Review: The Deep

The Deep by Rivers Solomon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

5+ Stars

A fabulous and subtle take on the mermaid mythos.

Let me say upfront that there are a lot of people I have a lot of admiration for in this project and one, Navah Wolfe, is NOT listed on the front cover. (I hope you read this Saga Press and Simon and Schuster, because reasons.) I really loved Rivers Solomon's An Unkindness of Ghosts and The Deep was already on my radar because of the aspect dealing with women being tossed from slaver ships because they were pregnant. (Pregnant women being such a bother.*) Anyway, this whole novella is worth your time. Though a fantasy, it has so much to say about embracing difference, about modern Afrofolklore, and about Rivers Solomon as a growing force in Afrofuturism. And let's not forget Clipping, who inspired the novella.

What do we ask of our historians? Do we ask them to remember the best, the worst, the everything? Do we ever consider the impact on historians who parse the very worst of history? Do we ever wonder if they sleep at night? If the darkest moments of history steal their peace, their very breath? Yetu is both fragile and strong, a character embodying everything that is human and not. She also embodies the history of the Wajiru people. She's a compelling character.

This novella already had me at its premise, and it has moments of immense emotional power. Where are we all from? No, really. Didn't we crawl out of the sea? What about those who went into it? And woe to the entity that is the Historian who has to remember. This novella is on my list of Hugo nominees for Best Novella, and also has my future Locus Award vote.

The audiobook, narrated by Daveed Diggs, is terrific. Thanks for letting me "read" it again, Libro.fm.

*Full disclosure: my paternal family, some of which is from Sub-Saharan Africa, is from the Canary Islands, which were involved in the slave trade. The underlying premise of this book engenders a rather visceral reaction.

I received a digital review copy of this novella from Saga Press, and also the audiobook from Libro.fm.

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