Reviews with content warning for Animal death - The Deep

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Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

The Deep by Rivers Solomon

55 reviews

chalkletters's review against another edition

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challenging sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Many years ago, after Twilight and Blood and Chocolate ushered YA paranormal romance through its vampire and werewolf phases, somebody in publishing promised me that mermaids would be next. As far as I’m aware, mermaids never hit those heights, but I was very excited to read The Deep, eve thoughts the focus of the novel was on more serious matters than romance.

The Deep’s creatures call themselves wajinru, rather than mermaids, and their origin is the pregnant slaves thrown overboard during the crossings of transatlantic slave ships. They are their own kind of fantasy creature, with their own history, culture and traditions, rather than drawing from existing mermaid folklore. Their struggle to deal with the traumatic memories of their species is obviously a metaphor for handling intergenerational trauma, and different characters deal with it in very different ways: by getting angry, by divorcing themselves from the history, by trying to protect others.

Fittingly, the narrative isn’t strictly linear. While Rivers Solomon writes mostly from Yetu’s perspective, her role as historian means the reader also experiences other lives. Zoti’s memories of the discovery and foundation of wajinru society, and their first encounter with humans, are particularly compelling. Yetu’s conversations with Oori, another human, were similarly well executed.

As is often the case with novellas, the story feels a little unbalanced. Yetu spends a lot of time thinking about the problem of the memories, which is all perfectly paced, and then the solution and ending all turn on a dime without really being given room to breathe. That said, it’s obvious from much earlier what the solution is likely to be, so it doesn’t feel out of place. While it would have been nice for Yetu to be able to brainstorm solutions, it’s thematically appropriate that she had to come to an answer on her own.

The Deep is a painful, hopeful book saying interesting things about truly important topics, and I would definitely recommend it.

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giulianalb99's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This book is pure suffering but I think everyone should read it.
Unfortunately, in the times we are living in, there is a lot of racism and this book talks about it in a way that makes you suffer from start to finish. I’ve read this book in an afternoon and it is so well written but it wasn’t an easy read for all the topics it deals with.

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kurumipanda's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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galexy_brain's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This novella beautifully explores how intergenerational trauma can wear on individuals of later generations. It touches on how forgetting is easier but doesn't allow for healing. Interrogating the past is important because one is nothing without their history. Supporting one another as a community is a way to work through the collective trauma that stops individuals from shouldering the burden alone.

I overall enjoyed this book but found the main character, Yetu, quite frustrating. I appreciated that the themes also explored parents misunderstanding their children (notable quote: "Yetu appreciated Amaba's caring nature, but sometimes her gentle chiding turned into chafing, and Yetu was reminded of all that was wrong between them.") and what I interpreted as navigating a neurotypical world as a neurodiverse person.

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andreapap15's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

My only gripe about this novella is that it's not longer. Gorgeous writing as expected of the author, with a captivating conversation about the legacy of generational trauma and memory.

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nightfell's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I was going to rate this 4.5, but I can't remember what I disliked about it, and I have not stopped thinking about this book since I read it, so 5 stars.
This book follows the historian as she holds all her people's memories to preserve her people's happiness, thus leaving her conflicted about her identity. This concept sounded amazing when I first heard about it, and the author really did such a good job with the follow through. The chapter which told the people's history left me speechless and stunned, I am awed by this book even though it's so short.
Also every character is black and the main character is a lesbian (or sapphic), so please read.

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