Discover the Penguin books that shaped us

What Did the Deep Sea Say?

byMarion Coutts

Format:

HardbackEbookAudio Download

Pre-order:

Apple BooksOpens in a new tabAudibleOpens in a new tabGoogle PlayOpens in a new tabKoboOpens in a new tabLibro.fmOpens in a new tabSpotifyOpens in a new tabxigxagOpens in a new tab
Brought to you by Penguin.

In the aftermath of loss, a mother and her young son cross the ocean to a remote strip of land on the North Atlantic. Viewed from the edge, where land meets sea, coastlines become sites of constraint as well as of flux and change. Through art, philosophy, poetry, geology and Minecraft, Coutts starts to imagine new ways of being and a new existence for her small family.

With the precision and clarity of the camera, Coutts combines the real with the fictional, interweaving folk song, maps and island lore to present a devastating and fierce reflection on intimacy and separation, parenthood, photography and the fragility and strangeness of our environment. What Did the Deep Sea Say? is a stunning meditation on how the physical world can bring us back to earth from the edge of grief.

© Marion Coutts 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026
I loved reading What did the Deep Sea Say? Marion Coutts gently reveals to us a world seen as if for the first time. It's a miracle of a book
Celia Paul

About Marion Coutts

Marion Coutts is a writer and artist who has exhibited throughout the UK and internationally. She has held fellowships at Tate Liverpool and Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge, and was a research fellow at the Henry Moore Institute, Leeds. Her first book, The Iceberg, won the Wellcome Book Prize and was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize and the Costa Book Award for Biography. She is a reader in art at Goldsmiths, University of London.
Details
  • Imprint: Vintage Digital
  • ISBN: 9781529975390
  • Price: £14.00
All editions