This novella was inspired by the song “The Deep” from Daveed Diggs’ rap group Clipping, which I am not familiar with, but this book still sounded (and is) amazing.

It took until the end of chapter 2 for the book to really grab me, I mean this is a novella. But it feels longer than it's 170 pages. And I mean that in a good way. It's called a novella, but it doesn't feel like one.

This was such a compelling and interesting book. I have no idea when it's supposed to take place, or where exactly it takes place, I know somewhere in the ocean, but I don't know where in relation to Africa. It kind of doesn't matter for the sake of what's going on. I just like to have visuals for stuff like that.

There was a lot that happened in this book, and it didn't feel rushed one bit. Though I would have liked a little more explanation for somethings, the passage of time was confusing at times for me, with the narration going into the past throughout the book, and I got confused a couple of times. (this could be an issue that's specific to me, and has nothing to do with the book itself) But the exact year is also never stated by any character, just a vague reference that it's been a very long time since the first of them was born.

This book is so different from anything that I have read in a while. And a beautiful and compelling tale of personal history, and memories. I highly recommend it.

Rivers Solomon has created something quite special in this story. The children of women thrown off slave ships have evolved to mermaids and to keep the whole community of mermaids from experiencing the tragic story of their origin, one of them is designated as the Historian. Our narrator, Yetu, is one such Historian, tasked with carrying centuries of her people’s trauma and her struggle to stay alive under its weight. The result is a beautiful story of the importance of and the trauma of history and how people struggle to hold on to their individuality. The language is lyrical and poetic, almost as if mimicking ocean waves. This is not a heavy action story by any means, but its rich thematic elements make it an important read. Would definitely recommend for any and every library shelf.

A quick, meaty read - I took it as an allegory about people who choose not to "dwell on" a painful past, thereby burdening an activist few. Rivers Solomon has quickly gone to my "must read" list.

3.5 stars

The concept will always be one of my favorites. There is a lot to love in this book. I really liked the main character and struggle between her personal identity and life and her role and identity within her community as the Historian. The world building was really good for a novella; I wish there'd been more of it. But the pacing really lagged in several places and it didn't have a super strong voice. This is a great book for fans of Hamilton, fantasy, historical fiction, and anyone interest in a unique mythology.

I'm almost more blown away with the concept of this novella than the novella itself -- which is only to say that the book is great but the concept is WOW. I heard Clipping's telling of "The Deep" on This American Life and it was one of those listening experiences that I constantly crave, when I'm simultaneously completely sucked in but aware that I'm listening to something unlike anything I've ever heard before. Rivers Solomon's telling of the story of an underwater people descended from the children of pregnant African women thrown overboard off slave ships is totally different in atmosphere from the song and refocuses the story on the concept of remembrance. I loved their idea of exploring the dissonance between remembering trauma and living unbound from the weight of history. The novella's afterword, provided by Clipping, is fascinating, exploring their approach to collective authorship.

As slave ships traveled to the Americas, slavers would often push pregnant women off the ship to their deaths. The Deep imagines what might have happened if some of those women had their babies – and their babies were able to breathe both in the water and in the air, as mermaids. As memories of the past are too much for many of the mermaids to bear, they only hold those memories once a year, while Yetu, the historian, bears the burden for the entire group. The Deep is her story.

This was quite good. I really liked the concept, the premise, and it was delivered upon in the real way that mattered – discussing what the past trauma of something like slavery can do to a group of people. I loved those aspects of it. The pain and anger all seemed justified and raw. The story itself was fine, but the premise and its corresponding philosophical discussion was the real winner here. The book was a bit disjointed, but that is explained at the end when you discover that the book was written by a number of people in something of a game of telephone. There’s one chapter, which, while I understand why it was in there, was jarring and really uncessary. Otherwise, though, this was a thought-provoking, meaningful and quick read that I’d recommend to anyone who likes a high concept premise.

