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A review by booksonadventures
Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir by Akwaeke Emezi
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
I first stumbled upon Akwaeke Emezi with their first novel, Freshwater. Since then, Emezi's writing has continuously enraptured me across genres, even if their penchant for devious characters can sometimes push my comfort zone. After reading Dear Senthuran, I returned to the headwaters of Emezi's career to submerge myself in their story... finding myself, once again, swept away.
I highly recommend reading these two as a duology of sorts. Freshwater introduces us to Ada, a spirit child who fractures under the injustice of the world but realigns as her true self, something bigger and more powerful. In Dear Senthuran, Emezi leaves no room for misunderstanding, they are not your average trickster spirit but a god-child in human flesh.
This delicious combination shows an overlap between Ada the character and Akwaeke the person, blurring the line between reality and fiction. In truth, it doesn't matter what is "real." Both works offer an intimate portrayal of Emezi's ogbanje experience or, in their words, spiritual self-portraiture. It's an honor to swim in the depth of their mind.
Dear Senthuran is not an easy read, and not only because of Emezi's self-proclaimed egotism. This memoir is a raw portrayal of depression, suicidal ideation, dysphoria, and heartbreak. Also, I am not going to pretend that I understand everything shared here. Which... fair, I am not the target audience but I love that.
I highly recommend reading these two as a duology of sorts. Freshwater introduces us to Ada, a spirit child who fractures under the injustice of the world but realigns as her true self, something bigger and more powerful. In Dear Senthuran, Emezi leaves no room for misunderstanding, they are not your average trickster spirit but a god-child in human flesh.
This delicious combination shows an overlap between Ada the character and Akwaeke the person, blurring the line between reality and fiction. In truth, it doesn't matter what is "real." Both works offer an intimate portrayal of Emezi's ogbanje experience or, in their words, spiritual self-portraiture. It's an honor to swim in the depth of their mind.
Dear Senthuran is not an easy read, and not only because of Emezi's self-proclaimed egotism. This memoir is a raw portrayal of depression, suicidal ideation, dysphoria, and heartbreak. Also, I am not going to pretend that I understand everything shared here. Which... fair, I am not the target audience but I love that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt