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A review by harasnicole
Shallow Waters by Anita Kopacz
2.0
As someone who is ignorant to Yoruba folklore and deities until this book, I guess the most I can do with this is to thank "Shallow Waters" for kickstarting my journey in learning more about Yemaya. Other than that, this book did not work for me, and I'm going to try my best to explain why:
The Writing:
So, the writing is, indeed, simple. There's nothing with that, per se, unless the goal was to have this read as a Young Adult or middle-grade novel. Considering this appears to have been marked on Goodreads as just about everything but YA or middle-grade, I admit that I'm a bit skeptical. The simpleness of the writing did lend for a quicker read, though, as well as its short length. Unfortunately, the shortness of the book leads me into my next problem:
Characterization:
For lack of a better word, every single character in this book is shallow. There's no depth to any of them, not even our main protagonist. I think I understand what the author was attempting with this, making Yemaya a physical manifestation of the water goddess and how most everyone she comes to meet -- her people, mostly -- have already heard of her or know who she is, whether it's because her face is plastered on wanted posters all over the country, or simply because she's a goddess who they look to for guidance and strength and perseverance.
That's something that did not work for me, the looking to Yemaya for guidance or strength or perseverance because, since we're stuck in Yemaya's head for the entirety of this short novel, I don't know why anyone would be looking to her for anything. Her sole purpose was essentially just trying to find her Obatala, and there was a point in the story where she seemed to forget that briefly, but once she's reminded of her alleged love, that's all she's focused on and I just don't understand why she loves him or why he loves her because none of it is really said. We're just supposed to read between the lines, I guess, read into their so-called "moments" in the beginning of the book when they see each other for the first time and he's originally captured and put on a slave ship bound for the New World that is the United States. I wasn't convinced that they love each other. We're just told over and over again that they do, but not really shown.
Another thing I didn't really like was the character of Phineas. While I know that white plantation owners were just as bad, oftentimes worse, as Phineas, his villainy came across almost... cartoonish? All of his dialogue felt... I don't know how to explain it, but it felt kind of forced. Over the top. Slightly unbelievable.
The Pacing:
The first few chapters were paced nicely, but as you continue reading, it starts picking up at breakneck speed and you're not able to get to know any of the characters that Yemaya meets on her journey. There are a handful of characters Yemaya runs into more than once throughout the story, but a majority of the characters are just one-offs who are there one second, gone the next.
The Ending:
If that wasn't the most predictable of endings in a story, I don't what is. To me, the ending just felt like a complete waste of time.
I was hoping that I would like this more than I did, because it definitely sounds like an important story to be shared with the world, but it was just executed poorly, in my opinion. I believe it could have done with some more fleshing out of the characters, as well as a better build-up of the relationship between Yemaya and Obatala, because we're not told anything about who Obatala is at all, so their "love story" comes across flat.
Again, I will thank "Shallow Waters" for kickstarting my interest in reading more not just about Yemaya and Obatala, but of Yoruba folklore in general because I am always interested in learning about new things and seeing how the story of Yemaya and Obatala change between Africa (Nigeria) and South America (Brazil) is fascinating to me. I also thank Edelweiss for providing me this arc to read in exchange for an honest review.
The Writing:
So, the writing is, indeed, simple. There's nothing with that, per se, unless the goal was to have this read as a Young Adult or middle-grade novel. Considering this appears to have been marked on Goodreads as just about everything but YA or middle-grade, I admit that I'm a bit skeptical. The simpleness of the writing did lend for a quicker read, though, as well as its short length. Unfortunately, the shortness of the book leads me into my next problem:
Characterization:
For lack of a better word, every single character in this book is shallow. There's no depth to any of them, not even our main protagonist. I think I understand what the author was attempting with this, making Yemaya a physical manifestation of the water goddess and how most everyone she comes to meet -- her people, mostly -- have already heard of her or know who she is, whether it's because her face is plastered on wanted posters all over the country, or simply because she's a goddess who they look to for guidance and strength and perseverance.
That's something that did not work for me, the looking to Yemaya for guidance or strength or perseverance because, since we're stuck in Yemaya's head for the entirety of this short novel, I don't know why anyone would be looking to her for anything. Her sole purpose was essentially just trying to find her Obatala, and there was a point in the story where she seemed to forget that briefly, but once she's reminded of her alleged love, that's all she's focused on and I just don't understand why she loves him or why he loves her because none of it is really said. We're just supposed to read between the lines, I guess, read into their so-called "moments" in the beginning of the book when they see each other for the first time and he's originally captured and put on a slave ship bound for the New World that is the United States. I wasn't convinced that they love each other. We're just told over and over again that they do, but not really shown.
Another thing I didn't really like was the character of Phineas. While I know that white plantation owners were just as bad, oftentimes worse, as Phineas, his villainy came across almost... cartoonish? All of his dialogue felt... I don't know how to explain it, but it felt kind of forced. Over the top. Slightly unbelievable.
The Pacing:
The first few chapters were paced nicely, but as you continue reading, it starts picking up at breakneck speed and you're not able to get to know any of the characters that Yemaya meets on her journey. There are a handful of characters Yemaya runs into more than once throughout the story, but a majority of the characters are just one-offs who are there one second, gone the next.
The Ending:
If that wasn't the most predictable of endings in a story, I don't what is. To me, the ending just felt like a complete waste of time.
I was hoping that I would like this more than I did, because it definitely sounds like an important story to be shared with the world, but it was just executed poorly, in my opinion. I believe it could have done with some more fleshing out of the characters, as well as a better build-up of the relationship between Yemaya and Obatala, because we're not told anything about who Obatala is at all, so their "love story" comes across flat.
Again, I will thank "Shallow Waters" for kickstarting my interest in reading more not just about Yemaya and Obatala, but of Yoruba folklore in general because I am always interested in learning about new things and seeing how the story of Yemaya and Obatala change between Africa (Nigeria) and South America (Brazil) is fascinating to me. I also thank Edelweiss for providing me this arc to read in exchange for an honest review.