For readers of Ta-nehisi Coates and Colson Whitehead that don’t mind a touch of science fiction – take a gander at this while you are waiting on the sure to be long hold list for The Water Dancer. 4 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and Saga Press for the eARC, which I received in exchange for an unbiased review. The Deep will be released on 05 November, but you can put your copy on hold today!

The concept of this novella is so powerful that only the most precise of prose could carry its weight. Rivers Solomon is able to balance the emotional punches and the worldbuilding with careful structure that will keep readers centered in the moment.

As the historian of the wajinru, Yetu holds the history of all her people inside of her. Given that the ancestors discovered that they originate from the unborn babies of African women who were thrown off of slave ships to die in the middle of the ocean, Yetu struggles with the generational knowledge that she holds. The founders of the wajinru society felt that carrying around such a painful history would not be productive, so all other wajinru live their lives in the present with a yearly Remembering designed to provide them with the knowledge of their founding that creates an echo that will sustain them and remind them of their purpose. However, this year's Remembering ceremony is already late and Yetu finds she has reached her breaking point. What transpires next is a story of sacrifice, survival, and the power of memory and genuine connection.

I heard a lot about the Afrofuturist text The Deep and it did not disappoint. Rivers Solomon successfully investigates selfishness and sacrifice, collective and individual memory, and the power of connection. While the origin of the wajinru is indeed painful, Solomon's writing seems a hopeful reframed vision of how to incorporate and remember the past, particularly when viewed through the lens of the final three sentences of the novella. In addition, Oori's link to her own lack of personal and cultural history is also an excellent foil to the full history of the wajinru that Yetu felt burdened carrying. By creating a genuine connection between these two characters, I thought Yetu learned a great deal about relationships and the importance of her people's history.

Having listened to the song of the same name by The Clipping, this novella certainly offers a more extended look. In fact, in an afterward The Clipping discusses how the song and novella relate. The Clipping's view on the novella is that it is part of a game of artistic telephone with each telling of The Deep being productive and adding more to the mythology. The collaborative nature of all of these versions means the game could go on indefinitely with each new iteration offering more detail.

As a whole, I was really impressed with Solomon's novella, and, in fact, I wished it were longer. The world building that Solomon is able to provide in this short work made me yearn to know more about the wajinru.

I love the idea of this story more than I liked the book. I just wanted more; more of the history, more of the reasons behind the decision to make one person the keeper of the memories, more background on the surface dwellers/two legs, more about what happens next. If there is ever a prequel or sequel I will read it because there is so much more to the story then was in this book.

There aren't enough stars to tell you how much I loved this. Full of pain and heartache, but also hope and compassion. Sure to be on most award ballots next year. Don't miss it!

Fans of Rivers Solomon's "An Unkindness of Ghost" won't find much in common with this new release (based off the Hugo-award winning rap song from Clipping) other than its ability to tug on heartstrings in just the right way. Beautiful and haunting original lore from a group of storytellers, which has expanded a bit further with Rivers Solomon's new novella. The shift in tenses takes a little bit of getting used to, though since the book is showing what collective memories look like, it still works. Reading the afterword also helps this make a bit more sense. Overall it was so creatively told and original from anything I've read in a while, and I just adore how Solomon writes relationships.

It’s no surprise to me that we often call history a burden. The terrible actions of our past—either our own or our ancestors’—seem to have an actual weight. The protagonist of The Deep, by Rivers Solomon (based on a group idea as the afterword explains) carries her people’s past in a very literal way: her brain remembers generations of memories. These memories crowd out her own experiences and often cause physical and emotional pain. At the beginning of the novella, Yetu is desperate to put her burden down.

The wajinru, a magical aquatic people, have a yearly ritual in which Yetu shares that entire history with them. The ritual reminds them who they are and where they came from, because they tend to forget without their Historian to serve as a living archive. These memories remind the wajinru that they are the children of pregnant, enslaved African women who were thrown overboard as they were transported to the Caribbean and America. Their infants, born in the ocean, were transformed to survive under water.

