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A review by moth_dance
Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
5.0
Instant classic that left me with one of the most intense ethereal feelings I've ever experienced from a work of contemporary fiction.
Akwaeke Emezi is the perfect companion to [a:Francesca Lia Block|9072|Francesca Lia Block|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1530045619p2/9072.jpg], and I mean this not as a way to box together two writers who work with magical realism and conversations about gender and sexuality. Yes, the both do that beautifully. But I think Emezi is like FLB in the sense that they're courageous and daring with their characters. Theiir world building is grounded in ancient practices of Igbo culture and different spiritual beliefs, but like FLB's [b:The Hanged Man|14568|The Hanged Man|Francesca Lia Block|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1391461296l/14568._SX50_.jpg|946180], they go further into the unknown and pushes up against a type of mythological magic that's often left out in fiction. There's a natural sensibility in their writing, much like the kind FLB has always maintained in her many stories. And a tribute to the past with many different veins of culture and art and entertainment runs through their book, which made me recall FLB's [b:Dangerous Angels|14565|Dangerous Angels (Weetzie Bat, #1-5)|Francesca Lia Block|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1166639454l/14565._SY75_.jpg|990480] stories.
But what I really love the most about Akwaeke Emzi's Freshwater is the pure, magical excitement I feel when I think about reading it again.
Akwaeke Emezi is the perfect companion to [a:Francesca Lia Block|9072|Francesca Lia Block|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1530045619p2/9072.jpg], and I mean this not as a way to box together two writers who work with magical realism and conversations about gender and sexuality. Yes, the both do that beautifully. But I think Emezi is like FLB in the sense that they're courageous and daring with their characters. Theiir world building is grounded in ancient practices of Igbo culture and different spiritual beliefs, but like FLB's [b:The Hanged Man|14568|The Hanged Man|Francesca Lia Block|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1391461296l/14568._SX50_.jpg|946180], they go further into the unknown and pushes up against a type of mythological magic that's often left out in fiction. There's a natural sensibility in their writing, much like the kind FLB has always maintained in her many stories. And a tribute to the past with many different veins of culture and art and entertainment runs through their book, which made me recall FLB's [b:Dangerous Angels|14565|Dangerous Angels (Weetzie Bat, #1-5)|Francesca Lia Block|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1166639454l/14565._SY75_.jpg|990480] stories.
But what I really love the most about Akwaeke Emzi's Freshwater is the pure, magical excitement I feel when I think about reading it again.