The Deep in Into the Forest

Aug 22, 2019 Christine rated it it was amazing

Shelves: diversity-on-cover, lgbtqia, netgalley-and-arcs, mermaids-sirens-and-selkies, diverse-hero-or-heroine, fantasy-historical, diverse-and-women-authors

Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley. Also, Rivers Solomon鈥檚 preferred pronoun is they/them.

I pre-ordered this novella in July, and at the time a group of people were upset that Halle Bailey was cast as Ariel in the live-action Disney remake of the Little Mermaid. While people kept claiming that it was because her hair wasn鈥檛 red, the 鈥渂acklash鈥� basically bullied down to Bailey being black because some stupid/racist people thought black mermaids weren鈥檛 a thing. I was finding books about black mermaid Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley. Also, Rivers Solomon鈥檚 preferred pronoun is they/them.

I pre-ordered this novella in July, and at the time a group of people were upset that Halle Bailey was cast as Ariel in the live-action Disney remake of the Little Mermaid. While people kept claiming that it was because her hair wasn鈥檛 red, the 鈥渂acklash鈥� basically bullied down to Bailey being black because some stupid/racist people thought black mermaids weren鈥檛 a thing. I was finding books about black mermaids to mention and this showed up. So, I pre-ordered. Then I got approval via Netgalley.

Look, the book is good enough that my pre-order is still in. Well, that鈥檚 not exactly true. I cancelled the kindle pre-order and pre-ordered the hardcover (from an Indie bookstore, so the fact that I am paying 20 bucks for a book that isn鈥檛 even 200 pages should tell you everything you need to know about this book).

It鈥檚 not the little mermaid. It isn鈥檛.

Solomon鈥檚 book is inspired by Clipping鈥檚 song of the same name (the song appeared on an episode of This American Life) and the group has written the afterword. The story is about Yetu a member of a group of undersea creatures who are the descendants of women who were throwed overboard from slave ships.

But the book is in large part about the power 鈥� both good and bad 鈥� of memory. An while the timing is undoubtedly a fluke, it is important to note the response to the 1619 Project. If you have not read the NY Times Magazine, please do so. What it does challenge, in fact, is how we view the past and how we need to face and acknowledge that past as well as its effects if we are to move forward. Tetu is caught in the past and her response to gain her freedom details why knowledge of the past is so important.

The novella is in many ways a more interior story than an exterior story. It is to Rivers Solomon鈥檚 credit that their writing keeps the reader, and this is down, in part, though the use of two different types of storytelling. But the two styles are blended by Rivers Solomon鈥檚 skilled use of craft making the story not only strong and engrossing but also engaging the reader, almost bringing the reader into the time and place.
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Oct 26, 2019 Lois Young rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

Whoa. That was a beautiful rollercoaster of a story. Everyone needs to read this book.

"The Deep" by Rivers Solomon incorporates this history alongside folklore and culture to tell a story of how and why it is essential to recall history no matter how traumatic it is and to share it with others. At the same time, the idea of maintaining history, culture and identity, and the consequences of those losses are echoed throughout the narrative. In African culture, a community鈥檚 historian and storyt ...more

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Jul 31, 2021 Netanella rated it really liked it

Shelves: mermaids, worlds-beyond-the-margins, fantasy, african-american, 2021-wbtm-mix-match-challenge, 2021-july-reading-challenges, 2025-may-reading-challenges, 2025-ecosystem-challenge

Original post, July 2021
Beautiful and tragic, The Deep is based on African folklore that imagines a race of water-creatures who descended from the children of pregnant African women thrown overboard during the deadly Middle Passage. It's a gorgeous and moving read.

Re-read, May 2025
Still as powerful as when I first read this. I enjoyed reading of Yetu's role of the Historian,, holding the collective memories of her people and then sharing them during ceremonial rituals. I think I appreciated Ori' ...more

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Nov 06, 2019 Shomeret rated it liked it · review of another edition

The premise of fantasy novella The Deep by Rivers Solomon is so intriguing that I was sold on it immediately. The descendants of pregnant African women that were thrown overboard by slavers during the Middle Passage became mermaids and established an undersea society. I requested it from Net Galley and was thrilled when I was approved just before the release of this publication. I couldn't wait to read it. I prioritized it as my first read of November and this is my honest review.

The protagonist ...more

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May 23, 2020 Julia rated it it was amazing

Shelves: based-on-folksong-myth, novella

This novella-- I don't know the song/ song cycle that this is related to-- is about the beings that evolved from the women on the Middle Passage who were thrown overboard, or jumped overboard, pregnant, and the society that they created which is a bit The Giver and another bit 鈥淭he Ones Who Walk Away from the Omelas,鈥� by Ursula K. Le Guin. It is a compelling novella. I read this on Kindle. ...more

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Jan 04, 2020 Katie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

As I am wading into this book (pun intended!), I realize how strange it is that I'm reading this book just before my classes begin to read The Giver. I did not anticipate that this book would also deal with one person in the community being responsible for holding memories.
Yetu has been holding this burden for more than two decades. She is a mermaid and the wajinru, her community, have all descended from the African slaves who were thrown overboard from slave ships centuries ago. ...more

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