PUBLISHED: November 5, 2019 / Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio / Genre: Fantasy / Narrated by: Daved Diggs
Inspired by a song from the This American Life episode “We Are In The Future,” by the rap group Clipping, The Deep is the story of the water-dwelling descendants of pregnant African slave women who were thrown overboard by slavers. Their story is told through the eyes of Yetu, the historian. A long time ago it was decided that their past was too traumatic to be remembered all the time by everyone, so that very heavy burden falls to the historian.
The responsibility is an important one but eventually, the weight of all those memories and the trauma that comes with them becomes too much for Yetu. So she runs away from her people and finds herself on the surface. There she learns new things about herself, the world outside her community, and what they’ll need to do if they are to continue to survive.
Rivers Solomon has such a way with words and this was a short but hauntingly beautiful story. Sometimes it takes me a while to connect to a character but I clicked with Yetu quickly. Her thoughts and emotions were so honest and though not everyone can relate to her struggles as a historian, I think many readers can identify with how carrying around painful or traumatic memories can take a toll on you.
Narrator Note: This audiobook is narrated by Daveed Diggs (of Hamilton fame) and it really adds to the experience. His voice is so lyrical and the story flows so rhythmically when he’s reading it that it’s easy to become totally absorbed. This is not necessarily an audiobook I would recommend when you’re trying to multi-task, instead I found it much more enjoyable to listen to when out walking when there was nothing else to do but focus and reflect on what was being said.
This is a Metaphor 