Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Deep by Rivers Solomon

26 reviews

highkingmargo's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I'm very satisfied having read it once, but i already want to again, just to better understand certain parts with context.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Hate crime, Slavery, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death, Gore, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

mfrisk's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Given that this is a book based on a song it is in essence very lyrical and free flowing in nature. I liked that in some aspects of the story but it also made it very hard to follow the story in a chronological way. The story from what I can tell skipped between Yetu’s narrative to that of their collective community and was not linear in nature which made it a bit confusing for me. That being said I thought the themes of remembering history in community and of defining yourself grounded in that history were very strong and despite not loving the format the writing was lovely and I think this story would be stunning in other visual formats as well to really carry on the story told here. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Slavery, Violence, and Death of parent

culpeppper's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

I already wrote out a review and it didn't save, so I'm gonna do a bullet point style thing here:

• The metaphors were immense, sometimes clever and sometimes a little too on the nose, but largely the use of weaving those metaphors into the story was done well and enhanced the reading experience. As an example, the descriptions in the underwater mimic the setting, relying on feelings and ideas to form the world before Yetu goes to the surface where descriptions change to more solid things rather than concepts. 
• The story has multiple perspectives. Though I do feel it worked thematically to have these other perspectives, and the stories they told enhanced our perspective, but it was always jarring and confusing in a way that took me a bit out of the story sometimes. 
• It's a work of creative wonder, filled with countless concepts, and it's inspired me to read more of Solomon's work so I can have a longer experience that I think will suit their style of writing better. 

Overall, there were some things it lacked that could have built out the world a bit more, and the pacing felt weird and off at times, I think that's partially the form and maybe some stylistic elements I don't fully understand. But I liked the experience of this world, of this look into our world, and the use of history and remembering as critical to it. It's not perfect, but it's pretty good. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Xenophobia, and Colonisation

Minor: Child death, Fire/Fire injury, and War

meshuganush's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This book is one that I will be contemplating for a long time. The way it was written really allowed us to feel Yetu's constant pain and confusion as she tries to hold onto the history while still maintaining her own identity. This was a truly remarkable mythology based on the generational trauma of the middle passage.  I didn't love the characters but I think that makes sense since Yetu's character was fairly subsumed by her role of holding the history.

I really loved the solution that they came up with and how her pain was lifted by being able to spread it out and share it with her people and by doing so she was also now able to see the beauty of the history and not just the pain.

I really recommend reading The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South by Michael Twitty, it is a spectacular nonfiction book where the author takes us through his journey to uncover the roots of southern cuisine as well as his roots as an African American whos ancestors were enslaved in the united states. It lends some beautiful context to the themes of homeland and ancestral history. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Death of parent

Moderate: War

charrlee's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

"'What is belonging?' we ask.
She says, 'Where loneliness ends.'" (Solomon 49)

"How disorienting it is to go most of your life wondering about a thing, only to happen upon the answer, and it is a horror." (Solomon 57).

River Solomon's novella is profoundly atmospheric. I've never connected to a work so deeply and I will continue to be spellbound by Solomon's beautifully tragic narrative. Listen to "The Deep" by clipping. to see the inspiration and building of the mythos. I am thrilled for my future reread. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Genocide, Hate crime, Racism, Violence, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Death and Death of parent

building_a_bookdom's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Eating disorder, Genocide, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and War

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

marsh_mall0w's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Genocide, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Animal death, Gore, Self harm, Suicide, Blood, Murder, and Abandonment

Minor: Eating disorder and Fire/Fire injury

nojerama's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Loved this so much, it was a re-read for me and I definitely appreciated it more the second time around. Heartbreaking yet somehow comforting in the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Racism, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

triley's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

ehmannky's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I have a hard time books that are one long metaphor for a thing, but this was a really lovely atmospheric read with a very interesting use of mermaid lore. I like the craft that went into this book, the tone, the lore, and the overall message of trauma needing to be shared as a burden and discussed openly so it doesn't cause more harm.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Slavery, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Child death