Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi

43 reviews

offonmyown's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm and Blood

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Drug use, Addiction, Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Child abuse

Minor: Animal death

julis's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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: Suicide attempt, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Rape, and Mental illness

Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, and Infidelity

hmknerr's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

beckybirch's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Rape, Physical abuse, Mental illness, and Domestic abuse

nytephoenyx's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I could tell early on that Freshwater was not going to be a great fit for me as a reader.  Literary fiction is a bit hit-or-miss.  I like the lyrical language used in the genre, but the stories often don’t hold my interest.  This is to say nothing against the books themselves in the literary fiction genre – I’m used to fantasy, which tends to be more quickly paced.

Freshwater is told in an interesting way, from the perspective of multiple personalities inside the body of a young woman.  This split in self is  not mental health related, it’s because Ada is ogbanje, which is similar to the western idea of a changeling.  In Freshwater, we learn of the development of Ada’s selves, as well as multiple levels of transition – physical, sexual, spiritual, emotional.  it’s beautifully written and the perspectives were each intriguing and easy to differentiate, even in audiobook form.  I fully appreciated Emezi’s work in Freshwater and am happy to attest that it’s a wonderful book.

The narrative within Freshwater feels detached, but I also believe that’s one of the intriguing things about the way this book is written.  The ogbanje is experiencing human life, but it is not invested, not fully living it.  Depending on the personality narrating at the time, you feel a different primal emotion, or the thought patterns present differently.  As a reader, I liked the detached storytelling for two reasons.  First, I found it drove the characterization really well.  Second, there is a lot of trauma in Freshwater.

Telling the story from a more distant perspective helps the reader witness the trauma without being as damaged by it.  In very much the same way Asugara protects Ada from the horrors of her life, so to does this storytelling allow the reader to see what is happening and be angry about it… but it limits the descriptions to a place where it feels… safer.  Don’t get me wrong, I’d still slap a huge content warning on it.

Freshwater is the sort of book that… I don’t know if I’d recommend, per se.  It’s well-written, but it’s heavy and heartbreaking and very different from other books.  It would have to be recommended to a certain kind of reader.  Or I think someone would have to solicit my opinion on it.  If you’re intrigued, pick it up (that’s what I did!) but know that it’s a little magical realism, a little literary fiction, and a lot of introspective language.  It’s a work of art, but I wouldn’t say I enjoyed it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Suicide

Moderate: Alcoholism and Transphobia

afriske's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Self harm

Moderate: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Eating disorder, Alcoholism, Addiction, and Rape

Minor: Child abuse and Sexual content

bookswhitme's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

memorable's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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

Wow, dieses Buch ist etwas besonderes. Es ist teilweise brutal, es ist aufwühlend, aber es ist richtig gut!
Ich habe eine Zeit gebraucht, um so richtig reinzukommen- das Buch ist definitiv nichts für Zwiscbendurch, denn es hallt nach. Es ist super intensiv! Und es ist definitiv nicht für jeden was. Ich habe auch gebraucht, um die Perspektivwechsel nachzuvollziehen (keine Ahnung, ob das am Hörbuch lag oder so gewollt ist), stellenweise war etwas etwas sehr langsam, nahm dann wieder ordentlich an Fahrt auf. Das Buch ist eine echte Achterbahnfahrt.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Self harm, and Mental illness

Moderate: Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Eating disorder

Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

biblioleah's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

this was a beautiful, difficult book. i look forward to rereading it in the future, and seeing what more i can get from the marvelous story.
update: i was right it is so much better on the reread. it’ll stick with me for a long while, and emezi has since the first read become a favorite author and artist of all time. no one can do it like they do. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Violence, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Vomit, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Child death, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Gore, Grief, Infertility, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Suicide

Minor: Homophobia

translove's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

4.5

this book was a lot and it took me a long time to read the first 110 pages because I had to take long breaks after a bit. but I just read the rest of it, 116 pages, basically in one sitting.

and I really liked it. I have to think more about some things, so I might write a better review later on, but this was such a powerful read and it managed to be so damn real despite it being about Gods.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Sexual violence, Death, Child abuse, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Addiction, Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders