Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

Freshwater, by Akwaeke Emezi

8 reviews

elmo_isnotmyname's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

This was a dense ride. Through abuse, rape, self-harm, loneliness, mental illness, migration; spirituality.
The protagonist's 'fractured selves' spoke more than the protagonist themself -- though: what even is a self?, they end up wondering.

Instead of telling a lifetime of traumatic events through the eyes of the person battling against their ensuing 'madness' (as it is called here) -- we follow 'the madness' battling against the human body it is bound to. Outrageous lust and anger splitting the Ada (the protagonist) and their memories into multiple versions. Ultimatly as to protect the Ada.

So this can be read as a story about Dissociative Identitiy Disorder; weaving in tales of Igbo gods, myths, and spirituality.
There are many graphic scence of violence. The latter endeared this book to me (-- I'm sorry, as a reader I'm just craving for mirrors of myself, but I don't want to spoil this work of art by mixing in my own ego.)
I'm looking forward to reading Emezi's other work!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Blood, Gore, Death, Grief, Mental illness, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Child abuse, Car accident, Eating disorder, and Panic attacks/disorders

lycheejelly's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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: Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Alcohol, Car accident, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Cursing, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Blood, Suicide attempt, Eating disorder, and Injury/injury detail

Moderate: Misogyny, Dysphoria, Vomit, Biphobia, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, and Homophobia

Minor: Outing, Transphobia, Pedophilia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Religious bigotry

lilymurph's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Self harm, Transphobia, Vomit, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Injury/injury detail, Homophobia, and Eating disorder

summerb's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Blood

Minor: Abandonment, Vomit, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Injury/injury detail, Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, Eating disorder, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Death, Cursing, and Child abuse

laurenleigh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

I was already amazed by Akwaeke Emezi after reading The Death of Vivek Oji, but I am now in complete awe after reading Freshwater. Emezi is a transcendent author. This semi-autobiographical novel was definitely dark and hard hitting (message me or check out my review on the StoryGraph for content warnings), but there is also so much life and light to be found here. This book gave me valuable insight into neurodivergence and gender exploration, while also teaching me about Igbo ontology. While western medicine would almost certainly diagnose this main character Ada with some kind of psychosis or bipolar disorder, there is an Igbo concept of “ogbanje,” a kind of malevolent spirit that lives inside certain children. Emezi envisions these spirits (who live inside Ada well past puberty) as inner Gods that have passed over from the other side, living inside their human form. Having these multiple selves certainly had a splintering effect on Ada, causing a lot of pain and struggle. But as they grow up, Ada also finds strength in these versions of themselves, learning and relearning their identity in all its multiplicity. As Ada begins to discover more about their Nigerian and Igbo ancestry, they can begin to see their inner demons in another light. I am SO glad the Queer Lit readathon picked this for the group read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Rape, and Sexual content

Moderate: Addiction, Blood, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Vomit, Medical content, and Homophobia

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

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

4.0

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.

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Content Warnings

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

Minor: Homophobia

gagne's review against another edition

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