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A review by gewidder
The Deep by Nick Cutter
1.75
Man. There are some good aspects to this novel. The idea of setting it in a research station deep down the Mariana Trench is great because that in and of itself provides a lot of tension and creepiness. Some plot points and some scenes are sufficiently scary. The writing is extremely reminiscient of Stephen King, whose writing I like, and it works here for the most part.
However, and for fucking fuck's sake, is this book - and therefore the author - ever fatphobic. Glaringly so. Offensively so. Now I know that nearly everything and everyone is fatphobic, though that's not to say it should be excused. But this novel really lays it out for all to see, practically parades it in front of the reader. The fat evil character is a tiring stereotype, but I can't imagine how you write a character like this protagonist's mother and not realize you are pouring all your hatred for fat bodies and fat people into it, and that maybe you should take a step back and examine that particular issue. "Hmm, maybe I have an extreme bias that manifests in some real hate?" I can only hope someone told him, though apparently no one who edited this or otherwise read this before it was published had any objection significant enough to filter this out. (Unless it was worse before, which is a terrifying thought.)
That's my biggest issue with the book, everything else - a bad ending, endlessly repetitive scenes, annoyingly written diary entries by a character, stupidly stereotypical characters - all pale in comparison. They affect my rating and enjoyment, sure, but they are stylistic things, harmless things. The fat hate is not harmless. What's worse, the book makes a point about kindness and empathy toward others and specifically to animals, yet it is deliberately unkind, and even more so hostile, to fat people.
So, trigger warning.
However, and for fucking fuck's sake, is this book - and therefore the author - ever fatphobic. Glaringly so. Offensively so. Now I know that nearly everything and everyone is fatphobic, though that's not to say it should be excused. But this novel really lays it out for all to see, practically parades it in front of the reader. The fat evil character is a tiring stereotype, but I can't imagine how you write a character like this protagonist's mother and not realize you are pouring all your hatred for fat bodies and fat people into it, and that maybe you should take a step back and examine that particular issue. "Hmm, maybe I have an extreme bias that manifests in some real hate?" I can only hope someone told him, though apparently no one who edited this or otherwise read this before it was published had any objection significant enough to filter this out. (Unless it was worse before, which is a terrifying thought.)
That's my biggest issue with the book, everything else - a bad ending, endlessly repetitive scenes, annoyingly written diary entries by a character, stupidly stereotypical characters - all pale in comparison. They affect my rating and enjoyment, sure, but they are stylistic things, harmless things. The fat hate is not harmless. What's worse, the book makes a point about kindness and empathy toward others and specifically to animals, yet it is deliberately unkind, and even more so hostile, to fat people.
So, trigger warning.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia