The Deep by Rivers SolomonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
It's unfair to compare books, even by the same author. A writer isn't required, nor inclined, to write the same thing over and over for your amusement. However, it isn't just important to understand what we read, but understand why we read it. Solomon's previous book, "An Unkindness of Ghosts", was my favorite of 2018. It might even be my favorite of the decade. I had spent the last few years reading so much mediocre pandering to their subgenre bullshit that it was amazing to read something from a new author that had genuine talent. It was such a great read that my socks are still smoldering. It's why I picked up her latest, "The Deep". While I won't compare the two, it is important in the frame of this review for me to establish context.
First off, I didn't expect it to be a novella. I suppose the 176-page count should have clued me in, but I made my purchase without so much as glancing over the cover. Novellas are not only shorter, they are also framed differently. They focus more on the initial idea than an expansive novel would. It's like the difference between a forest and a large tree. A novel isn't one big idea. It's thousands of smaller ideas trying to work together. A novella is that one big idea that branches out into a wider form. "The Deep" has a great big idea but being a novella subverted my expectations. That's not anyone's fault but mine, but it doesn't change the fact that is what happened.
As a novella with that big idea, it tilts far more towards world-building than things like plot or characters. For what it is, it has great world-building, but I couldn't help feel that spending another year working on this would have produced a novel well worth the effort. Further thinking this was a missed opportunity. A great concept with more fleshed out characters and a layered plot would have helped me love this book even more. Plus, I would have been able to spend more time in this watery world.
The prose was easily the best part of this book. Solomon is such a raw talent I fell in love with almost every sentence that was written. There is also a careful consideration of the use of pronouns that makes you stand up and take notice (or at least it should). It's done in a way that it isn't jarring and easily made me even more immersive in this world. Once again, something I wish was drawn out more into a full novel.
"The Deep" is a genuine work of art. You personally might not like it. You might not conceptually get it. And that's okay. This book, or Solomon's work in general, isn't for everyone. But sandblasting every paragraph grey until the most amount of people relate to a middling boring book has long been apart of the fucking problem. While I take issue with its briefness or lack of a focused plot, I can't help love with how it made me feel. My only legitimate strike against it is that this feeling didn't last as long as I wanted it to.
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