riverheadbooks: Today we are thrilled to welcomeAkwaeke Emezi to Riverhead for her next two books! M
riverheadbooks: Today we are thrilled to welcomeAkwaeke Emezi to Riverhead for her next two books! Many of you are Akwaeke fansalready – her debut Freshwater hasdazzled readers, booksellers, and critics around the country, who have calledit “a witchy, electrifying story of danger and compulsion” (Wall Street Journal), “remarkable anddaring” (New York Times), and “the talk of the literary town” (Entertainment Weekly). Akwaeke’s nextnovel, The Death of Vivek Oji, set in a multicultural Nigerian community, is a fresh, engagingnovel about the innocence of youth and how it clashes with culture andexpectation. We asked Akwaeke to answer some questions so all of you can get toknow her better – and be sure to read Freshwaterif you haven’t already!Congratulations onthe incredible reception for Freshwater – including currently beinglonglisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize! What has it been liketo have so many readers fall in love with your work? It’s been wonderfuland slightly hard to believe. I started out with very restrained expectationsbecause I had no idea how people would respond to the reality that Freshwateris based in, and the reception so far has me in equal part surprised anddelighted. Being in group discussion with readers at events has been myfavorite – I always wish the Q&A sections had more time allotted, it neverfeels like enough. But yeah, overall, I’m just really glad that people take thetime to read my work, and that it does something in the world. Your new novelexplores the tug of war between traditions and contemporary ways of being. Doyou have any traditions that you hold sacred? Actually, I’m notentirely sure I believe in traditions, because even when we say there’s a fixedway of doing things, there’s always a slew of people who … aren’t doingthat, who don’t believe in it, so what even is fixed? And when people say “Thisis how we’ve always done it,” especially around “customs” that harm others,there’s a sliding over the fact that there’s an enforcement happening, oftenviolently, to make sure people conform, or else. On a temporal note, the waysof being explored in my new novel aren’t really contemporary at all. Peoplehave always existed in multiple realities, with multiple forms of expression,and history is just wildly revisionist in erasing certain stories. It’s one ofthe effects of colonialism.You also take on theever-evolving idea of home in this global age. What evokes the sense of “home”for you? I’m currentlybuilding one inside the ribcage of a magician. Other things that evoke: quietapartments I paint and then disappear into, fried plantains, roasted yam withpalm oil, nasi lemak. Guavas from street vendors in Chinatown. My grandmother’svoice over Skype. A dance floor with soca playing.What piece of art ison your mind these days? I recently spentabout ten hours playing Anderson .Paak’s album Malibu on loop, so there’s that.Because we alwayswant to know: Cats or dogs? Cats, always.They’re independent enough that you can leave them alone for a day or two andthey won’t self-combust, but also affectionate in a way that makes you thinkyou earned it. Altogether picky and delightful devils. -- source link