A review by kirsten0929
Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi

4.0

[2018] I wasn’t sure this book was for me, what with the spirits and all, and I almost took it back to the library unread. So glad I didn’t. It read like a memoir (the author has said it is highly autobiographical) and what made it for me was the point of view. The spirits are inside her, narrating their own thoughts and actions and why they make her think and do what she does, so it’s kind of a third person first person. So much more interesting that a straight up “I” narration. The spirits, ogbanje, believed to be real by the main character, Ada, seemed to me to represent those voices in our heads, those voices that make us act the way we do whether it’s in our best interest or not, that devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other kind of thing. The voices deep down that are often our defense mechanisms or our instincts for self preservation that can also be incredibly destructive. At some point, these voices tip over in to mental illness, which is what is being explored here.