Because there is a real chance that these memories could kill Yetu, as soon as she has shared the memories during the yearly ritual, she leaves. A storm leaves her stranded and injured in a tidal pool. There she meets a woman who is the last of her people, who would give anything to preserve their history before it is lost forever. Yetu has to decide if she will go back to the wajinru and rescue them from their history…or if she will strike out on her own.

The Deep, being a novella, is incredibly brief. The amazing worldbuilding has plenty of hints about a wider world—one that I wish I could know more about. The wajinru in particular are a wonderful subject for stories. Like the people of Winter in The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula Le Guin, gender is not really an issue for the wajinru. They can be either male or female for the purposes of reproduction; they use gendered pronouns, but it seems to be a matter of personal preference. They can also have a collective identity, one that makes Yetu’s dilemma carry a lot of emotional weight (on top of her burden as Historian).

The best part of The Deep, at least for me, are the questions and ideas it brings up. The spare writing felt almost like folk lore. Details are often ignored to keep the plot moving. This may annoy people, but the questions at the heart of this novella are really important. Can we find a middle path between treating our history as a terrible burden or as something sacred? Can we learn to see our history as a tool for becoming something better? Can we learn to remember the good as much as the bad? (And vice versa for the people who tend to gloss over the hard parts.) I’m looking forward to reading the reviews of this book, to see what other readers and critics think.

I have first heard of the book on twitter and got curious when I learned it was inspired by a song. At the time, I haven’t read any of Solomon’s books (though my friends have recommended me An Unkindness of Ghosts plenty) nor have I heard of Clipping. But I went and listened to The Deep – it was not my usual type and yet I liked it. I liked it a whole lot. The concept sounded like nothing I’ve ever read and as someone whose creativity is inspired by music, I was doubly keen to find out what will the result of the collaboration be. So of course, I jumped at the opportunity.

And the ever-important question: Was the book any good? Hell yes. Though I was a bit unsure at the start, it did pretty much exactly what I expected from the song, and more.

Yetu is a historian, a vessel for the collective memories of the sea-dwelling wajinru people. They are the offspring of African slave women thrown overboard and have no long-term memories, instead choosing a historian to remember for them. The weight of it all is destroying her, so she flees to the surface, leaving the memories behind.

(If you wonder how they came to be or how can one person hold all of the memories, well, this is a fantasy book. There are explanations, but in short: magic.)

The worldbuilding is fantastic, too. The take on merpeople is fresh and their culture is well thought out. I especially liked the chapters told from the perspective of the wajinru as a group – they are beautifully written and it’s not often that we is used instead of I or he/she/they.

The book deals heavily with themes of memory, trauma, and the individual vs. the collective. Yetu is a high-strung, anxious, sensitive person who cannot handle remembering centuries of trauma as vividly as if she experienced what those before her went through herself. And then there is another character who is the last of her kind and wishes dearly she had something of her people and cannot understand why Yetu would turn her back on her community.

If there’s anything I didn’t like as much, it’s that the narration is fairly distant – I couldn’t connect to Yetu or the story as much as I’d want to, especially in the beginning. And typical for a novella, it’s not quite enough in places. But I’d recommend it regardless.

This book was received as an ARC from Gallery / Saga Press in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

Right from the cover and description I knew I would be intrigued.by The Deep. I was in for the ride of my life. I could not put this book down. From one chapter to the next my eyes were almost superglued and did not want to be anywhere else. The passion and determination Yetu had for discovering the truth about her ancestors and where she descended from fulfilling her role as The Historian, the most distinguished role anyone can have of her culture. I always love books when you learn a fantastic fact of history and The Depp provided that and more. This book seriously left me breathless and intrigued and those are my two favorite feelings.

