But since the gates were open, not closed against remembrance, we became confused. We should have been anchored in her by then, asleep inside her membranes and synched with her mind. It’s a kindness… Perhaps the gods forgot… By the time she (our body) struggled out into the world, slick and louder than a village of storms, the gates were left open. When the transition is made from spirit to flesh, the gates are meant to be closed. “We came from somewhere - everything does. What we term mental illness on the realistic and logical plane is explained by the spirits in their own way. Later, other ‘brothersister’ spirits come to offer their perspectives as they come and occupy the empty marble room that is Ada’s mind.Īda is a disturbed child from infancy, with frequent unexplained fits of anger and sorrow. The story is initially told by three spirits who are born inside, and grow along with Ada, a little girl growing up in Nigeria. But it’s also a story of survival and strength and of coming to terms with what it means to survive.Writing in an arresting style, the author juxtaposes African folklore and mythology with contemporary characters and settings to explore “the metaphysics of identity and being, plunging the reader into the mysteries of self.” On another level, this is the story of a troubled girl who grows up with split personality and other psychiatric disorders. It is not an easy experience it’s a story of trauma and violence and heartbreak. Freshwater embeds you deep into Ada’s mind, demanding that you feel what this young woman feels, that you see the world the way she does. But then something vivid and clear happens - Asughara turns the tables on another domineering man with her unbridled sexuality, say - and Emezi’s prose calls the reader to attention. In those parts of the book, the reader is left floating in a sea of language which sounds pretty, but which doesn’t seem to be actively describing anything. Some scenes lack a sense of place or a narrative thrust. Freshwater at times feels a little too unmoored from reality. What is reading, but inviting another voice to take up residence in your head? Emezi’s voice is hypnotic and powerful and imaginative, leaving the reader unsure of what in the story is real and what is not. These voices in Freshwater - the chorus of personalities - should feel familiar to anyone who spends a lot of time lost in books.
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