Akwaeke Emezi erkundet in ihrem von Kritik und Publikum gefeierten Debüt Süßwasser, wie es ist, ein gespaltenes Ich zu haben. Und sie zeigt gleichzeitig, wie wir alle unsere verschiedenen Identitäten laufend konstruieren. Ein Buch von wilder Energie und schlangenartiger Eleganz - die Geburt einer neuen ungebändigten literarischen Stimme. Ada wächst im Süden Nigerias auf. Sie ist ein sprunghaftes und schwieriges Kind und ein Quell steter Sorge für ihre Eltern. Adas verschiedene Ichs kommen immer wieder zum Vorschein und rücken vor allem nach ihrem Umzug in die USA immer stärker in den Vordergrund. Nach einem traumatischen Übergriff nimmt Adas Leben eine dunkle und gefährliche Wendung.
Feeling explodes through the language of this scalding novel, heralding the arrival of a fierce new literary voice.
Ada was born with one foot on the other side. Having prayed her into existence, her parents Saul and Saachi struggle to deal with the volatile and contradictory spirits peopling their troubled girl. When Ada comes of age and heads to college, the entities within her grow in power and agency. An assault leads to a crystallization of her selves: Asughara and Saint Vincent. As Ada fades into the background of her own mind and these selves - now protective, now hedonistic - seize control of Ada, her life spirals in a dark and dangerous direction. Narrated from the perspectives of the various selves within Ada, and based in the author's realities, Freshwater explores the metaphysics of identity and being.
"Sheer perfection: sexy, sensual, spiritual, wise. One of the most dazzling debuts I've ever read." TAIYE SELASI Guardian Best Books 2017
An extraordinary debut novel, Freshwater explores the surreal experience of having a fractured self. It centers around a young Nigerian woman, Ada, who develops separate selves within her as a result of being born "with one foot on the other side." Unsettling, heartwrenching, dark, and powerful, Freshwater is a sharp evocation of a rare way of experiencing the world, one that illuminates how we all construct our identities.
Ada begins her life in the south of Nigeria as a troubled baby and a source of deep concern to her family. Her parents, Saul and Saachi, successfully prayed her into existence, but as she grows into a volatile and splintered child, it becomes clear that something went terribly awry. When Ada comes of age and moves to America for college, the group of selves within her grows in power and agency. A traumatic assault leads to a crystallization of her alternate selves: As?ghara and Saint Vincent. As Ada fades into the background of her own mind and these selves - now protective, now hedonistic - move into control, Ada's life spirals in a dark and dangerous direction.
