Freshwater

By: Akwaeke Emezi

Narrated by: Akwaeke Emezi

An extraordinary debut novel, Freshwater explores the surreal experience of having a fractured self. It centers around a young Nigerian woman, Ada, who develops separate selves within her as a result of being born "with one foot on the other side". Unsettling, heart-wrenching, dark, and powerful, Freshwater is a sharp evocation of a rare way of experiencing the world, one that illuminates how we all construct our identities.

Ada begins her life in the south of Nigeria as a troubled baby and a source of deep concern to her family. Her parents, Saul and Saachi, successfully prayed her into existence, but as she grows into a volatile and splintered child, it becomes clear that something went terribly awry. When Ada comes of age and moves to America for college, the group of selves within her grows in power and agency.

A traumatic assault leads to a crystallization of her alternate selves: Asụghara and Saint Vincent. As Ada fades into the background of her own mind and these selves - now protective, now hedonistic - move into control, Ada's life spirals in a dark and dangerous direction.

©2018 Akwaeke Emezi (P)2018 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Difficult Listen for Me

This book was dark and from the start it was difficult for me to follow along the voice of the main character(s), it became easier as I moved through the book, but all in all the book was too dark for me and at the end I didn’t feel like there was real closure- maybe that was the point...I also think a different narrator may have been helpful, the author doesn’t emote much during the performance and in my opinion that made it difficult at times to connect with the story. I won’t say it’s a bad book, just maybe not my style...

Identity

I loved the idea of this book, I'm not 100% sure I loved the way the story was told. There was this interesting premise of madness having an identity that I thought was brilliant. I liked the way the story was told .... what was a miss for me was what seemed like a lot of focus on sex, and sexual partners. It did lead the story down its path. I just don't know that it was entirely necessary and that took away from the overall story.

This wasn't necessarily a person struggling with sexual identity, it was a person struggling with identity, period.

Maybe I'm just getting old

Snake Spirit

This is a highly imaginative book about the spiritual world taking over a young women’s body. You experience her life as both a real person and her inner self which is controlled by the snake spirits. Sexual experience and body identity puts this woman into mental conflict and leads to her continual search for being as she sheds her skins. (Best to listen to this author tell her story on Audible.)

Speechless

Truly this book will never leave me. Thank you Akwaeke Emezi, for this gift to the world.

interesting, but...

The author's approach to the story is unique and refreshing, but the plot never seems to go anywhere meaningful. I often found myself bored and distracted by the endless internal monologues.

inspirational, life changing, relatable. beautiful

amazing, must read for everyone. perfect story of the human experience that is relatable throughout cultures.

Not for me

The book is well written no doubt, but the story is too dark & frankly depressing. If you’re into uplifting fiction this one is a tough read. She reads her own book & that was a good call because there’s nothing worse than a Nigerian protagonist speaking in an American accent,

Thought Provoking Read

When I first started Freshwater, I found myself incredibly confused about what was happening or the story, especially during chapters 1-4. The narrative structure is unconventional, and the shifting perspectives made it hard for me to grasp the direction.
However, by Chapter 5, things started to click into place. The book explores identity and self through the lens of Ada, a young Nigerian woman, as she navigates the presence of multiple selves-or spirits-within her.
Diving deep into spirituality, identity fragmentation, and the complexity of the human mind.
By chapter 10, I was completely hooked. Emezi's writing delves into profound themes like female sexuality, self-discovery, and the intersection of spiritual beliefs with the body. Ada's journey is one of wrestling with her identity as both a woman and a being inhabited by spirits, raising questions about autonomy and how spirituality shapes our understanding of self, particularly in non-Western contexts.
The book's tone shifts distinctly between different sections, from a dreamlike, almost disorienting narration in the beginning to a more visceral, grounded reality later. I suspect this is intentional, as it reflects Ada's growing understanding of her multiple selves and the forces within her. The reader is drawn into Ada's interior world, and as she becomes more aware of her situation, the storytelling becomes sharper and more direct.
The final chapters are haunting and powerful, filled with revelations about Ada's journey that left me thinking.
Without giving any spoilers, the ending ties together the book's exploration of identity, spirituality, and survival in an emotionally raw and intellectually challenging way.

Beautifully written!

The different perspectives on spirituality, sex, body, trauma, and mental health are all wonderfully complex and engaging.