Week 21
Wow it sure is hot out, huh? I feel as though the pandemic has made any sense I had of the changing of seasons just completely go away. Who the hell knows at any point what the weather might be like outside?
Anyway. Books!
#32) THE DEEP by Rivers Solomon
Wow wow wow this book is gorgeous.
It takes the premise of the song it’s based on (The Deep by clipping.), that of an underwater society built by the children of pregnant enslaved African women who were thrown overboard, and takes a slightly different path with it.
While there is definitely an undercurrent (heh) of the environmental message to the song, and the exploitation of the natural world by the “two-legs”, the novel focuses on Yetu, the historian with this group, chosen to carry the memories of her species, including all of the horror and trauma they have experienced.
Yetu is an interesting character, and her plight, of losing her identity within the memories, of becoming so consumed by what she carries, is intensely real. Her story of trying to find her own personhood again, and what this takes her to do, is really excellently told, woven through with pieces from the history.
I really loved the treatment of history and trauma, and how it affects people generations down the line. I loved the aspects of community, and learning more about how her people, the wajinru, became what and who they are. And as always, of course, Rivers Solomon’s writing is excellent.
#33) RING SHOUT by P. Djèlí Clark
Will I ever get tired of modern authors repurposing cosmic horror stuff in ways that H.P. Lovecraft would have hated? Nope, don’t think so!
RING SHOUT follows Maryse, a Black woman in 1922 America who hunts Ku Kluxes, monsters who have been drawn to our world by the hatred held by the Klan. It’s cosmic horror steeped in real history, walking the difficult line between adding in a supernatural element without minimizing the real harm in our real world.
Your mileage may vary on how well Clark manages to walk this line, and obviously I am not the best person to make that determination, but from my perspective, it did a good job. It weaves a very fine line between real history and this expanded history, as well as between hatred as held by the ruling classes and pain and fear as held by oppressed groups.
And the story itself is just very good. In many ways, it’s a traditional hero story: someone chosen for the task, complete even with a fatal flaw. The monsters are sufficiently scary, the villain behind it all is loathsome, and the hero’s companions are equally as compelling as she herself is.
Interestingly, this story is also somewhat concerned with history, and the ways in which people interact with their own personal and cultural stories of pain. It addressed it much differently than THE DEEP, but equally thoughtfully.
The ending of this book seemed to leave it wide open for a sequel, and I will be eagerly awaiting that if it does indeed come to pass.