Play Book Tag discussion

I've loved everything, I've read by Jesmyn Ward and Let Us Descend is no exception. In this book she delves into historical fiction with a heroine, Annis who is sold and is forced to walk from her home in the Carolinas to New Orleans.

Ward reminds us that the victims of slavery were not blank slates who developed skills which they applied for personal benefit, i.e. new Florida curriculum standards , but individuals with skills and belief systems which were passed down to their children.

Annis' mother taught her about many things which helped and guided her on her journey and in her life. She gave her strength and the skills to survive. Reading this I was reminded of another book which I read this year Groff's The Vaster Wilds. Both wish to escape their tragic circumstances, but their goals and their skills are different.

Ward does make use of magical realism and the supernatural as she has done in the past and those who do not enjoy this may wish to avoid the book, but I am comfortable in the way she uses these elements.

I felt the ending could have been stronger but it may well have had to do with my circumstances while finishing the book.

Great review. peace, janz