by Jesmyn Ward
First published 2023
Annis grows up on a Carolina slave plantation, learning strength from her mother and hearing stories of her African warrior grandmother. Her mother teaches her to fight and endure in a brutal world. When the white enslaver who is her father sells Annis south, she travels alone through the American landscape. She moves from Carolina rice fields to New Orleans slave markets and finally to a Louisiana sugar plantation. During her journey, Annis finds comfort in memories of her mother. She discovers a world filled with spirits of earth, water, history and myth. Ward reimagines the experience of American slavery through Annis's eyes. The novel explores how the human spirit can find light even in the darkest circumstances. This story centers on beauty, love, rebirth and the power to reclaim one's identity.
Genres: literary-fiction, american-fiction, historical-fiction, african-american-historical-fiction
Vibes: intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, resilience
Setting: Carolina, New Orleans, Louisiana
Period: 19th-century
336 pages · Hardcover · Bloomsbury Publishing
Content warnings: slavery, violence