"The Deep" is a novel that I think about at least once a week and have since I read it in 2020. The nuance of this story regarding enslavement, generational trauma, community, and oral traditions. I want this book to be in every high school reading requirements and taught in college courses. The power that Rivers Solomon has in their craft and they way they write is breathtaking.
This novel for me highlighted the traditions of oral story telling within African and Black American communities, and the different perspectives to each story that each individual experiences and understands the narrative. I deeply loved the easy casualness of queerness within the characters, I think it highlights the reality of queer Africans/Black folks before colonization introduced their expectations of gender identity and sexual orientation.
This novel for me highlighted the traditions of oral story telling within African and Black American communities, and the different perspectives to each story that each individual experiences and understands the narrative. I deeply loved the easy casualness of queerness within the characters, I think it highlights the reality of queer Africans/Black folks before colonization introduced their expectations of gender identity and sexual orientation.