chirson's review against another edition
4.0
Beautifully crafted, with a powerful voice and strong messages about trauma, identity and gender. It was not easy to read, but it was well worth the effort. However, I feel ambivalent about the ending.
speaktospeakthrough's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
danielakalexandra's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Sexual content, Self harm, and Sexual violence
kyara28's review against another edition
4.0
An extraordinary experience. This book takes you in with it‘s beautiful use of languages and interesting perspectives on happenings. It‘s telling is fractured, which is fitting, but not so much so that you can‘t understand it anymore.
I would advise to read this in one sitting/when you have time to finish it quite quickly after you started it for a good understanding and full immersion.
I would advise to read this in one sitting/when you have time to finish it quite quickly after you started it for a good understanding and full immersion.
carlysgrowingtbr's review against another edition
5.0
Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi is a unique and memorizing approach to understanding the difficulty of living with mental illness.
We begin with our main character, Ada. The story follows her as she is born and grows to adulthood dealing with two ancient entities within her. These gods talk with her and at times even control her body. As much as they seem to help Ada with certain situations, they also cause chaos and make her hard to exist alongside much of the time. The gods cause Ada to act violently and irrational and damage all of her personal relationships. Ada does seem aware of her otherness and it's issues through the book and takes several times to get help. However, she's often talked out of continuing treatment as the gods continue to exploit her vulnerability.
The book uses the old gods to explain Ada's violent behavior, including but not limited to self harm, promiscuity and fits of rage. It was a very interesting take on mental illness and a possible reasoning for it.
It took me a few tries to really get into this book. But once it stuck I was utterly hooked and couldn't step away. It was an excellent read.
We begin with our main character, Ada. The story follows her as she is born and grows to adulthood dealing with two ancient entities within her. These gods talk with her and at times even control her body. As much as they seem to help Ada with certain situations, they also cause chaos and make her hard to exist alongside much of the time. The gods cause Ada to act violently and irrational and damage all of her personal relationships. Ada does seem aware of her otherness and it's issues through the book and takes several times to get help. However, she's often talked out of continuing treatment as the gods continue to exploit her vulnerability.
The book uses the old gods to explain Ada's violent behavior, including but not limited to self harm, promiscuity and fits of rage. It was a very interesting take on mental illness and a possible reasoning for it.
It took me a few tries to really get into this book. But once it stuck I was utterly hooked and couldn't step away. It was an excellent read.
horchata's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
shanflan's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
4.0
I think this is one I will come back to, even though I think I may have enjoyed it more in my late twenties
sarcasticnerdette's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0