The Deep by Rivers Solomon
Yetu holds the memories for her people—water-dwelling descendants of pregnant African slave women thrown overboard by slave owners—who live idyllic lives in the deep. Their past, too traumatic to be remembered regularly, is forgotten by everyone, save one—the historian. This demanding role has been bestowed on Yetu.
Yetu remembers for everyone, and the memories, painful and wonderful, traumatic and terrible and miraculous, are destroying her. And so, she flees to the surface, escaping the memories, the expectations, and the responsibilities—and discovers a world her people left behind long ago.
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.
Representation Includes
- Each individual member of Yetu’s species possesses both sex organs; gender in their society is self-determined and there’s no transphobia; there’s no homophobia or heteronormativity
- Yetu is neurodivergent and reads as autistic
- Yetu has a relationship with a female character that could be read as a romance or perhaps a queerplatonic relationship
Content Warnings
Genocide, child death, ableism, racism, imperialism, abuseAwards
- Finalist for the Lambda Literary Award
- Nominated for the Hugo Award, Nebula Award and Goodreads Choice Award
- Honor list for the Otherwise Award
Reviews
Where to Find
Details
- Published November 5th 2019 by Gallery / Saga Press
- Hardcover ISBN13: 9781534439863
- Audiobook isbn13: 9781508280286
- Ebook sbn13: 9781534439887