Wikipedia

Freshwater (novel)

Freshwater is a 2018 autobiographical fiction novel by Nigerian writer Akwaeke Emezi.[1][2][3] Emezi's debut novel, it tells the story of Ada, a girl with multiple ogbanje dwelling inside her.[4] A TV series based on the novel is under development by FX.[5][6]

Freshwater
Freshwater
AuthorAkwaeke Emezi
LanguageEnglish
GenreFiction, Autobiography
PublisherGrove Press
Publication date
13 February 2018
Publication placeNigeria
AwardsNommo Award, Otherwise Award
ISBN9780802128997

Freshwater won both the Nommo Novel Award and Otherwise Award in 2019, and was nominated for several other awards and prizes.[7][8]

Plot

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Freshwater tells the semi-autobiographical story of the protagonist, known to the reader as 'The Ada'. The main narratorial voice of the novel is an ogbanje, a deity from Igbo religion, that occupies the Ada, and manifests in multiple distinct and characterised personalities, both helpful and antagonistic.

The plot follows a fragmented account of the Ada's life. The first main segment of the novel discusses the Ada's birth and the nature of the ogbanje, followed by a general account of her childhood in Nigeria, narrated in plural first person by the dormant ogbanje living inside her. Following her childhood, the Ada moves to the United States to study biology, where her first college boyfriend, Soren, repeatedly rapes her. The trauma of this event causes the dormant ogbanje to change inside her, leading to the development of a unique personality known as Asughara, who acts antagonistically to the Ada's body in the favour of the ogbanje spirit that resides inside her. At the same time, another personality known as St Vincent emerges, with an emphasis on masculinity, including binding and eventually undergoing top surgery. Following the emergence of these unique ogbanje personalities, there is a constant struggle for control over the Ada's life, the outcome of which includes self harm, exploration of sexuality and gender identity, and experimentation with intoxication. The plot climaxes as Asughara attempts to kill the Ada, which is seen as both murder from one personality to another, and also as suicide. The attempt fails, and after the Ada's hospitalisation, she travels back to Nigeria for the closing action of the story, where she is seen by a priest. In the final section of the novel, the Ada reflects on her personalities and the nature of the ogbanje in an introspective manner, as she gains a sense of wholeness to her identity.

The story of Freshwater is broken up and fragmented through both time and narratorial voice. The narrator often changes between chapter, between the initial first person plural of the ogbanje, Asughara, St Vincent, and eventually the Ada herself, who doesn't gain a voice in her own story until well into the novel. The organisation of the story within the novel is arranged so that the action is more centred around the ogbanje's journey and conflict than the Ada's.

Emezi explores their Igbo heritage's views on spirituality and gender roles alongside those of Western construction and invites their audience to think critically about this spirit/body binary.[3][1]

Reception

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The New Yorker called Freshwater "a startling début novel";[4] The Guardian called it "a remarkable debut";[9] and the LA Times called it "dazzling".[10] Freshwater was longlisted for numerous significant awards.[11] Freshwater was a New York Times Notable Book,[12] was named a Best Book of the Year by the New Yorker[13] and NPR.[14] Emezi is also recognized as a 2018 National Book Foundation "5 Under 35" honoree.[15]

In 2019, Freshwater was nominated for the Women's Prize for Fiction — the first time a non-binary transgender author has been nominated for the prize. Kate Williams, the chair of the judges, called it a "historic moment". Williams said that the panel did not know Emezi was non-binary when the book was chosen, but she said Emezi was happy to be nominated.[16] Non-binary commentator Vic Parsons wrote that the nomination raised uncomfortable questions, asking: "would a non-binary author who was assigned male at birth have been longlisted? I highly doubt it."[17] After the nomination, it was announced that the Women's Prize Trust was working on new guidelines for transgender, non-binary, and genderfluid authors.[18]

Controversy

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After Emezi posted tweets regarding Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's association with transphobic public figures,[19] Adichie (who had previously helped publish Emezi's work in an online magazine) asked that all references to her name be removed from the "about the author" section of the book jacket on all future copies of Freshwater.[20]

Awards

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Dates Award Category Notes Ref.
2018 The Brooklyn Public Library Literary Prize Nominated [11]
Center for Fiction First Novel Prize — Shortlisted [21]
2019 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence Fiction Longlisted [22]
Aspen Words Literary Prize — Longlisted [23][24]
Nommo Award Novel Won [25][26]
Otherwise Award — Won [27]
PEN/Hemingway Award — Finalist [28][29]
Women's Prize for Fiction — Longlisted [16]
Young Lions Fiction Award — Finalist [30]

