The Deep, Rivers Solomon

 

The Deep by Rivers Solomon is a book I think I read about in the Washington Post, then my wife later mentioned it to me as something I might be interested in reading.

Started: 8/6/2021
Completed: 8/7/2021
Recommendation: Recommended
Recommended By: The Washington Post and my wife

Review:

This is a very odd book and that is part of its charm.  The idea that a people could desire to live without knowledge of their history and yet crave that history is one of many perplexing contradictions that litter this little book.  That this is tied to a song and an album adds layers without explanation and provides another layer of complexity.  I'm not entirely sure what to do with all of it.  It does make me think and Solomon does a great job of making a compelling story.  I think it is the reading done by Diggs that makes the story a story of a people and not a scream.  This story is also riffled with making lemonade from lemons with the understanding is that lemonade is both bitter and sweet.  For such a little book, there is a lot "beneath the surface."