I reviewed Bethany C. Morrow's first novel Mem on this blog here . That review indicates my ambivalence about the book. The themes, the characters and the powerful narrative got my endorsement, but I found the concept unworkable. As a first effort it was really quite good though flawed. I was looking forward to seeing what Morrow would do next. That's why I checked out A Song Below Water from the library and read it at my first opportunity.
I had been dutifully reading a review book that wasn't working for me at the beginning of September. When I caught myself looking longingly at A Song Below Water on top of the library pile, I quickly abandoned my obligation read and launched myself into a book that I hoped would be both entertaining and topical.
I was thoroughly impressed with Morrow's world building in this YA alternate universe fantasy. She develops several different types of supernatural species. At the outset there are two--the sirens and the elokos. Her premise, according to the Acknowledgements, was "What if all sirens were Black girls?" This is a transformative vision for a familiar myth. Elokos are rather obscure mythical beings from Zaire. I found a brief Wikipedia article about them here. The alternate history aspect is introduced through references to sirens in the 1960's Civil Rights movement who were vilified and legally persecuted. This bigotry against sirens continued into the present. At one point, a prominent siren felt she had to say that "Black lives don't matter until siren lives do." So this is a very African American centered book in its concepts and themes. There aren't enough fantasy novels with this focus, and there should be.
Given the current concern about police abuse of power, the Driving While Black incident in this novel will seem very relevant. I took a break from reading after that scene and read an e-mail which contained a link to a case of a Black woman who was being stopped by law enforcement in real life. It was a report from a former U.S. diplomat who kept on being stopped and searched by Customs and Border Patrol 2/3 of the time when she re-entered the U.S. There was no explanation for this pattern of behavior other than race. The former diplomat's name is Tianna Spears, and her account appeared in Politico on August 30, 2020.
In this context, I thought readers would be interested in a 2020 African American history book with the title Driving While Black by Gretchen Sorin dealing with the history of Blacks driving cars. It includes much about how cars increased freedom for Blacks, how Black travel guides assisted Civil Rights activists, and the unjust police stops that are what is usually meant by Driving While Black. The hyperlink in this paragraph links to the book's page on Goodreads.
It is important for me to tell you that I can't know how it feels to Drive While Black since I am Reading While White. I would like to cite a statement made in this book that seemed to be a comment on this subject. Tavia, the siren protagonist, had a high school teacher who was quoted during the narrative. He said that there is "no such thing as cultural empathy without cultural competency". I took this very much to heart. I felt that his remark was addressed to me. I read books by Black writers as part of an effort to increase my cultural competency. I don't believe that I have achieved that goal. This is probably why a Goodreads review of this book that I encountered soon after reading that quote struck me as so significant. I asked myself how someone who was culturally competent would read A Song Below Water and found the second paragraph of a review by Bookishrealm here. I realized that I should have been aware of her interpretation of the sirens as an allegory, but it hadn't occurred to me. Bookishrealm's perspective was like a flashlight that illuminated the way I read the novel going forward. I can't credit myself with her insight. I was borrowing her cultural competency to increase my understanding of what the author intended.
Effie, the other protagonist, was created by Morrow's friend Jen French, who Morrow calls an unofficial twin in the Acknowledgements. When I read what Morrow had written about Jen French, it seemed to me that the deep sisterly relationship between Tavia and Effie was modeled on Bethany C. Morrow's relationship with Jen French. Other reviewers have commented on how beautiful it was. Tavia showed her loyalty toward Effie through her actions. That's what I consider a sign of genuine commitment toward another individual.
At the beginning of the story line, Effie played a mermaid at a Renaissance Faire. I'd been to a Renaissance Faire, but had never seen a mermaid. So for my entertainment I viewed a You Tube of a Bay Area Renaissance Faire mermaid at Mermaid at Renaissance Faire.
Honestly, I thought this book had everything. As I showed in this review, the novel deals with issues that the Black community faces as a result of endemic racism that exists throughout American society. A Song Below Water also had intense relationship scenes and light entertaining moments. There was ordinary teen life, and fantastical events that could only happen to characters with paranormal gifts. I loved the protagonists, and learned a great deal from being immersed in their lives.
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