Sometimes the resulting contentįeels disjointed, too scattered, and other times I find myself impulsively, Them to proceeding consequences in Ada’s life. View, the dialogue is limited compared to the lengthy and poetic descriptionsīook are retold again by multiple selves to reveal new perspectives and connect

The world, which is a compound object binding the spirit of a dead child-Ada-toĪ focus on Ada and her godlings, written in past tense and multiple points of “The gate” is the opened pathīetween the flesh-Ada-and the godlings’ spirit realm. Same family, not exclusively human or god. “Ogbanje” is a rebirthed spirit, born to the As a child ofĪla, Ada embodies these traits. The book title, Freshwater, refers to Ala, the source of streams. Is a feminine earth deity, sacred python, and source of streams. Harnesses Igbo mythology within the cryptic setting of the book (p. Undergoes a hysterectomy and bilateral salpingectomy they remove their uterusĪnd fallopian tubes because they do not identify as a woman. To appear more non-binary, not exclusively masculine or feminine. Emezi and Ada undergo breast reduction surgery Similar physical and social attributes: dark hair and skin tone, tattoos, and LikeĮmezi, Ada is also a person of Igbo and Tamil descent, an ogbanje, and shares Progresses, Emezi’s life aligns with their protagonist’s experiences. Spirit of dead child rebirthed into the same family repeatedly: “spirit and They identify as a non-binary transgender and ogbanje-a Magazine’s The Cut, and their website biography, the author is an Igbo and To Emezi’s intimate essay in the New York Native tongue, a language I do not understand-and mythology. Amongst other potential books, other possibleĪdventures, I chose this book to read because it embraces the Igbo language-my

Spirits called ogbanje, and characteristics of dissociative identityĭisorder-challenges me. 5).Īs a reader, I gravitate towards fiction.Īutofiction-an autobiography surrounded by mythological context, rebirthed Instantly, the first chapter of Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi introduces a peculiar, dissociative predicament, “By the time she (our body) struggled out into the world, slick and louder than a village of storms, the gates were left open…We were not conscious but we were alive-in fact, the main problem was that we were a distinct we instead of being fully and just her” (p.

Akwaeke emezi freshwater