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nhollie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.75
Moderate: Slavery, Racism, and Death
Minor: Gore
building_a_bookdom's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Eating disorder, Genocide, Grief, Mental illness, Slavery, Blood, Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, War, and Abandonment
Moderate: Pregnancy, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Child death, Murder, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Body horror, Colonisation, and Death of parent
marsh_mall0w's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Pregnancy, Genocide, Death of parent, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, and Grief
Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, Gore, Self harm, Murder, Animal death, and Suicide
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Eating disorder
maeverose's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Child abuse, Gore, Racism, Slavery, Animal death, Blood, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Vomit, and Suicidal thoughts
Death in childbirth, baby is born after mother diedsalemander's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Death, Grief, Gore, and Slavery
discarded_dust_jacket's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
This story is an incredibly imaginative and deeply moving study of generational trauma, the struggle between the importance of remembering and the need to survive, and the power of community—of a people, as one, sharing the weight of history together, grieving and celebrating together.
And beyond that, I love how this book, like its characters, can’t exist on its own. Solomon openly embraces the direct inspiration that birthed the story’s central mythology: a song of the same name by clipping., who, in turn, acknowledges its origins in the work of Detroit-based musical duo Drexciya.
The afterword puts it beautifully:
“We prefer to imagine each of these objects as artifacts—as primary sources—each showing a different angle on a world whose nature can never be observed in totality. … Experiencing these works requires labor—something like that of an archaeologist who’s discovered multiple texts about the Drexciyan civilization [the underwater society descended from the children of drowned, pregnant enslaved women that forms this story] and is tasked with assembling a picture of that civilization.”
Graphic: Suicide attempt, War, Self harm, Violence, Gore, Death, Slavery, Blood, and Grief
suzylit's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Blood, Child death, Grief, Violence, Colonisation, Gore, Murder, Slavery, and Death
juney_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Hate crime, Murder, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Violence, Gore, Blood, Death, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Torture, and War
booking_along's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
would i say go read this?
yes absolutely.
BUT if you have triggers, definitely look them up and make sure that they aren’t in this book since this book covers so many different generational traumas.
it’s a beautifully written story.
i love the idea and in most moments how the story is told.
the idea of the ocean being something capable of saving the ones that need it -granting the wish to survive- is fascinating and interesting.
the whole thing with the historians and instead of sharing memories burdening one person with all the history no matter what that does to that individual.
but in some moments this story struggled a long a bit for me and while some moments were something i couldn’t stop reading and wanted to know more but than the plot changed a bit and i felt taken away from what i wanted to follow and i struggled to want to continue.
maybe cause sometimes the switch from one plot/moment to another was so different and made it a bit grading.
i don’t know if the length of this book helped with that or not for me.
maybe i just wasn’t fully prepared for just how personal some moments felt -especially the ones were nobody seems to understand or want to understand the invisible struggles and constant pain some can have.
because i loved the length of this.
i don’t think a whole length novel would have worked so well for this, i think it would have started to dragged and become to long a story to keep interest because of all the horrors and trauma this story tells.
the writing as mentioned is beautiful.
i can’t remember the last book i marked quotes simply because the spoke to me and/or how it was said.
i defiantly want to try more by the author and see what else they have.
i think this is a book that i will come back to and need to reexperience to know how to helpfully review it.
Graphic: Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Torture, Suicide attempt, Slavery, Grief, Gore, Child abuse, and Self harm
nojerama's review
- 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
Graphic: Abandonment, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Colonisation, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Blood, Death of parent, Deportation, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Gore, Murder, Racism, Violence, and War