Book Club: Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi

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This month we are travelling to Nigeria via Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi. Emezi is an Igbo and Tamil writer who goes by the pronouns they/them/theirs.

Freshwater is a somewhat autobiographical coming-of-age story and explores the idea of a fragmented self through the story of Ada, a young Nigerian woman who is inhabited by several Ogbanje.

“An ogbanje is an Igbo spirit that’s born into a human body, a kind of malevolent trickster, whose goal is to torment the human mother by dying unexpectedly only to return in the next child and do it all over again.” - Akwaeke Emezi [1]

I was drawn to this story because I remember coming across an Ogbanje in Chinua Achebe’s acclaimed Things Fall Apart and being rather fascinated with the supernatural entity. Here I feel like Emezi is going to use the Ogbanje as a device to explore cultural and individual identity and gender dysphoria, which are such compelling and important subject matters. Especially, as we are still living in a time where transphobia rife.

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It’s undeniable that literature is a powerful tool in the road to normalisation and through reading, I have become a more understanding and accepting person, and for that reason that I why I have selected Freshwater as our March book.

Where to purchase your copy of Freshwater

Audio: Audible

Secondhand: Abebooks

New: Bookshop.org 

Just check back here at the end of each month to discuss the book and find out what we’ll be reading the following month.

The Journey So Far…

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[1] Emezi, A., (n.d.) Transition My surgeries were a bridge across realities, a spirit customizing its vessel to reflect its nature.. [online] The Cut. Available at https://www.thecut.com/2018/01/writer-and-artist-akwaeke-emezi-gender-transition-and-ogbanje.html [Accessed 6 March 2021].

February Books

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Intimations by Zadie Smith

Written during the first days of the Pandemic this collection of essays covers random thoughts and feelings Smith had at the time and she also reflects on the Murder of George Floyd. I’ve never actually read any of Smith’s fiction so I thought I would start with her essays and I liked her writing style so I will be checking out her fiction in the future.

Oedipus Rex by Sophocles

I listened to an audio adaptation on Audible that you can download for free as part of your audible subscription. I think everyone knows Oedipus Rex to some extent, perhaps because of Freud’s controversial Oedipus Complex theory more than anything else which is interesting in itself, how something becomes part of a collective cultural memory. I didn’t realise that the play takes place during a pandemic so that was interesting. I used to read Greek plays in the school library during lunch break (I can’t remember which ones tbh) but this was my first encounter with Sophocles and I must say that I did enjoy the audio adaptation as really for me plays become so much more accessible when dramatised either on stage or by audio.

The Hound of the Baskerville’s by Arthur Conan Doyle

Here ends my reading of the Sherlock Holmes books. For some reason I just don’t get on with them, I find them rather bland and boring if I’m perfectly honest. I just don’t get what all the fuss is about. Is Sherlock Holmes and an interesting character? Sure, but that’s about all that Doyle has going here. The mystery in Baskerville’s wasn’t even that interesting and the vibe wasn’t as spooky as I had hoped, which is the only reason why I picked up another Holmes story, the hope of Gothic elements. The cover is pretty though…

 
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Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami - Sága Book Club Pick

What a heartwarming novel. I absolutely adored this book and I am so happy that I finally read it. Kawakami’s story of two people, a teacher and his former student re-connecting after many years is just the kind of book I needed right now. The writing is uncluttered and is essentially an episodic slice-of-life narrative which is clearly a result of how it was published in Japan as it was originally serialized from July 1999 to December 2000, before becoming a novel.

One of my favourite things about Strange Weather in Tokyo is how the seasons drift by and that this subtly drives the narrative. We follow the characters as they encounter each other sporadically and it is dependant on the seasons as to where they will meet and what they will eat. This tradition of seasonal eating is a very Japanese practice, there is even a word 旬 ‘Shun’, which refers to when ingredients are at their most optimal for eating. While the principal characters engage in eating Shun foods and drinking copious amounts of beer and sake together (sounds like quite the ideal ritual…am I right?) they form an attachment, that soon blossoms into love.

“I felt a sudden rush of warmth in my body, and felt the tears well up once again. But I didn't cry. It's always better to drink than to cry.”

The novel is told in first-person from the point of view of Tsukiko, a nearly 40-year-old former student of Sensai who is himself some 30 years her senior. She is shy and doubtful and I found her character really quite relatable, as I am those things myself. I also think that love is born out of quality time shared and that it almost creeps up on you, just like it did to these characters. I won’t spoil the ending but it was both expected and unexpected, perhaps a better way to put it is that I saw it coming but I didn’t think it would be executed in the way that it was. I think Strange Weather in Tokyo has certainly become a new favourite and I’m sure I’ll revisit it many times in the future.