We will consider adding this title to our Sci Fi/Fantasy collection at the library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

It starts off slow and kind of dense, but once the action begins, it's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. It reads as a true epic, one that makes you feel the world really has been reshaped as you read it. Would recommend.

This is a beautiful novella! It can be intense, but that's expected given the type of story that it is. I like Solomon's writing style and I think this story goes perfectly with the song it is based on. I want to read more from this author.

tw: self-harm, graphic violence, death, mention of slavery.

This is a disturbing, fascinating novella inspired by “The Deep” by Clipping the rap group featuring Daveed Diggs (Hamilton, Wonder). It features the historian or memory keeper of the wajinru—the water-breathing children evolved from the pregnant women pushed off slave ships during the Middle Passage—trying to survive the weight of their memories. It’s haunting and thoroughly impressive pulling together issues of gender, traumatic generational memories, and the magic of the sea.

Literary fantasy is one of those genres that many aspire to write but very few can pull off. So when I have the opportunity to read a piece of literary fantasy that lands so well--describing a unique setting with a masterful hand and exploring a difficult part of human history or experience--I'm always grateful.

The Deep revolves around Yetu and her people, the wajinru--mermaid-like beings descended from African women who were thrown off of slave ships. It's so harsh a history, I initially expected the story to be solely about Yetu discovering her heritage and coming to grips with it. Yet there's a intricate character arc woven into the story as well. Yetu not only knows a good part of her history at the beginning, but she is the one tasked with holding all these painful memories so the rest of her people don't have to be burdened with them. Only occasionally do they get a glimpse of them so they do not forget completely where they came from. It's a responsibility that's weighing Yetu down so much she eventually runs away from it all, leaving everyone else trapped holding the memories and only vaguely aware of their present reality. Yetu's journey then shifts to filling in the gaps of how her people came to be, exploring what it means to be part of her community, and what the responsibility is of community members to each other. At one point, she becomes injured and leans on this as a way to stall making a decision about whether or not to return. It's relatable, it's real, and although I could never imagine holding the burden that Yetu holds, it made me feel connected to her.

"Connection brings responsibility," the book states, and there's a lot for Yetu to unpack and she explores her connections with others. The story shifts from her desperation, to her newfound happiness in her freedom, to the frustration of missing her family yet not wanting to go back to the way things were. The time shifts are sometimes sudden but always ground the reader well. I'm glad this was allowed to be exactly the length it needed--it's not a full-length novel, but expanding or over-trimming it would lose the beauty of the storytelling.

The afterword about this book and the music that inspired it was also a fascinating read. I confess much of this story's history was new to me, and I appreciated the creators taking the time to educate readers like me on that front.

Overall, The Deep is a powerful, expertly-crafted, and highly recommended piece of literature.

I was drawn to this book because of it's beautiful cover and mysterious title. Then the concept of mer-people as descendants of pregnant Africa slaves who were tossed overboard from slave ships like so much garbage really drew me in. The writing is lyrical and haunting. The world-building is very well imagined. I like that she made you feel what it would be like to live in total darkness of the bottom of the ocean. Then there is the shared memories, almost like a cultural oral history. And these memories are slowly forgotten if the history is not retold, which I felt was a very timely concept. All in all this was a brief but entirely unique story that needed to be told.

Another incredible read from Rivers Solomon. Based on the song, The Deep, by Clipping, the book tells the story of the descendants of pregnant African slaves thrown overboard who not only survived but thrived in the depths of the ocean as water-dwelling wajinru. The truth of their past is so traumatic that it is held and preserved by one historian, who holds the collective memory of all their people. A painful and often thankless job-- especially for Yetu's whose sensory sensitivities make her especially overwhelmed by the knowledge of the past.

An enthralling novella exploring everything from generational trauma and survival to gender norms. River Solomon's world building and writing are as masterful as ever, and if they aren't already on your must-read-everything-they-write list they should be now. Cannot recommend enough.