I can honestly say I do not really get what everyone sees as so great about this novella/short story (about 200 pages). I know Rivers Solomon is an amazing writer. Don't take my critique of this story as a criticism towards them. The ideas here are so good and smart; but the execution didn't do it for me. Or maybe it was just the main character I couldn't stand. I'm not sure; but either way I was disappointed.

For the first half of this book I was only mildly intrigued. Which is odd given that it's mermaids with unique backstory and way of narrating their own history. There are definitely overtones here that reference how awful occupation of another race, area, country, etc. can be and certainly comments on colonialism throughout. But at the end of the day I was kind of put off by the constant whining of our leading girl. I think Solomon did this on purpose; but I also think it was done a bit unfairly. You see I read 100 pages and think 'gosh this leading girl is a diva and annoying'. I then think 'why didn't she do xyz, or abc, or blah blah blah'. Only 20 pages later to find out she did. But it felt like too little, too late to me.

Unlike some novellas I wasn't able to read this in one sitting. Which might, maybe have changed things; but I have to stand by my belief that books need to be read at whatever pace is best for the reader. So arguing it has to be read quickly in one sitting doesn't sit comfortably for me. It just felt like I found out far too late enough about our leading gal to understand her frustrations, to recognize her trauma, and to really feel for her. Those that would argue that we should take all traumatic stories on faith would perhaps tell me I am a part of the problem that we don't believe people in real life and look for 'proof' where there may be none except the word of one person. And you may have a good point. I am someone who struggles sometimes to really understand why people make some of the decisions they make. Although I am getting better (I hope) and starting to recognize that fear is a leading factor. All that said, I really think that in fiction we should be providing enough context about a lead character to allow the readers to empathically understand them fairly quickly.

So while the last half of The Deep justifies the first half. I'm still not a huge fan. Although if you need a novella or short story to write an essay or book report on this is a great choice! There are sooo many critical comments and comparisons made to today's world (and our own fraught history) that any number of topics could be pulled out from it. My personal favourite was that our mermaids have no gender. If you know or follow River Solomon you will also appreciate why that is awesome. And also recognize how well it's explained (or not explained) in The Deep.

All that said, the origin of where the ideas for The Deep came from and the evolution they have undergone over the years are AMAZING! Don't miss the afterward as it's got some critical info in it that helps explain some of the story.

I honestly don't know where to even begin with this story. It's both stunning and heartbreaking at the same time. Solomon took the song, The Deep by clipping, which is inspired by events during the slave trade - pregnant women being thrown overboard, and weaved it into more than a mythology of mermaids, but very futuristic in a sense as well.

We follow Yetu who is The Historian of her people. She was chosen at the tender age of 14 by her predecessor. As the Historian of her people, Yetu is burdened with carrying all the memories and history of their origins. The children born of pregnant slave women, who died, but their babies born into the waters, and cared for by the large whales of the sea. I believe they may have been humpback or grey whales.

These memories can hit Yetu at any moment, and the emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual toll it takes on Yetu is too much. At the yearly ceremonial celebration of letting these memories fill the minds of her people, Yetu snaps and leaves her people while still in rapture.

This is such a poignant story. Sadness, sorrow, but also hopeful. And learning what it means to live with the horrows of the past, but also living for the beauty of the present. Solomon brings so much more to this story. Deeper meanings to generational trauma and learning to truly live, and be your authentic self.

Everyone should read this. Go. Read it.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers and River Solomon for allowing me this opportunity to read the story of Yetu and her peoples. It has touched me forever.

The writing? BEAUTIFUL.

It has a very interesting concept; however, I don’t know what it is but, I just couldn’t get immersed in the story. I knew what I was reading, I understood what I was reading, but nothing stuck.

While reading it, I even thought I should quickly finish it so I could choose my next book. That’s not exactly a thought I should be having with a book I’m reading.

A powerful story with an eclectic cast of characters (POC, LGBTQ+). I loved the premise and the way Solomon tackled the history of slavery, but I ultimately found it a little too short, and found myself wishing that it was a full-length novel to better flesh out the characters and the worldbuilding. All in all, though, it brimmed of creativity and I'll definitely be reading more of Solomon's work in the future.

The language, the language, so intricate and inspiring! Yetu, a memory keeper from a race of creatures living beneath the sea, descendants of African women thrown overboard during transport. Magical, awe-inspiring, this will stay with you.

The mermaids in this novella are descendants of pregnant American slaves. Yetu is a special mermaid who has the burden of knowing their entire history, while the others don't have to know of their struggle. Yetu becomes increasingly overwhelmed by this burden until one day she leaves and finds refuge on the surface. If Yetu and her people want to survive, they'll have to first discover their entire history.

› I loved the premise, and diversity, but didn't enjoy the execution. The writing style is flowery, with little plot, muddy storylines, and weak world-building. Many other readers LOVED this novella, so don't take my word for it.
› Final Thoughts
• If you like literary fiction, flowery writing, or magical realism then I think you should give this a try.


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review.

