Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
One of the most powerful and moving pieces of art I've ever experienced. This is a genuine masterpiece. Not for everyone, but this was a spiritual journey that meant the world to me.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
absolutely loved the perspective of this and found it fascinating and eyeopening.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt
fast-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-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
5 stars!
CW: Sexual assault, suicide, eating disorders, domestic violence, alcoholism and drug abuse, etc. Very graphic - but worth it for most readers.
___
This is a lyrical debut novel from an author whose work I thoroughly enjoy. Emezi tells the semi-autobiographical story of The Ada, a young girl born in Nigeria with multiple ogbanje inside her. The author explains ogbanje in this way:
"An ogbanje is an Igbo spirit that’s born into a human body, a kind of malevolent trickster, whose goal is to torment the human mother by dying unexpectedly only to return in the next child and do it all over again. They come and go. They are never really here — if you are a thing that was born to die, you are a dead thing even while you live."
In this story, something goes wrong with the process. The ogbanje do not die as they are meant to do; they remain mostly dormant inside The Ada throughout her childhood. When The Ada moves to the USA for college, a traumatic event awakens the spirits sleeping inside her, fracturing her mind into multiple personalities. Most predominant of these personalities is Asughara, the id, a spirit who is sexually aggressive, self-harming, self-destructive, and intent on sending The Ada back to the "other side". Also present is Saint Vincent, a male spirit who wishes for The Ada to change her body to accommodate their shared identity. Finally, there is Yeshua, a visiting spirit who explores the relationship between Christianity and Igbo religion and cosmology.
The language is absolutely gorgeous and poetic, despite the violence and sadness of the subject matter. Emezi has some of the most gorgeous prose of any author I've read recently, and the contrast between the poetry of their words and the blood behind them is stunning. It's a difficult and traumatic, but thoroughly worthwhile, read.
CW: Sexual assault, suicide, eating disorders, domestic violence, alcoholism and drug abuse, etc. Very graphic - but worth it for most readers.
___
This is a lyrical debut novel from an author whose work I thoroughly enjoy. Emezi tells the semi-autobiographical story of The Ada, a young girl born in Nigeria with multiple ogbanje inside her. The author explains ogbanje in this way:
"An ogbanje is an Igbo spirit that’s born into a human body, a kind of malevolent trickster, whose goal is to torment the human mother by dying unexpectedly only to return in the next child and do it all over again. They come and go. They are never really here — if you are a thing that was born to die, you are a dead thing even while you live."
In this story, something goes wrong with the process. The ogbanje do not die as they are meant to do; they remain mostly dormant inside The Ada throughout her childhood. When The Ada moves to the USA for college, a traumatic event awakens the spirits sleeping inside her, fracturing her mind into multiple personalities. Most predominant of these personalities is Asughara, the id, a spirit who is sexually aggressive, self-harming, self-destructive, and intent on sending The Ada back to the "other side". Also present is Saint Vincent, a male spirit who wishes for The Ada to change her body to accommodate their shared identity. Finally, there is Yeshua, a visiting spirit who explores the relationship between Christianity and Igbo religion and cosmology.
The language is absolutely gorgeous and poetic, despite the violence and sadness of the subject matter. Emezi has some of the most gorgeous prose of any author I've read recently, and the contrast between the poetry of their words and the blood behind them is stunning. It's a difficult and traumatic, but thoroughly worthwhile, read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Rape, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Drug abuse, Alcohol
Wow. This is unlike anything I've ever read. This author does such an amazing job with her visceral descriptions, making me feel the pain that Ada feels. I've never read a story about ogbanje before. It is beautiful and well-written and powerful, but definitely check triggers for this one.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm not even sure where to begin. This is a novel that I put off as hype sometimes leads to my greatest disappointments. It is with confidence that I can say this is worth all of the hype. Following the story of one person's journey of self and identity through the spirits that live in cohabitation with their body, "Freshwater" is a dark and yearning tale that hits like a hammer and keeps on pounding.
While this is seen as a masterful work of magical realism, I believe the appeal and accessibility is that it dealt with issues that made it feel more like skeptical. There is a belief system in which ancestors and spirits exist within an embodiment and those who genuinely refer to themselves in the plural. THe existence of these other religious figures and entities existing concurrently, as to even someone without any particular faith alignment, settle in the mind as more mythical rather than fantastical as it is a truth to some people. This 'grounds' the idea more than, say, the presence of unicorns, aliens, fae, or boogeymen for many in the modern era.
Added to this is that the voice also tends to feel more like an unreliable narrator tool. There is enough room for doubt, the lead figure in question even explores the idea, of Dissociative Identity Disorder. Even if this is not the case, and in support of when our primary narrator 'takes over', it is not uncommon for a person to compartmentalize aspects of their life as a result or in reaction to ongoing trauma. To a broader extent, I believe we all recognize how differently we behave in different situations. For someone with mental health struggles, I personally have never considered myself to have different 'selves' but it's been helpful to recognize cycles of different thought patterns as separate from my core identity. I label them the 'brain demons' to remind myself that the chemicals within the brain are very good liars--that there are times you shouldn't listen to yourself or to recognize that things you are processing are the result of others opinions and not your personal truth. The book itself contains a line about how good humans are about lying to themselves.
As a result this narrative can be seen as one of fantasy, of faith, or just a way in which we survive and develop as life throws its challenges at us. For people like Ada, it's sometimes just a terrible hand that has been dealt too early on. As dark as this novel can get, there is also a lot of love. There are powerful as well as toxic friendships and relationships. It is one that makes a person take another step against the world, against yourself, even when you're not sure you're strong or sane enough to do so.
While this is seen as a masterful work of magical realism, I believe the appeal and accessibility is that it dealt with issues that made it feel more like skeptical. There is a belief system in which ancestors and spirits exist within an embodiment and those who genuinely refer to themselves in the plural. THe existence of these other religious figures and entities existing concurrently, as to even someone without any particular faith alignment, settle in the mind as more mythical rather than fantastical as it is a truth to some people. This 'grounds' the idea more than, say, the presence of unicorns, aliens, fae, or boogeymen for many in the modern era.
Added to this is that the voice also tends to feel more like an unreliable narrator tool. There is enough room for doubt, the lead figure in question even explores the idea, of Dissociative Identity Disorder. Even if this is not the case, and in support of when our primary narrator 'takes over', it is not uncommon for a person to compartmentalize aspects of their life as a result or in reaction to ongoing trauma. To a broader extent, I believe we all recognize how differently we behave in different situations. For someone with mental health struggles, I personally have never considered myself to have different 'selves' but it's been helpful to recognize cycles of different thought patterns as separate from my core identity. I label them the 'brain demons' to remind myself that the chemicals within the brain are very good liars--that there are times you shouldn't listen to yourself or to recognize that things you are processing are the result of others opinions and not your personal truth. The book itself contains a line about how good humans are about lying to themselves.
As a result this narrative can be seen as one of fantasy, of faith, or just a way in which we survive and develop as life throws its challenges at us. For people like Ada, it's sometimes just a terrible hand that has been dealt too early on. As dark as this novel can get, there is also a lot of love. There are powerful as well as toxic friendships and relationships. It is one that makes a person take another step against the world, against yourself, even when you're not sure you're strong or sane enough to do so.