A review by books_and_coffee
Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi

5.0

I hate to sound cliche, but "stunning" is an apropos word for this story, since reading it is shock to the system, both because of its beautiful, supernatural prose and its raw and heavy imagery. The way Emezi's visionary mind grasps and distills intangible concepts kind of makes mine hurt.

I am not entirely opposed to madness, not when it comes with this kind of clarity. The world in my head has been far more real than the one outside--maybe that's the exact definition of madness, come to think of it.


If it seems like this review is just a bunch of misty adjectives, it's probably because...well, it is. This story is too expansive to be easily summarized or pinpointed, so I am left to paint the ethereal immensity with under-serving words as best I can. Told from the perspective of multiple personalities, this is a rich and layered exploration of all the elements of self, of awareness and perspective, of sanity and mental health, of the lived experience, of identity.

By the time she (our body) struggled out into the world, slick and louder than a village of storms, the gates were left open.


We've always wanted to think that it was a careless thing the gods did, rather than a deliberate neglect. But what we think barely matters, even being who we are to them: their child. [...]They are about as gentle with their own children as they are with yours. Perhaps, even less so, because your children are just weak bags of flesh with a timed soul. We, on the other hand--their children, the hatchlings, goslings, ogbanje--can endure so much more horror.


The way topics of rape, body detachment, transgender, multiple selves, relationships, multiple selves were discussed was eye-opening.

When you break something, you must study the pattern of the shattering before you can piece it back together.


Freshwater is one of the most impactful books I've read. It was enlightening and foreign, yet eerily relatable. Although it is anything but a light read, Emezi's words are remarkably easy, absorbing, and propelling.

But I loved him and that made him more than human to me. Love is transformative in that way.


Thanks for the ARC. I'm happy to say that I was not disappointed.