31/5 out of 5 stars
Yetu holds the memories of her people , a tribe of underwater dwellers coming from the pregnant slave woman thrown over board from the slave ships . The only one that can remember is the historian and that falls on Yetu. Even though those memories are slowly destroying her . She flees to the surface to find the world that they left behind so long ago. Where she will learn more about her past and also about the future of her people .
I had mixed feeling about the characters in this book . Yetu is a complicated character and honestly sometimes she was just a little bit hard to understand. She is strong and wants no more to be the memory keeper . We see her grow when she comes to the surface .
I honestly didn't realize that this book is written from a song. The author does take us on a rollercoaster ride of emotions . The characters are well written and you will either like Yetu or dislike her but she does grow on you. I just wish that the author would of built up the story and characters just a little more . I felt like it just fell flat in a few parts and it kind of dragged in those areas . Over all I enjoyed the book and the ideas of what a transatlantic slave trade was like and how harsh it was . If you like a good story on the history of merpeople and how they came into being , check it out .

I had previously tried to read this book and didn't get very far into it, perhaps 20% before I stopped trying. I gave this another go from the very beginning because I knew I liked the concept of the book, just needed to be captured. Which turned out for the best because I really enjoyed the story.

In my mind I wish that this book was much longer, went into much more detail, continued on for 300 pages. But in reality, it was a great short story to read to make me want to continue reading more books about siren/mermaid type creatures.

The whole story is so relatable that any one at any point can relate to Yetu or even Oori. There is never true happiness when one is alone. Between Yetu and Oori, we definitely learn that lesson well. You need people, heritage and someone to belong with to truly feel at peace in this world.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the ARC!!

My Rating: 4 Stars

I didn’t realize I needed this in my life, but I’m so glad I found it.

I’ll be the first to admit I picked this book because I saw Daveed Diggs’s name in the summary, but I got more than I could have hoped. The story was absolutely fantastic, a take on the wajinru that lived in the deep, born from pregnant slaves thrown overboard from ships. The main character is Yetu, who is struggling as the only wajinru that has the entire history of her people locked in her memories. She has to decide between doing her duty as her people’s historian and abandoning her calling and home to be able to be free from the agony that her duty required.

The relationships were one of the best parts, and so realistic and enjoyable. From the parental relationship between Yetu and her Amaba, starting off rocky (yet obviously holding love), to the lengths Amaba is willing to go to by the end to protect her daughter. I also loved the relationship between Yetu and Oori, blooming between two people who were so different than the ones around them, two people for who history was such an important aspect and how feeling isolated was something they’d been forced to grow into. Their relationship made me happy to read, and I looked forward to hearing what was going to happen between them.

The only regret I have for this story is how small it was. I wish it had 100 more pages, more moments, more memories. I would love them to go more in-depth about everything we learned. Other than that, it was absolutely fantastic, and I will definitely be recommending this book to many people.

I requested this from Netgalley as soon as I saw it (and lucky enough, they provided an electronic copy to me free-of-charge in exchange for an honest review) because I had listened to the This American Life episode that played the song that this book was based on. The song was original, shocking, and entirely engrossing (go check it out if you haven't heard it!).

The book has the same fresh originality in concept and the layering of tales in this mythos that kept me reading. However, I struggled a bit with the story. Perhaps it's because this was both shorter than I expected (on my e-reader it ran just over 100 pages), and more literary than I expected. I usually read for story rather than prose, and this story - though the background of legends was well thought out - took a while to feel like the plot was in motion. The prose itself is very lovely though, and there does end up being a story and character development; it just takes a little longer to get there. Overall, I'd give it a 3.5/5 stars and recommend a read - after listening to the song - for the originality and lyrical writing style.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy. This did not affect my rating.

*4/5*

 
This book is amazing.. . I was moved by the creativity, pain, and beauty of this story.

This was such a different and beautiful take on merpeople, known as the Wajinru. They are water dwelling creatures, who are the descendants of African slave women.

The wajinru don’t have long-term memories of where they came from, so one is picked to be a historian.. a vessel for those memories and once a year, they have The Remembrance, where the historian shares the memories with all.

Being the current historian, Yetu feels everything differently than the rest of her people. It was so fascinating to be in Yetu’s mind and part of her journey. It raises questions of identity, who you are, where you come from.

This is a must-read book and I will be recommending it to everyone.

What an interesting novella! I'm not sure I completely understood it, but that only means that I've been telling everyone I know to read it so that I can talk about it with them.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc!
I really wanted to like this book, but I couldn't really get into it. The characters are interesting and the concept is amazing. African slaves being charted across the ocean, the pregnant ones being thrown overboard and their children become merpeople. They form a society. One is deemed the Historian who holds all the memories and histories of their people. It's torture. How can one relive the lives of hundreds and manage to be their own person? How do you cope with the weight of horrible tragedies that have happened to your people? Really, it sounds so interesting. I'm unsure of where I fell off the boat.
There's a lot of information to take in, and I guess it just didn't work for me. I was too lost trying to learn everything at once. As I went along I had periods of understanding, I felt like I got it and I enjoyed it. But then something would happen and I'd be confused or it'd take me out of the story. So it was a weird roller coaster of liking the book and then being confused and then liking it, repeat ad naseum.
I thought listening to the song would help, but it didn't and I disliked the song more than reading the book. I've read that everyone loves the song and the book and I'm disappointed that I didn't feel the same way.
The writing is good, the ideas are good, the characters are good. It's just not a book for me, although I truly wish it was.