THE DEEP is a challenging read, unique in its telling and provocative in its themes. Solomon’s prose is powerful and delicate --- a poetic and insightful examination of violence, racism, pain, memory and identity." Then what? What else would make you do something so foolish?” Amaba asked, her fins a bevy of movement.

This story hit me hard from the very beginning. I was so angry at the Wajinru for putting the burden of their entire history all on Yetu's shoulders. All alone, in so much pain, pain they should have been sharing together rather than dumping it all on Yetu and it was killing her, literally. As the story progressed though I understood why they did it. I felt so much for Yetu. At times I related to certain things from being disabled, neuro-divergent and a rather sensitive INFP. I just wanted to hug Yetu and scream at the rest of the Wajinru that they were killing Yetu and didn't even seem to notice. In some ways, Yetu reminded me of the child chained in filth and darkness at the end of "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas". Her perpetual misery is the price for the wajinru people to live carefree lives. Yetu's story is interspersed with other stories from wajinru history, including the Tidal War between wajinru and two-legs. That war flooded the world after the two-legs invaded the deep to drill for oil.It has themes of being oneself, of being a part of a group and having a group history, of kinship, trauma, climate change. I'm sure there is even stuff I missed. It has powerful messages wrapped in a fantasy story with merfolk. I loved learning about the Wajinru and how they worked. I loved the arc the story went on as well as Yetu's character arc. I may have been angry for much of the story but it ends on hope and so beautifully, the ending had me sobbing. It moved me and it made me think. I had to put it down sometimes to really digest it as well as calm myself down. I enjoyed the hint of romance. I'd gladly read more from this world and these characters. Yetu will learn more than she ever expected to about her own past—and about the future of her people. If they are all to survive, they’ll need to reclaim the memories, reclaim their identity—and own who they really are. Yetu strained to feel Amaba’s words over the chorus of ripples, her skin drawn away from the delicate waves of speech and toward the short, powerful pulses brought on by her amaba’s gesticulations. The Deep is a product of succeeding projects: First, a concept by Detroit electro-pop duo called Drexciya; then, a song by rap group clipping. featuring Daveed Diggs, William Hutson, and Jonathan Snipes, for NPR’s This American Life; and finally, this book. This is a great legacy of Afrofuturism, the blend of story to story to story. They each held pieces of the history…They shared it and discussed it. They grieved. Sometimes they wanted to die. But then they would remember it was done.” p. 148

The Deep largely tells Yetu’s story, and doesn’t spend too long developing the book’s other characters. It’s rare that I find myself so thoroughly entertained by a story that focuses so entirely on one character, but Yetu’s perspective is so special, seamlessly shifting between memories, the mundane, and mindful introspection, that I was kept on my toes from start to finish. We grow anxious and restless without you, my child. One can only go for so long without asking who am I? Where do I come from? What does all this mean? What is being? What came before me, and what might come after? Without answers, there is only a hole, a hole where a history should be that takes the shape of an endless longing. We are cavities. You don’t know what it’s like, blessed with the rememberings as you are,” said Amaba. This has been another round of Joey dashing into a book too fast and missing the ‘lgbt’ label. 🤦‍♂️

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As of 2018, Solomon lives in Cambridge, UK, with their family. Originally from the United States, they received their BA in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity from Stanford University in California and an MFA in Fiction Writing from the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas at Austin. They grew up in California, Indiana, Texas, and New York. Their literary influences include Ursula Le Guin, Octavia Butler, Alice Walker, Zora Neale Hurston, Ray Bradbury, Jean Toomer, and Doris Lessing. The Deep won the 2020 Lambda Award and was shortlisted for the Nebula, Locus, and Hugo awards. Monique Roffey Healing, both on the individual and communal levels, is possible. But the journey to confront history and to heal is often painful and can be overwhelming, especially when the truth is laid bare and raw. Como decía al principio, un libro para releer, y de esos que dejan poso. Tan solo el final me dejó algo fría, pero eso no empaña lo interesante y reflexivo que me ha parecido esta novela. takes a bit to get into (I first listened to the audiobook then switched to ebook) but worth it to keep pushing through