 
 



Valentine's Day Gift Guide

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Need a little Valentine’s Day Gift inspiration? Whether your buying for a partner, a friend, a family member or treating yourself this Valentine’s Day here are some ideas to get you on the right track.

Valentine's Gift Ideas

Book Club: Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami

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The next stop on our world tour of literature is Japan. I am a massive fan of Japanese fiction; I think that much is pretty obvious if you look at my bookshelf or my Goodreads.

When picking what to read, I was so tempted to choose Murakami, but perhaps he is too obvious, so even though he is my favourite author and I am dying to read more from him, we won’t be reading one of his books. Instead, I have chosen to go with Hiromi Kawakami’s Strange Weather in Tokyo.

Read my review of last month’s Book Club book, The Prose Edda.

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Strange Weather in Tokyo follows Tsukiko as she reconnects with her former high school teacher after a chance meeting at a bar one night.

They meet and share meals and drinks over the coming months and it’s soon apparent that these two people may just be falling in love with each other.

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The reason why I chose Kawakami’s Strange Weather in Tokyo as the next Sága Book Club book is that I have read a couple of her books and short stories before. Some I have really enjoyed (The Nakano Thrift Shop) and others not so much (Record of a Night Too Brief) and I have been meaning to read her most famous book for a few years now.

Where to purchase your copy of Strange Weather in Tokyo

Audio: Audible

Secondhand: Abebooks

New: Bookshop.org

Want to join the Book Club? Just check back here at the end of each month to discuss the book and find out what we’ll be reading the following month.

The Journey So Far…

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Disclaimer: The above links are affiliate links so I do make a small commission if you make a purchase through them.

January Books

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It’s been a slow start to the year in terms of reading, but I have nevertheless enjoyed all of the books I read this month, which doesn’t usually happen!

A Handful of Dates by Tayeb Salih

I read this super short story…like really super short (it’s 5 pages!) by Salih because I fell in love with his writing style last year after reading Seasons of Migration to the North, a powerful post-colonial novel set in Sudan. Again, he manages to evoke a sense of setting and lifestyle quite vividly, even in just 5 pages! Can’t wait to read The Wedding of Zein and any other translations I can get my hands on

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

I listened to The Bell Jar on audible, and I must say Maggie Gyllenhaal’s narration is perfection. I so was immersed in the story, and I really enjoyed her intonation and how she performed this very conversational and confessional text. As for the narrative itself, wow, it was dark…and uncomfortably relatable in some places. I’ve been through some dark times in my life and the toxic thought patterns and destructive behaviour that Esther partakes in felt a bit too close to home! But overall The Bell Jar is a powerful story and is perhaps overshadowed by the tragedy of Plath herself, she, unlike Esther, succeeded in taking her own life. Is succeeded even the right word here?

The Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson - Book Club Pick

Norse Mythology has interested me for years, and it’s almost ridiculous that I have only just read it now. The main and one of the only surviving collections of Norse myths! Because Vikings, like the Greeks and other “ancient” civilisations, had a largely oral tradition, it is often many years later that the stories are written down. Such was the case with The Prose Edda; the believed author Sturlusson was a Christian and writing perhaps 400 years later! This makes the reading of Edda rather intriguing…or is that just my English Lit brain firing up again…ooh authorial intent…what can I infer from this.

It’s also worth noting that this text has inspired so much from J.R.R Tolkein’s legendary Middle Earth books (fun fact many names like Gandalf and Thorin (from The Hobbit) are taken from The Prose Edda!) to the wonderful American Gods by Neil Gaiman (and its fantastic TV adaptation which is currently airing its 3rd season on Amazon Prime). And, of course, you can’t forget Marvel, which with its hilarious and playful spin on the original mythology, has made Thor, Loki, Odin and Heimdall household names.

I enjoyed dipping in and out of The Prose Edda (which was the first Book Club pick, February’s selection will be announced soon!) while bundled under a blanket with a fire crackling…on my tv screen and sipping coffee. To borrow from the Danes, reading this book has been a wonderful dose of Hygge these past few weeks.

Disclaimer: The above links are affiliate links, so I do make a small commission if you make a purchase through them.

 
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Let me know in the comments section what books and short stories you’ve read this month.