OPRAHâS 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.
âNothing short of epic, magical, and intensely moving.â âVogue ⢠âA novel of triumph.â âThe Washington Post ⢠âHarrowing, immersive, and other-worldly.â âPeople
From âone of Americaâs finest living writersâ (San Francisco Chronicle) and âheir apparent to Toni Morrisonâ (LitHub)âcomes a haunting masterpiece about an enslaved girl in the years before the Civil War thatâs 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 â[t]he literary equivalent of an open wound from which poetry poursâ (NPR).
Annis, sold south by the white enslaver who fathered her, is the readerâs 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.
From one of the most singularly brilliant and beloved writers of her generation, this â[s]earing and lyricalâŚraw, transcendent, and ultimately hopefulâ (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution) novel inscribes Black American grief and joy into the very landâthe rich but unforgiving forests, swamps, and rivers of the American South. Let Us Descend is Jesmyn Wardâs most magnificent novel yet.