubt this book will have a massive following simply because of Ward's beloved status and her undeniable abilities, but this did not work the way I'd hoped for me. I'm interested to visit some of her older works in the near future, however.
Rating: 3 Stars
Publication Details: Out 10/24/2023, Scribner
*Many thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for providing my advanced review copy of this title*
