NA ( )

I had trouble following the plot and differentiating between the different characters. The writing itself was okay but overwritten. I don't think I got anything from it. It was an interesting concept but executed in a way that didn't meet my expectations. ( )

I found this book to be challenging in all the best ways. The word choice is so good, it really makes you feel like you're reading something that's not of this world, so at times it feels almost disturbing - in the way that reality is disturbing.

That the book confronts the ideas of what it means to be religious, to be faithful, to be mentally ill, or a fractured spirit - and then never really answers it in a way that makes any one way wrong, is so skillful that it took me an hour to even process my feelings. Ada is goddess, literally, figuratively - she is power and I love her.

Definitely would read again in the future. ( )

This is an unusual novel. Ada, born ogbanje (an Igbo term) in Nigeria, experiences what many of us would call multiple personality. From an article written by the author (linked below), I found this definition: “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.” Ada eventually attends college in the U.S., where her mental torments worsen.

The book is narrated by the various personae that live within Ada’s body. It explores metaphysical identity, gender, mental illness, cultural mythology, and spirituality. Ada experiences sexual abuse, which spurs the manifestation a persona that often takes charge, in essence “becomes” the primary self for a time and shields Ada’s core being from pain. At least, this is how I interpreted it. There are likely additional complexities beyond what I internalized. Emezi’s prose captures the essence of a fractured self. The first few chapters seem a bit chaotic, probably intentionally, and take a lot of figuring out. The second half is more straight-forward, easier to follow than the first, and I enjoyed it more. It is repetitive at times, especially the many degrading sexual episodes. Though I did not particularly enjoy the fragmented nature of the story, I could see how it represents Ada’s shattered identity. Emezi does an especially good job with the ending.

Sensitive readers should be advised that it contains a good amount of graphic content (e.g., profanity, drugs, promiscuous sex, depression, anorexia, self-mutilation, rape, child molestation, suicidal thoughts). It is too disturbing and disjointed for my taste, but I appreciate its literary merit. This book may appeal to readers that enjoy experimental fiction.

Here is an excerpt from the book to provide an idea of the writing style:
“Earlier, when we said she went mad, we lied. She has always been sane. It’s just that she was contaminated with us, a godly parasite with many heads, roaring inside the marble room of her mind. Everyone knows the stories of hungry gods, ignored gods, bitter, scorned, and vengeful gods. First duty, feed your gods. If they live (like we do) inside your body, find a way, get creative, show them the red of your faith, of your flesh; quiet the voices with the lullaby of the altar. It’s not as if you can escape us—where would you run to?”

And here’s the link to the author’s article referenced above.
( )

This was an amazing and unusual book. Ada is a young Nigerian girl who develops multiple personalities to cope with difficult realities. The story is told almost entirely from the perspective of Asugara, the most dominant of the personalities.

Asugara is fully self-aware and considers herself a "god" who lives in a marble room within Ada. Many times the book describes conversations and arguments between Ada and her internal "gods" in this marble room. In specific situations, one of the "gods" will step forward to interact with the world, protecting Ada.

I listened to the audio, which was narrated by the author. She really brought the lyrical prose to life. ( )