A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrali affected my brain chemistry so much, I almost considered not writing this post to gatekeep this magnificent creation. Plus there’s the fear that you will read this book and completely disagree with me. It feels like a risk I’m willing to take with the hope that this post will find other people who will love this story as wholeheartedly as I do.
This fantasy novel is written completely in letters and correspondence exchanged between the characters in an underwater world. The plot is not in any rush, but still delivers interesting twists and unpredictable turns. As someone who loathes a suspense novel for how long it drags out the point, this story does the exact opposite. There is an overarching mysterious element that continues to expand and grow as more is revealed. The questions are answered in one sentence, with more questions posed in the next. It literally flows with such ease that by the last page you’re not entirely sure how the story ended up here, but you can’t imagine getting to the end any other way.
I’m obsessed with the correspondence format, how clear and distinct the voice of each character is, and how I literally had no clue where the story was headed the entire time. There’s a prominent scholarly, documentative aspect throughout the whole novel that leaves you feeling wiser and wanting to pen someone an eloquent letter. Since archiving a life is one of my core personality traits, this story felt like it understood me on a molecular level.
It wasn’t until after I put down the book, proclaimed, “Holy shit I’m going to remember this forever,” and looked up the author to see what else she had written, that I discovered this is a duology. The second book comes out May 2025 and will hopefully pull us back from the cliffhangers at the end of book one. Or more likely, send us plummeting into the depths of a deep aquatic abyss in the best possible way.
I accept that this book is not for everyone. Honestly, it shouldn’t be. Because I don’t want to share it with everyone. I’m selfish like that…
My friend Lauren kindly sent me this photo of her reading it in Hawaii, which I swear is probably the best place on the planet to read this for the first time…
