Reviews tagging 'Trafficking'

The Deep by Rivers Solomon

21 reviews

shieldbearer's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective fast-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

5.0

I would give this book six stars if I could. What an accomplishment of worldbuilding and characterization 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Trafficking, Child death, Child abuse, and Slavery

Moderate: Pregnancy, Abandonment, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Blood, and Sexual content

Minor: Animal death

kalira's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

I found this book not only incredibly interesting (such an unusual and creative base, and yet also so immediately immersive) but lovely and also painful.

Yetu's pain with her life and her people is telegraphed clearly, and it drew me in to her hopelessness, anger, and eventual grasp at escape - and yet the story also twines the reader into how Yetu is so badly torn even

when she does escape the fate that has been killing her

.

As I read more and got even further wound up in the story - both Yetu's and of all the wajinru, I truly desperately wanted a happy ending, but also dreaded where the ending would actually take me.

I was, in the end, delighted with the perhaps-not-perfect but incredible resolution that managed to remove the torturous worst from Yetu as Historian . . . and to bring Oori with her, never to be left behind again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Violence, Slavery, Colonisation, Abandonment, Ableism, Animal death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, War, and Trafficking

Minor: Sexual content and Eating disorder

greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Colonisation, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Racism, Trafficking, Violence, Grief, and Slavery

tinyjude's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad fast-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

5.0

This novella reframes and provides a fantastical interpretation of what happened to the unborn babies of African women as they were forcefully taken from their homes in slave ships to exploit them. This atrocious moment in history is reimagined in such a lyrical and poetic way, while also being nonetheless extremely critical with white supremacy and the exploitation of black people. The combination of both aspects and the influence of African culture, create an emotional tale which maintains a special rhythm and conection with nature, especifically the sea and its power, that touches the reader deeply. The story focuses on history, but also love, community, shared generational grief, loneliness, hatred... A masterpiece.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Murder, Racism, Colonisation, Death, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, Grief, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Moderate: Child death, Cannibalism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Blood

adhdru's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective 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

3.75

Adding a full review soon, but I first need to sit on this one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Slavery, and Trafficking

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, and War

Minor: Sexual content

tesstellstales's review

dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, Racism, Trafficking, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Slavery, Animal death, and Sexual content

Minor: Pregnancy

theotheleo's review

dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Racism, Slavery, Trafficking, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

trophywithabee's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

“‘What is belonging?’ we ask. She says, ‘Where loneliness ends.’” - Rivers Solomon, The Deep

The Deep is a shorter fantasy story about the wajinru, a race of merpeople born from the pregnant enslaved women thrown into the sea. It follows Yetu, the Historian of the wajinru. As the Historian, it is Yetu’s job to hold the memories of the entire race so that the rest of the wajinru are not constantly burdened with the pain of their race’s past. As one can imagine, this position slowly wears away at Yetu, until she finally makes a drastic decision to stop herself from being completely erased, which she spends the rest of the book contemplating and responding to. 

This book truly and beautifully portrayed the burden of the painful memories that many BIPOC groups today have in their histories. I powerfully felt the resonance of this story’s metaphor for generational trauma, and the message that difficult pasts are easier to bear when they are not borne alone. I was fascinated by the wajinru and was desperate to know how the story would end. I enjoyed the complexity of the main characters and their internal conflicts. Solomon’s writing was phenomenal and I can’t wait to read more of their work in the future!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Slavery, Suicide attempt, and Self harm

Moderate: Animal death, Blood, and Grief

victorianrogue's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective fast-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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death, Grief, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Violence

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Slavery, and Trafficking

Minor: Emotional abuse, Genocide, and Racism

victoranna263's review

dark hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Slavery and Death

Minor: Trafficking