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A review by tishywishy
Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
5.0
Let me start off by saying that I do not know exactly how to review this book. It was a bit odd to read this novel because I followed Akwaeke on Tumblr and enjoyed her blogging and social media camaraderie. To read this novel and realize I had read about these experience either as they occurred or her thoughts on vet school, mental health and art is a bit surreal. I knew when she was writing her novel, that she spent time in Trinidad doing so and met her at a local event. It is fascinating to know that this has been her experience, summed up in a fictional book, but it transcends way more than that. Freshwater is astounding.
The book begins with the birth of Ada who grows with dormant spirits within her until a devastating act in her college years opens the gateway to allow them in. Freshwater delves into the trials and encounters Ada faces as these different spirits within her surge to take the lead. There is one dominant spirit, Asugara, whose intentions for Ada are both intensely driven by love and loyalty as they are by maliciousness and greed. Freshwater may be fictional but is it follows the life and experiences of the author. This book is poetic and eerie, painful and endearing. A fantastic debut novel.
Spoiler
top surgery/hospital visitsSpoiler
+ the divorce.The book begins with the birth of Ada who grows with dormant spirits within her until a devastating act in her college years opens the gateway to allow them in. Freshwater delves into the trials and encounters Ada faces as these different spirits within her surge to take the lead. There is one dominant spirit, Asugara, whose intentions for Ada are both intensely driven by love and loyalty as they are by maliciousness and greed. Freshwater may be fictional but is it follows the life and experiences of the author. This book is poetic and eerie, painful and endearing. A fantastic debut novel.