During the Atlantic Slave Trade of the 16th to 19th centuries, some enslaved Africans were thrown overboard to drown, for various reasons. Some of them were pregnant women, and Rivers Solomon’s The Deep supposes that though they died, their children were born under water, were nurtured initially by whales, and lived their lives under the sea, forming a community of biologically altered beings. The wajinru live in communion with the sea, have their own language, their own architecture, and their own culture. The personal memories of the trauma that brought their ancestors into the sea are preserved and concentrated in individuals known as Historians, while most wajinru live fully in the present circumstance. Yetu is a young Historian who strains under the burden chosen when she was a child.
The Deep is River Solomon’s second novel, after their 2017 debut with An Unkindness of Ghosts. (Solomon uses non-binary pronouns). It is, in my thinking, literary fantasy, as opposed to the science fictional nature of their first work. The novel was inspired by ideas in a prior song by the experimental rap group clipping, consisting of Daveed Diggs (of Hamilton fame), William Hutson, and Jonathan Snipes. If you are unfamiliar, here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT1ujfuXFVo . The novel comments on and extends the themes of the song in a way the resonates, and an afterward tribute by clipping is included in the book.
For such a short novel, the opening develops very slowly. We get to know Yetu, her Amaba (mother) and some predecessor Historians, although there is little action, and no actual problem other than Yetu’s struggle with her role. However, midpoint in the novel, she is presented with an opportunity to escape her fate and explore her own individuality at great cost to the community. Then things get exciting, so I strongly recommend you stick with it. The novel is an allegory for the psychological burden of historical enslavement carried by modern descendants of the African diaspora. Without awareness, life in the present circumstance alone is broken, with dire consequences. The same perspective could be applied for other terrible histories, as well. Who should carry the burden? Y’all.
I highly recommend The Deep. More story is possible, and there is plenty of world-building groundwork for it, but this stands alone plotwise and thematically. I hope it is left alone as the gem it is.
The Deep is River Solomon’s second novel, after their 2017 debut with An Unkindness of Ghosts. (Solomon uses non-binary pronouns). It is, in my thinking, literary fantasy, as opposed to the science fictional nature of their first work. The novel was inspired by ideas in a prior song by the experimental rap group clipping, consisting of Daveed Diggs (of Hamilton fame), William Hutson, and Jonathan Snipes. If you are unfamiliar, here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT1ujfuXFVo . The novel comments on and extends the themes of the song in a way the resonates, and an afterward tribute by clipping is included in the book.
For such a short novel, the opening develops very slowly. We get to know Yetu, her Amaba (mother) and some predecessor Historians, although there is little action, and no actual problem other than Yetu’s struggle with her role. However, midpoint in the novel, she is presented with an opportunity to escape her fate and explore her own individuality at great cost to the community. Then things get exciting, so I strongly recommend you stick with it. The novel is an allegory for the psychological burden of historical enslavement carried by modern descendants of the African diaspora. Without awareness, life in the present circumstance alone is broken, with dire consequences. The same perspective could be applied for other terrible histories, as well. Who should carry the burden? Y’all.
I highly recommend The Deep. More story is possible, and there is plenty of world-building groundwork for it, but this stands alone plotwise and thematically. I hope it is left alone as the gem it is.