Freshwater

This review can also be found on my blog.

I finished this after the Women's Prize shortlist is released and all I can say is: it's a damn travesty that this book didn't make the cut. It was initially interesting to see that it was longlisted – Akwaeke Emezi is nonbinary, which the judges were not aware of until after they had decided upon the list. Emezi gave their okay for the book's inclusion regardless and fans were glad to see it gain further recognition. But for the judges to leave off this masterpiece in favor of the combination they did... I won't get into it, but it sure doesn't make any sense.

The first madness was that we were born, that they stuffed a god into a bag of skin.

I actually received a Netgalley ARC of this in January 2018, which I far too quickly DNFed in a “I'm not sure I Get this, maybe later” scenario. Maybe for the best, since I don't know that I would have fully appreciated this novel without the growth my literary tastes have experienced over the last year. While I'm still not sure I was able to fully appreciate it – there were doubtless many things I missed – this is one of the most impactful books I have ever read and I'm sure I'll never forget it.

The boy made Ada a gibbering thing in a corner – this is the truth, but he would never get her again. I had arrived, flesh from flesh, true blood from true blood. I was the wildness under the skin, the skin into a weapon, the weapon over the flesh. I was here. No one would ever touch her again.

Freshwater is an exploration of many things, but at the forefront lie trauma, gender identity, and spirituality. It's hard to explore the plot too deeply without spoilers, but I'll say that this is one of the best portrayals of trauma that I've ever read. The entire book requires endless trigger warnings and it's quite an intense experience, but I found it so rewarding. If you're in the space where you can pick this up, I cannot recommend it enough.