(Reviewed by JD Jung)
“…when we said she went mad, we lied. She has always been sane. It’s just that she was contaminated with us, a godly parasite with many heads, roaring inside the marble room of her mind.”
Ada, a young Nigerian woman, was troubled even as a child. As her parents couldn’t handle her, she gradually developed separate selves. It’s when she goes to college in the United States, that the identities dominate her psyche and consider Ada to be merely a vessel.
We initially see this in her self-mutilation, but it takes on more of an effect in her various romantic and sexual relationships. Though we learn from the perspective of her multiple “selves”, it’s the reckless Asughara that we mostly hear from.
“I was ready to consume everything I touched.” “Consequences were a thing that happened to humans, not to me. This was their world. I wasn’t even really here.” Asughara maintains that her role is to simply protect Ada.
I have to admit that when I decide to read a book, I just glance at the premise. I really don’t do a lot of research on the plot. If it sounds interesting, then it’s a “go”. So I was initially confused while reading Freshwater, as I couldn’t tell who was speaking and whose point of view it was from. Even though I was mesmerized by the beautiful prose and literary style, I almost closed the book for good. I’m glad I gave it a few more pages, as it finally hit me as to what was going on. At that point I couldn’t put the book down.
There is so much to keep the reader captivated. Not only does the story take a unique look at mental illness, but Ada’s inner-conflict between Nigerian folklore and Christianity is fascinating. Each character is fully developed and multi-dimensional and I had to keep reminding myself that the selves were not separate from her.
Freshwater is the debut novel by Akwaeke Emezi and I definitely want to read more from her.
