ONE OF NPR’S BEST BOOKS OF 2019 The water-breathing descendants of African slave women tossed overboard have built their own underwater society—& must reclaim the memories of their past to shape their future in this brilliantly imaginative novella inspired by the Hugo Award–nominated song “The Deep” from Daveed Diggs’s rap group clipping 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, & the memories, painful & wonderful, traumatic & terrible & miraculous, are destroying her. And so, she flees to the surface, escaping the memories, the expectations, & the responsibilities—& discovers a world her people left behind long ago. Yetu will learn more than she ever expected to about her own past—& about the future of her people. If they are all to survive, they’ll need to reclaim the memories, reclaim their identity—& own who they really are. Inspired by a song produced by the rap group Clipping for the This American Life episode “We Are In The Future,” The Deep is vividly original & uniquely affecting.°°° Rivers Solomon writes about life in the margins, where they are much at home. In addition to appearing on the Stonewall Honor List & winning a Firecracker Award, Solomon's debut novel An Unkindness of Ghosts was a finalist for a Lambda, a Hurston/Wright, & a Locus award. Solomon's second book, The Deep, was the winner of the 2020 Lambda Award & shortlisted for many others including the British Fantasy & World Fantasy awards, & Sorrowland, Solomon's most recent novel, was awarded an Otherwise Award. Their short work appears in Black Warrior Review, The New York Times, The NY Times Magazine, Guernica,...

Solomon, Rivers, Diggs, Daveed, Hutson, William, Snipes, Jonathan

Simon & Schuster, Incorporated

S&S/Saga Press

First Saga Press hardcover edition, London ; New York, 2019

United States, United States of America

lg_fict_id_2452177

"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 in this brilliantly imaginative novella inspired by the [...] song "The Deep" from Daveed Diggs's rap group clipping. 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. Inspired by a song produced by the rap group Clipping for the This American Life episode "We Are In The Future," The Deep is vividly original and uniquely affecting." -- Provided by publisher

The water-breathing descendants of African slave women tossed overboard have built their own underwater societyand must reclaim the memories of their past to shape their future in this brilliantly imaginative novella inspired by the Hugo Award nominated song The Deep from Daveed Diggs rap group Clipping.
Yetu holds the memories for her peoplewater-dwelling descendants of pregnant African slave women thrown overboard by slave ownerswho live idyllic lives in the deep. Their past, too traumatic to be remembered regularly, is forgotten by everyone, save onethe 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 responsibilitiesand discovers a world her people left behind long ago.
Yetu will learn more than she ever expected to about her own pastand about the future of her people. If they are all to survive, theyll need to reclaim the memories, reclaim their identityand own who they really are.
Inspired by a song produced by the rap group Clipping for the This American Life episode We Are In The Future, The Deep is vividly original and uniquely affecting.

Octavia E. Butler meets Marvel's Black Panther in The Deep, a story rich with Afrofuturism, folklore, and the power of memory, inspired by the Hugo Award–nominated song “The Deep” from Daveed Diggs's rap group Clipping. 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 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. The Deep is “a tour de force reorientation of the storytelling gaze...a superb, multilayered work,” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) and a vividly original and uniquely affecting story inspired by a song produced by the rap group Clipping.

2019-11-07