Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Manantial by Akwaeke Emezi

32 reviews

froggybooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

LOVED LOVED LOVED!!!!

the only issue i had with this book is simply how many times i got frustrated at there being no simple translation for the igbo and it ruined my immersion. but i love it and it wouldn’t be right without it 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Rape, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, and Abandonment

laynemandros's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Alcohol, and Dysphoria

martinza's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Eating disorder and Dysphoria

lycheejelly's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective tense 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Biphobia, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Homophobia, Misogyny, Vomit, and Dysphoria

Minor: Pedophilia, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Outing

macknificent's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Abandonment

Minor: Homophobia, Incest, Pedophilia, Medical content, and Lesbophobia

aile_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

reread january 2024
read in english, paperback

I understand why 15 year old me was astonished by this. But I didn’t feel as strongly  this time. Maybe I’ve  come in terms with my gender, or more spiritually disconnected. Not sure. This time I didn’t cry once. While I cried all the time the first time I read it. Doesn’t take away the authors’ ingenuity and the books’ amazingness
And I still deeply love freshwater. I know this book has shaped me to the place I am now.

april 2022
read in swedish, ebook

If I could give this book 6 stars I would. Absolutely beautiful. I didn’t understand everything in this book but that do not change the fact that the book is the best ever made. I wonder though if it is a autobiography or not? And my favorite character was Saint Vincent. Going to have to reread it sometime. In english because I read it in swedish. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Dysphoria

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Transphobia, Violence, and Car accident

seawarrior's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense 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

5.0

Freshwater is a dizzying, original tale of a young woman who comes of age with gods trapped within her mind and her flesh. Emezi's writing is cutting and clear, conveying the messages of Ada's divine residents with precise expression and violent, glittering imagery. While the chronology of the book was disorienting at times, I never felt lost. The way events were revealed made sense in context, and furthered our understanding of the characters' thought processes. I am not familiar with Igbo onotology, or metaphysical theories in general, yet my lack of knowledge did not make the story hard to follow, thanks to Emezi's direct style and explicit metaphors. However, I would not recommend this book to people triggered by or vulnerable to depictions of sexual violence and self harm. A key plot development in the book is the arrival of a vengeful and hedonistic god summoned to protect Ada from the realization she has been raped. Even before this, Ada was self harming to provide her gods with the blood they craved, yet this event accelerates the self destructive behavior her gods encourage. Though deeply unsettling, I did enjoy reading this novel. I've never encountered another story like it, and look forward to reading the unique and divergent works Emezi felt inspired by. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Suicide, Transphobia, Grief, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Dysphoria

Minor: Fatphobia, Homophobia, and Outing

Assault scenes are present but not extremely graphic; aftermath and results are covered more extensively than events themselves, though there are frank descriptions of rape and (C)SA.

jouljet's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Dysphoria

summerb's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol

Minor: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail