num_pages: 229
description: 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: Asghara 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.Narrated by the various selves within Ada and based in the author's realities Freshwater dazzles with ferocious energy and serpentine grace heralding the arrival of a fierce new literary voice.
language: English
title: Freshwater
publisher: Grove Press