A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall

“Yesterday, I sat by my window, watching glimmers of sunset from the surface dye the drop-off waters a stately purple. I do this sometimes when I feel most at odds with my Brain, you see, and find it quite effective. I was all alone – my sister Sophy recently departed on the Ridge expedition – though because you are also a Scholar, I assume you know about that expedition all too well – my apologies – and it was then that I witnessed a most unusual scene starring the Elongated Fish. Their colouring was a kind of magenta speckled with silver, but stretched almost transparent – like strands of hair about to break. Most bizarrely, their bulbous green eyes sat flat on the very tops of their heads rather than protruding in profile. From tip to tail, each measured longer than our house is tall.”

-A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall

A Letter to the Luminous Deep is gorgeously stunning in every possible way. I was transfixed by the beauty in this story, by the characters, the storyline and the format. This is an epistolary novel, the story being written through letters, newspaper clippings, journal entries, etc. It follows four characters and their letters back and forth to each other.

The book follows E. and Henerey Clel, two individuals who begin correspondence via scholarship. E. is a young woman who lives in the ‘Deep House’ (an underwater house). Henerey is a scholar, and one day, E. writes to him regarding one of his papers. The two strike up a friendship, bonding over their love of marine life but eventually this relationship grows into something more, and the two develop strong feelings for each other.

But a year later, E. and Henerey are gone. Sophy, E.’s sister and Vyerin, Henerey’s brother, begin to correspond as well, trying to puzzle out what happened to their siblings. They begin to send each other letters written by their siblings to one another, creating an archive and unraveling the story of what happened to them.

What I loved about this book (and let’s face it, there was quite a lot), is the budding relationships that developed. E. and Henerey were so perfectly suited for one another, and watching their friendship and then romance unfold was something magical to behold. Sophy and Vyerin, strike up a true friendship, bonding with each other and slowly getting to know one another and their families and spouses through this project they’ve started.

And while the characters are something incredible to behold, so is the setting that author Sylvie Cathrall has created. There are varying factions where people live and work. E. is in the Deep House, spending most of her life secluded underwater. Some people work on the Boundless (which I interpreted hopefully correctly, to mean living on various ships and boats). The complete landlocked live in the Atoll. And Sophy currently is doing an expedition on the Ridge (which seems to be an underwater base investigating the undiscovered depths). I really want to know more about this world and all the different settings that exist within it. This is a beautifully built world that just continues to draw the reader in deeper and deeper.

I loved this book with all my heart, definitely one of my favorites of the year, and I am beyond excited for the sequel!