Maria-Sabina De Souza
Goldsmiths, University of London, BA English with Creative Writing
The Deep by Rivers Solomon is a beautifully written novella that’s driven by the traumatic history of The Transatlantic Slave Trade. Creating Afrofuturist fantasy, by drawing from the practice of throwing pregnant, enslaved African women overboard. The Deep negotiates how communities grapple with remembering, mourning, preservation, and shared history. With a level of gentleness that feels intentional to guiding a reader’s experience, The Deep is acutely aware of how a traumatic history can fracture identity. It provides imaginative ways we can negotiate our relationship with these themes instead of retraumatising ourselves or shunning away from difficult histories because of the pain they carry. Reading this novella felt like a transformative experience as we join the Wajinru and Yetu in an immersive experience. This narrative transcends linear storytelling, leading us to the tragic yet beautiful underwater species that has thrived under the care and protection of the ocean. Anchored by the inclusion of the communal voice alongside the interiority of Yetu the historian, a protagonist on a journey of self-discovery and determination, carving out her own identity under the deafening weight of shared history.