Adaptation

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In May 2019, news announced that the novel was optioned by FX for a TV series adaptation.[5] Emezi will write the screenplay and executive produce the series with Tamara P. Carter. FX Productions will produce it alongside Kevin Wandell and Lindsey Donahue.[6][5]

References

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  1. ^ a b "In 'Freshwater,' A College Student Learns To Live With Separate Selves". NPR.org. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  2. ^ "Akwaeke Emezi: 'I'd read everything – even the cereal box'". the Guardian. 2018-10-20. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  3. ^ a b Mzezewa, Tariro (2018-02-26). "In This Debut Novel, a College Student Hears Voices". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  4. ^ a b Waldman, Katy (2018-02-26). "A Startling Début Novel Explores the Freedom of Being Multiple". ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  5. ^ a b c Otterson, Joe (2019-05-22). "FX to Develop Series Adaptation of Akwaeke Emezi's 'Freshwater' With Tamara P. Carter (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  6. ^ a b Simon, Jordan. "'Freshwater': FX Developing Series Adaptation Based On Akwaeke Emezi's Acclaimed Debut Novel". Shadow and Act. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  7. ^ "Nommo 2019: Novel Nominations - African Speculative Fiction Society". www.africansfs.com. Archived from the original on 2020-06-09. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  8. ^ Lothian, Alexis (2020-04-11). "Akwaeke Emezi wins 2019 Otherwise Award! Honor List Announced « Otherwise Award". Otherwise Award. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  9. ^ Adébáyò, Ayòbámi (2018-11-15). "Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi review – a remarkable debut". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  10. ^ Straight, Susan (16 February 2018). "A dazzling, devastating novel: 'Freshwater' by Akwaeke Emezi". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  11. ^ a b "The Brooklyn Public Library Literary Prize". www.bklynlibrary.org. 2017-03-20. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  12. ^ "100 Notable Books of 2018". The New York Times. 2018-11-19. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  13. ^ Waldman, Katy (2018-12-04). "The Best Books of 2018". ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  14. ^ "NPR's Book Concierge Our Guide To 2018's Great Reads". apps.npr.org. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  15. ^ Schaub, Michael (2018-09-24). "National Book Foundation unveils this year's '5 Under 35' picks". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  16. ^ a b Cain, Sian (2019-03-04). "Non-binary trans author nominated for Women's prize for fiction". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-03-27.
  17. ^ "Opinion: Be careful before celebrating the recognition of Akwaeke Emezi". The Independent. 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  18. ^ Wood, Heloise. "Women's Prize to formulate new policy around gender criteria". TheBookSeller.com. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
  19. ^ Phiri, Aretha. "Adichie and Emezi: ignore the noise, pay attention to the conversation". The Conversation. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  20. ^ "'It is obscene': Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie pens blistering essay against social media sanctimony". The Guardian. 2021-06-16. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  21. ^ "The Center for Fiction". www.centerforfiction.org. Archived from the original on 26 February 2019. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  22. ^ "Andrew Carnegie Medals Longlist | Awards & Grants". www.ala.org. Archived from the original on June 19, 2020. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  23. ^ "AKWAEKE EMEZI". Aspen Words. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  24. ^ "7 Tips on Writing Fiction from Aspen Words Literary Prize Nominees". The Aspen Institute. 10 January 2019. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  25. ^ "Announcing the 2019 Nommo Award Winners". 25 October 2019. Archived from the original on 26 October 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  26. ^ "Nommo 2019: Novel Nominations – African Speculative Fiction Society". www.africansfs.com. Archived from the original on 9 June 2020. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  27. ^ Lothian, Alexis (11 April 2020). "Akwaeke Emezi wins 2019 Otherwise Award! Honor List Announced « Otherwise Award". Otherwise Award. Archived from the original on 16 June 2023. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  28. ^ "2019 PEN/Hemingway Award Finalists Announced | The Hemingway Society". www.hemingwaysociety.org. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  29. ^ "Akwaeke Emezi". Women's Prize for Fiction. Archived from the original on 20 November 2019. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  30. ^ "Young Lions Fiction Award Finalists". locusmag.com. 21 May 2019. Archived from the original on 2 June 2019. Retrieved 2019-06-01.
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