The Deep

June 12, 2020 4:51 PM - by Solomon, Rivers, Diggs, Daveed, Hutson, William, Snipes, Jonathan

Based off of the song with the same title by Clipping. The water-breathing descendants of African slave women tossed overboard have built their own underwater society—and must reclaim the memories of their past to shape their future.
posted by dinty_moore (7 comments total)

Lots of poetic language, and the general concept and plot is an interesting metaphor for generational trauma. I do think the concept is the best part of it, though, and the pacing was still very slow for a novella - the first two chapters seemed to last forever. Once Yetu breaks free, I found the book to be a lot more engrossing read.
posted by dinty_moore at 6:37 PM on June 12, 2020 [1 favorite]

What's the Drexciya link here?
posted by Cpt. The Mango at 10:05 AM on June 13, 2020

Got it after a quick Google: "Increasing in tension until it climaxes in a tidal wave of white noise, “The Deep” follows the story of an underwater country’s uprising against the land dwellers that threaten their existence.

Inspired by the 90s duo Drexciya, “The Deep” is “a tribute to Drexciya, based on their music and mythology,” drawing from their rich techno discography and Afrofuturistic storylines. The single’s artwork is reminiscent of the designs used in Drexciya’s EP covers, as well as the general state of Detroit techno/electro artwork during the 90s."

RIP JS. Can't wait to check this out!
posted by Cpt. The Mango at 10:12 AM on June 13, 2020

Link explaining the Drexciya connection.
posted by dinty_moore at 12:26 PM on June 13, 2020

Without looking at my original review on Goodreads, your comments resonate, dinty_moore. I liked it by the end, but the story was kind of slow. It is still an interesting meditation on generational trauma and our responsibilities to the past. How do we balance remembering past atrocities with living our lives and finding happiness in the present day? I couldn't help but root for Yetu, both when she broke away and when she found more strength. Unfortunately the other characters didn't stick with me and felt kind of flat.
posted by j.r at 7:08 PM on June 14, 2020 [2 favorites]

I read this right after reading Unkindness of Ghosts*, which really highlighted the similarities, for good and ill. I definitely think there's a need for Afro-Autistic Characters with Gender Feels, but I probably should have spaced them out more on my To Read pile

I'd agree that the pacing and focus of the story felt a bit unbalanced, but the ideas are interesting. It'd be interesting to do a paired reading with The Giver.

*I keep thinking how fascinating a sequel to that book would be.
posted by DebetEsse at 2:54 PM on June 22, 2020 [1 favorite]

Ah, good to hear that it shifts a few chapters in. I keep picking this up but keep doing so when I"m in a state that denseness of the first chapter stalls me out. I think I need to sit down and read it when I've got some uninterrupted time to do read a big chunk all at once.
posted by rmd1023 at 4:49 AM on August 11, 2020