Try free for 30 days

Preview
  • Let Us Descend

  • By: Jesmyn Ward
  • Narrated by: Jesmyn Ward
  • Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (8 ratings)

1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Let Us Descend

By: Jesmyn Ward
Narrated by: Jesmyn Ward
Try Premium Plus free

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $26.99

Buy Now for $26.99

Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.

Publisher's Summary

Bloomsbury presents Let Us Descend written and read by Jesmyn Ward.

* AN OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK *

‘A spectacular achievement’ ANTHONY DOERR
‘Extravagantly beautiful’ DAILY MAIL
‘One of the greatest writers of all time’ JACQUELINE WOODSON
‘Extraordinary’ GUARDIAN
‘The best book I’ve read in years’ LOUISE KENNEDY

———————————-

The first weapon I ever held was my mother's hand.

On a slave plantation in the Carolinas, Annis has survived in the light of her mother’s resilience, comforted by stories of her African warrior grandmother. Everything she knows, she learned from her mother – how to fight, how to be strong, how to grow up in a world shrouded in darkness.

When she is sold south by the white enslaver who fathered her, Annis must venture onward through the rich but unforgiving landscapes of the American South alone: from the rice fields of the Carolinas to the slave markets of New Orleans, and into the fearsome heart of a Louisiana sugar plantation. Searching for relief in memories of her mother, she opens herself to a world beyond her own, teeming with spirits of earth, water, history and myth.

A reimagining of American slavery as beautifully rendered as it is heart-wrenching, Let Us Descend offers a magnificent portrait of the strength of the human spirit and its ability to emerge from darkness into light. This is a story of beauty, love, rebirth and reclamation – a masterwork for the ages.

©2023 Jesmyn Ward (P)2023 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

What listeners say about Let Us Descend

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    5
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    5
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    5
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Powerful storytelling

Loved this book - so very sad, but powerful at the same time. Incredible storytelling and great use of truth & imagery.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful

Great story, beautifully written and absorbing from page one. I couldn’t put this down. Highly recommended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Powerful hypnotic and magical

I enjoyed every word of this beautifully crafted story that wraps the reader (listener) in a world that is more than physical. Full of powerful contradictions- dark and light, hope and fear, tangible vs spirit, captivity vs freedom - giving the reader a visceral taste of the dark underbelly of slavery. Most of all it is about love, in all its many forms. 👏💜

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.