Jesmyn Ward's Let Us Descend (2023) tells the story of slavery from a unique perspective: that of Annis, a young woman who was sold into slavery by her white father. Primarily, the novel follows Annis as she is forced to walk alongside her enslavers to the American South. The walk, which is long and arduous, dampens Annis' spirits, but she starts to draw on stories that her mother told her of her past and her ancestors to gain strength. First, Annis works in the rice fields in South Carolina; however, she is quickly whisked away to New Orleans, where she is sold once again at a slave auction and forced to work in brutal sugar plantations. However, while in New Orleans, she falls in love with a fellow slave named Safi, whose love gives her comfort. Through the beatings, malnutrition, and other poor conditions she is forced to endure because she is enslaved, Annis looks into herself and uses her family and past to reclaim her identity and forge ahead.
Although Let Us Descend is set to be released in early October 2023, early reviews have been almost universally positive—something that Ward is no stranger to. Publisher's Weekly offered up one of the most glowing endorsements of the novel, opining that "Readers won't be able to turn away." Kirkus Reviews was a bit more tepid in their praise of Ward's novel but said in their review of the novel that "[Ward's] language is saturated with terror and enchantment.
