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Lisa of Troy's Reviews > Let Us Descend
Let Us Descend
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Subtle and Symbolic but Needs Study Guide
The lyrical prose of Let Us Descend is absolutely spell binding, and the author narrating the audiobook is a brilliant pairing. This is particularly important with poetry where every breath, every pause is intentional.
Let Us Descend is a grim tale of Annis, a teenage girl enslaved as a housemaid in the Carolinas. When Annis is sold South, she sifts through the memories of her mother and the lessons that were passed down by her grandmother, Mama Aza.
Although initially enchanted with the prose, the long paragraphs and excessive descriptions become cumbersome around halfway through the book.
Then, I shifted my focus to the symbolism. Water is essentially a character in Let Us Descend. If you annotate, you might want to highlight words pertaining to water. The Water is a giver of life but also a taker of life. Does Water symbolize a rebirth?
The book also focuses heavily on three generations of women: Annis, her mother, and Mama Aza. What does the number three symbolize? Are there other instances of three in the book?
One of the characters in the book is referred to as the lady, no name. However, she doesn’t act in the manner of a lady. The lady’s blind mother only wants to be waited on by Mary, a slave girl who doesn’t speak. Does that symbolize that some are blind but don’t want to hear, that they don’t want to dispel themselves of their ignorance?
Ward also does an expert job of balancing the depressing topic of slavery with the lightness of community and hope. Even in the midst of suffering, others help Annis.
I could weep with the sweetness of it, of knowing that there are others in this terrible world who will touch me with kindness. – Let Us Descend
There are also plenty of people who saw slavery and went about their business, turning a blind eye to blatant suffering, not wanting to get involved.
Why do you think Annis’s mother calls her by a different name?
Why doesn’t Annis discuss a meeting place or a means of communication with her loved ones?
Is Annis just in another version of hell?
Annis’s mother tries to protect her daughter by training her and teaching her to pick herbs and mushrooms. But these things weren’t enough to protect her from the horrors of the world. Do you think that the mother should have trained her anyways? What legacy do you want to pass to your children?
Clearly, this would make a great book club pick as each participant could glean something different from this book.
Although I want to read this book again to try to pick up on all of the symbolism surrounding water/rain/mud/swamp, hunger/starving, and color (green, red, white, etc.), Let Us Descend is too slow-paced, has a few too many adjectives that don’t move the plot forward, and the ending should have been much stronger.
How much I spent:
Hardcover text – Paid 1 credit from BOTM (Book of the Month) $15.99
Audiobook – Free with paid Everand subscription $84.99 annually
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The lyrical prose of Let Us Descend is absolutely spell binding, and the author narrating the audiobook is a brilliant pairing. This is particularly important with poetry where every breath, every pause is intentional.
Let Us Descend is a grim tale of Annis, a teenage girl enslaved as a housemaid in the Carolinas. When Annis is sold South, she sifts through the memories of her mother and the lessons that were passed down by her grandmother, Mama Aza.
Although initially enchanted with the prose, the long paragraphs and excessive descriptions become cumbersome around halfway through the book.
Then, I shifted my focus to the symbolism. Water is essentially a character in Let Us Descend. If you annotate, you might want to highlight words pertaining to water. The Water is a giver of life but also a taker of life. Does Water symbolize a rebirth?
The book also focuses heavily on three generations of women: Annis, her mother, and Mama Aza. What does the number three symbolize? Are there other instances of three in the book?
One of the characters in the book is referred to as the lady, no name. However, she doesn’t act in the manner of a lady. The lady’s blind mother only wants to be waited on by Mary, a slave girl who doesn’t speak. Does that symbolize that some are blind but don’t want to hear, that they don’t want to dispel themselves of their ignorance?
Ward also does an expert job of balancing the depressing topic of slavery with the lightness of community and hope. Even in the midst of suffering, others help Annis.
I could weep with the sweetness of it, of knowing that there are others in this terrible world who will touch me with kindness. – Let Us Descend
There are also plenty of people who saw slavery and went about their business, turning a blind eye to blatant suffering, not wanting to get involved.
Why do you think Annis’s mother calls her by a different name?
Why doesn’t Annis discuss a meeting place or a means of communication with her loved ones?
Is Annis just in another version of hell?
Annis’s mother tries to protect her daughter by training her and teaching her to pick herbs and mushrooms. But these things weren’t enough to protect her from the horrors of the world. Do you think that the mother should have trained her anyways? What legacy do you want to pass to your children?
Clearly, this would make a great book club pick as each participant could glean something different from this book.
Although I want to read this book again to try to pick up on all of the symbolism surrounding water/rain/mud/swamp, hunger/starving, and color (green, red, white, etc.), Let Us Descend is too slow-paced, has a few too many adjectives that don’t move the plot forward, and the ending should have been much stronger.
How much I spent:
Hardcover text – Paid 1 credit from BOTM (Book of the Month) $15.99
Audiobook – Free with paid Everand subscription $84.99 annually
Connect With Me!
Blog Twitter BookTube Facebook Insta
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Let Us Descend.
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Reading Progress
October 28, 2023
– Shelved
November 21, 2023
–
Started Reading
November 24, 2023
–
Finished Reading
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P.B.
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Nov 24, 2023 06:28AM
Balanced and insightful review, Lisa. I decode symbolism by looking at my life, then I often wonder what the author's perspective is. A review is a reader's interpretation. This book seems eerily mystical.
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In my opinion, this book was about 25-100 pages too long. One of the sections that I would have trimmed down was the mystical portions where the spirit called Mama Aza would say cryptic things.
Thank you for the review, especially for the alert to the over-the-top mystical portions. It is on my tbr shelf, from botm.
What a beautiful review. I liked the book but did not think as deeply as you did; all the symbolism you noted makes me want to go back and reread right now. I loved the beauty of her words, the spell she casts as she writes about different places, characters and actions. What a great review. Wish we were in the same book discussion group right now. Thanks a bunch. I missed so many of the themes. peace, janz
Lisa, enjoyed your analysis of the symbolism which sometimes escapes me . Great review.
Loved how you described water as a character, Lisa!
I like your review a ton! This is the kind of book that makes me want to go back to university, but major in something that allows me to study every word of this book
Thanks for this review! Now I am even more curious about the symbolisms in the book. Please update us if you find a forum to discuss them in more depth with others!
Great review, i think ill do the audiobook, dont think my reading did the poetic prose justice though i really liked it
I can explain the naming. Parents would likely give their child an African name (a basket name) but the Master would have given them another "English" name (which sometimes was close to their African one (Phiba became Phoebe). In rare instances, they were allowed to keep African names (there are several on the Middleton's list of enslaved Africans (Charleston, SC). Kouli-Kan is my particular favourite).
The reason that the audiobook was read so well and poetically was that the author herself read it.
Maybe I'm simple and not mystical enough, but I didn't like the book. I should have known when I found out it was a book from Oprah's book
