The Deep
Books | Fiction / Science Fiction / General
3.6
(483)
Rivers Solomon
Daveed Diggs
William Hutson
Jonathan Snipes
Octavia E. Butler meets Marvel’s Black Panther in The Deep, a story rich with Afrofuturism, folklore, and the power of memory, inspired by the Hugo Award–nominated song “The Deep” from Daveed Diggs’s rap group Clipping. Yetu holds the memories for her people—water-dwelling descendants of pregnant African slave women thrown overboard by slave owners—who live idyllic lives in the deep. Their past, too traumatic to be remembered regularly is forgotten by everyone, save one—the historian. This demanding role has been bestowed on Yetu. Yetu remembers for everyone, and the memories, painful and wonderful, traumatic and terrible and miraculous, are destroying her. And so, she flees to the surface escaping the memories, the expectations, and the responsibilities—and discovers a world her people left behind long ago. Yetu will learn more than she ever expected about her own past—and about the future of her people. If they are all to survive, they’ll need to reclaim the memories, reclaim their identity—and own who they really are. The Deep is “a tour de force reorientation of the storytelling gaze…a superb, multilayered work,” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) and a vividly original and uniquely affecting story inspired by a song produced by the rap group Clipping.
Fantasy
Buy Now
AD
Buy now:
More Details:
Author
Rivers Solomon
Pages
176
Publisher
Simon and Schuster
Published Date
2019-11-05
ISBN
1534439889 9781534439887
Community ReviewsSee all
"Such an expressive, unique, beautiful story. The way it deals with the conflict of traumatic history and who's burden it is to bear it is so deep. Less than 200 pages yet so stirring. Loved this book. "
M
Maya
"Was really excited for this one - such a unique and fascinating concept!
Ended up leaving me unsatisfied - not enough character development, slow paced... it didn’t feel complete to me. When the story ended I was left wanting more... and not in a “I’m ready for a sequel now!!” way, but in a “That’s it??” kind of way."
"It’s a good book and handles the topic of generational trauma fairly well, but it was pretty confusing for me. I found myself skipping some parts. The best way I could explain my stance on this book is this.
An amazing book from a writers point of view, but not as engaging from a readers stance.
Again, this is a pretty good book despite the fact it’s only 155 pages long, but I was lost for a good chunk of it. "
""Yetu wanted people to remember how she remembered. With screams."<br/><br/>3.5⭐<br/><br/>The Deep is an intriguing speculative fiction novel that covers so many important themes. This book is very thought-provoking, and it's a heavy read for such a small book. <br/><br/>I enjoyed The Deep overall, but I did struggle with it at times. It gets a little confusing with different timelines, and the way time passes is not entirely clear. I read this with the Enby Book Club, and the discussion leader suggested that maybe the book intentionally felt disconnected because of the story that was being told. Once they said this, I felt that I had a little bit of a better understanding of the book, and that maybe the readers were supposed to feel something like what Yetu felt. <br/><br/>The characters, background, and themes of this story were all so interesting, and I think I would have enjoyed going a little deeper into everything if it would have been longer. Despite my confusion with the story at times, I liked it, and I would definitely check out another book by Rivers Solomon."
"What I love most about this novella and Rivers Solomon’s other writing is that it’s so different from anything else I’ve ever read. It makes you pay attention and keeps you thinking long after you finish reading because the world, the characters, and even the style of writing and structure of the story is so unique.<br/><br/>I love how queer this story is. I love how thought-provoking it is. I loved experiencing the world thru the different historians of the wajinru. I loved imagining the world as a place full of overwhelming sensations through Yetu’s experience. And I loved the afterword explaining how the story came to be.<br/><br/>This will be one to read again and again and gain something new with every read."
"the most beautiful book i’ve read in years. a story that feels as old and deep as the ocean. wonderfully written. an unexpected queerness. i love everything about it"
N
NC
"I mean wow. When I first started this book, I was hollow, upset, feeling every emotion of exhaustion the main character was feeling. I loved being in Yetu’s head and loved how I could feel her pain. I couldn’t even imagine carrying the burdens of my ancestors memories and what they’ve went through. Yetu was a strong individual and valid for doing what she did in this book. As much as this book made me exhausted emotionally, it was somewhat relatable. When I read about what my ancestors went through, it’s painful and overwhelming. The title is the deep, representing the deep of the see but I also think it doubles in meaning. Because book felt deep."
Similar Books
3.8
4.1
4.1
4
3.9
3.2
4.4
4.3
3.6
4.5
4.1
4.5
3.9
4.2
3.4
3.5
4.1
3.1
3
3.6