Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi

29 reviews

booksarebrainfood's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Very close to a perfect book for me! The narration is unlike anything I’ve ever read - and brought a whole new dimension to the autofiction genre.
I love how they intertwined religion, the ego, trauma and gender to show all the different facets of the self and how they can grow and evolve and be at war with each other. I loved the presentation of people who don’t quite belong to our world who are always called on somewhere, and incorporating that into autofiction was so interesting and unique. Loved it!
The only reason I have 4 stars is that it became quite repetitive towards the end and lost the momentum it was building so well before, but nevertheless it’s unsettling and genius in its own way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug abuse, Confinement, Car accident, and Body horror

rattification's review

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, and Sexual violence

ashleycmms's review

challenging dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Self harm, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, and Infidelity

Moderate: Child abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Gore, Medical content, and Mental illness

Minor: Eating disorder

tina94's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia and Drug use

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Religious bigotry

moonlitemuseum's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

As soon as I finished Freshwater I knew that I would be chewing the fat of it in my brain for months, and resigned myself to the fact that I would be rereading it within months -- it was hard, honestly, not to begin re-reading it right away. 

Emezi's prose sizzles and burns, writhes into your brain and sets off sparks; the fracturing of the protagonist's identity from birth is told with religious reverence, the traumas Ada faces are perfect horror, and the tenacity and vivaciousness of Asughara feels raw, clear and justified.

Ada's personalities are communicated with clarity and intimacy, and the collective's struggle to be seen, to wrestle with Ada's alleged destiny and her desire to be human is heartrending.

This novel is unforgettable but it is brutal and it is precise. I had to read it in several sittings due to the intensity of what is depicted within it, but the time spent with it was incredible, and I think it is well worth the time to sink into Ada's identity and learn the leylines of her inner mythology.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Body horror, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, and Violence

Ableism is referenced frequently due to the lack of understanding of Ada's alternate identities.

jaybird_'s review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Blood, Body horror, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Drug use

Moderate: Car accident, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Gore, Medical content, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

womanwill's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Mental illness

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Rape, Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Transphobia

Minor: Body horror, Car accident, Eating disorder, and Medical trauma

emfass's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

It is hard to capture my feelings about this book - maybe I will come back and share more thoughts when I've processed a bit. 

I am close to someone who experiences dissociative identity disorder, and while I don't want to compare their experience to a culture/ontology/spirituality I know nothing about and the parallels and contrasts therein, I will also say that this book was both incredibly profound and challenging to read, due to how closely it seems to reflect some of my friend's experiences.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, and Homophobia

gagne's review

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Gifted to me by a dear friend, this book is electric with its distinctive cast of personalities and easy exchange between the Old World and the New, reminding readers who become captured by the story of the power of the spiritual staring them in the eyes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Self harm

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Medical content, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Mental illness

Minor: Car accident, Death, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Rape, Infidelity, Eating disorder, and Drug use