There was so much to unpack for these three chapters, but one of the ideas that stood out to me is the exploration of identity. Yetu is burdened by containing all of the History of her people, so much so that her identity outside of it is non-existent. She has asked herself “Who was she outside of her relationship with her kin? (pg. 101)” By learning history, we learn more about ourselves. The wajinru people who constantly live in the now are hallow without the understanding of their origins, but how much are we defined by our past compared to what we create ourselves? Is there a balance? Yetu is faced with such questions that the readers are forced to think about as well. Saving Yetu meant letting go of the all-consuming History that contains tragedies and endless trauma, and yet to let of the History means killing a huge part of her as well. Making her empty. The novel is perhaps a metaphor to the importance of not being lost to ignorance of the past, while creating a more hopeful future and a continuation of our identity beyond History. That the harsh past isn’t for one person to bear alone but rather it is something that must be carried and healed together by the community. A togetherness that keeps each other whole.

The idea of gender in “The Deep” was a fascinating concept to me, especially as someone who identifies as Female Non-Binary. When Yetu has a conversation about bodies with Oori, she revelas that there were men, women, both, an neither and such things were self-determined. The freedom of the Wajinru people in choosing their gender makes be believe that there are little to no gender roles on their society. No discrimination, since they have a better understanding of what it means to embody both male and female counterparts physically.

Unrelated, but here is a picture of my reading buddy for this book. 🙂