Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi

63 reviews

jill_holly's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

5.0

It feels impossible to review this book because it is so hard to describe. It had me in a chokehold the moment I started it and didn't let up. I was breathless by the end. Both devastatingly dark and heartwrenchingly beautiful, it dives headfirst into the lasting impacts of sexual trauma, the struggles of mental health, and the splitting of a fractured identity. It pulls from Igbo mythology, which I enjoyed learning more about. I was riveted, heartbroken and aching from the prose, weirdness, and intensity of Ada's story. I need to go read everything else Akwaeke Emezi has ever written. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

Moderate: Domestic abuse

lizlee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Child abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Alcohol

Minor: Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Forced institutionalization

kshertz's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This book is so dark and sad. But what an interesting new view. The darkness of mental health issues as told by the darkness. The fully fractured people that can happen. It’s a viewpoint I’ve never been able to understand but this really breaks it down. It takes a minute to get into that voice and headspace but once you’re there, it’s hard to leave it. It’s haunting but powerful. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

nel0nen's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Homophobia, Transphobia, and Car accident

Minor: Death and Lesbophobia

hazelbynature's review against another edition

Enjoyed the premise and read 14–39% in one day, but then found I just couldn’t bring myself to pick it back up again over the following week.
It had a very negative tone, with no sign/hope of things improving for the human character. Very detached narrative voice, with lots of foreshadowing for things to get worse without any sign they’d improve.
Due to detachment of narrative voice, struggled to be emotionally invested in the human character.
Didn’t feel like there was really an overarching plot, just following the human character’s life as they lived it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Blood, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

vajaakirjahylly's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

I feel like this book needs a reread to be fully understood

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Drug use and Alcohol

froggy1png's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

A real insightful read, so beautifully written 😭✨👏🏻

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

micksland's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

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

5.0

5 stars!

CW: Sexual assault, suicide, eating disorders, domestic violence, alcoholism and drug abuse, etc. Very graphic - but worth it for most readers.

___

This is a lyrical debut novel from an author whose work I thoroughly enjoy. Emezi tells the semi-autobiographical story of The Ada, a young girl born in Nigeria with multiple ogbanje inside her. The author explains ogbanje in this way:

"An ogbanje is an Igbo spirit that’s born into a human body, a kind of malevolent trickster, whose goal is to torment the human mother by dying unexpectedly only to return in the next child and do it all over again. They come and go. They are never really here — if you are a thing that was born to die, you are a dead thing even while you live."

In this story, something goes wrong with the process. The ogbanje do not die as they are meant to do; they remain mostly dormant inside The Ada throughout her childhood. When The Ada moves to the USA for college, a traumatic event awakens the spirits sleeping inside her, fracturing her mind into multiple personalities. Most predominant of these personalities is Asughara, the id, a spirit who is sexually aggressive, self-harming, self-destructive, and intent on sending The Ada back to the "other side". Also present is Saint Vincent, a male spirit who wishes for The Ada to change her body to accommodate their shared identity. Finally, there is Yeshua, a visiting spirit who explores the relationship between Christianity and Igbo religion and cosmology.

The language is absolutely gorgeous and poetic, despite the violence and sadness of the subject matter. Emezi has some of the most gorgeous prose of any author I've read recently, and the contrast between the poetry of their words and the blood behind them is stunning. It's a difficult and traumatic, but thoroughly worthwhile, read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Rape, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Drug abuse and Alcohol

jdors00's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical trauma, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Alcohol

orlagal's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism