The Aquatics
Book 1
Book 2
Book 3
Book 1
Book 2
Book 3
Book 1
Book 2
Book 3
Book 1
Book 2
Book 3
Home > Fiction and Literature > Fiction: general and literary > MODERN & contemporary fiction > The Aquatics
The Aquatics

The Aquatics


     0     
5
4
3
2
1



International Edition


X
About the Book

An extraordinary novel of loyalty, strife, and empowerment from Peabody Award-winning Cameroonian filmmaker Osvalde Lewat. In the fictional African country of Zambuena, Katmé Abbia enjoys a life of privilege and influence married to Tashun, the powerful prefect of Zambuena's capital. Yet after years spent playing the obedient, demure wife to a husband who has ceased to notice her, Katmé grows increasingly restless. Her one source of connection is Samy, a childhood friend, struggling artist, and gay man--an offense punishable by law in Zambuena. When Katmé discovers that Samy's new exhibition, funded by herself and Tashun, boldly critiques Zambuena's inequities, her public, married life is set on a collision course with her one true friendship. Political rivals descend and threaten Samy with incarceration, forcing Katmé into an agonizing choice: abandon her friend or destroy her family. Mixing compassion with clear-eyed fury and a keen sense of the absurd, The Aquatics confronts one of contemporary Africa's most entrenched societal issues in a story as immersive and inevitable as a quickly rising tide.

About the Author :
Osvalde Lewat is a Cameroonian author. Osvalde is a renowned documentary filmmaker whose work has been awarded the prestigious Peabody Award. Her debut novel, The Aquatics, won the Pan-African Prize for Literature, the French Academy Literature Prize, and the Kourouma Prize. Maren Baudet-Lackner is an American literary translator from the French who is passionate about bringing exceptional works of literature by traditionally underrepresented authors to English-speaking readers. She has published over a dozen titles with major imprints in the United Kingdom and United States and is the recipient of a 2023 PEN Presents Award and a 2024 PEN Translates Award. She also received Albertine Translation grants for her work in 2023 and 2024. Maren holds advanced degrees from Yale and the Sorbonne and lives near Paris with her family.

Review :
Praise for The Aquatics Winner of the 2022 Pan-African Prize for Literature Winner of the 2022 Kourouma Prize Winner of the 2022 French Academy Literature Prize "Lewat pulls no punches in her depiction of virulent hatred toward queer people. . . . This one hits hard." --Publishers Weekly, starred review "Lewat's prose captures beauty and brutality while examining social constraints, corruption, and what it means to live truthfully." --Laura Chanoux, Booklist "Lewat has created a memorable character who alternates between moments of weakness and strength in a way that feels thoroughly human. She addresses themes of political corruption and homophobia with an incandescent anger. . . . A promising first book from a writer to watch." --Kirkus "Magnificent!" --Atiq Rahimi, Goncourt Prize-winning author of The Patience Stone "Osvalde Lewat's visual writing captures the heroine's dilemma, following her thoughts and gestures as if in close-up." --Le Monde "Osvalde Lewat enters literature with this first novel of remarkable vivacity." --Le Point "A modern tragedy in which everything sounds true." --Le Soir "Everything rings true: the tone, the style, the life details, the many characters, all complex even when cartoonish." --Michel Zink, French Academy


Best Sellers


Product Details
  • ISBN-13: 9781566897457
  • Publisher: Coffee House Press
  • Publisher Imprint: Coffee House Press
  • Height: 208 mm
  • No of Pages: 240
  • Spine Width: 20 mm
  • Width: 140 mm
  • ISBN-10: 1566897459
  • Publisher Date: 02 Dec 2025
  • Binding: Paperback
  • Language: English
  • Returnable: Y
  • Weight: 344 gr


Similar Products

Add Photo
Add Photo

Customer Reviews

REVIEWS      0     
Click Here To Be The First to Review this Product
The Aquatics
Coffee House Press -
The Aquatics
Writing guidlines
We want to publish your review, so please:
  • keep your review on the product. Review's that defame author's character will be rejected.
  • Keep your review focused on the product.
  • Avoid writing about customer service. contact us instead if you have issue requiring immediate attention.
  • Refrain from mentioning competitors or the specific price you paid for the product.
  • Do not include any personally identifiable information, such as full names.

The Aquatics

Required fields are marked with *

Review Title*
Review
    Add Photo Add up to 6 photos
    Would you recommend this product to a friend?
    Tag this Book Read more
    Does your review contain spoilers?
    What type of reader best describes you?
    I agree to the terms & conditions
    You may receive emails regarding this submission. Any emails will include the ability to opt-out of future communications.

    CUSTOMER RATINGS AND REVIEWS AND QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS TERMS OF USE

    These Terms of Use govern your conduct associated with the Customer Ratings and Reviews and/or Questions and Answers service offered by Bookswagon (the "CRR Service").


    By submitting any content to Bookswagon, you guarantee that:
    • You are the sole author and owner of the intellectual property rights in the content;
    • All "moral rights" that you may have in such content have been voluntarily waived by you;
    • All content that you post is accurate;
    • You are at least 13 years old;
    • Use of the content you supply does not violate these Terms of Use and will not cause injury to any person or entity.
    You further agree that you may not submit any content:
    • That is known by you to be false, inaccurate or misleading;
    • That infringes any third party's copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary rights or rights of publicity or privacy;
    • That violates any law, statute, ordinance or regulation (including, but not limited to, those governing, consumer protection, unfair competition, anti-discrimination or false advertising);
    • That is, or may reasonably be considered to be, defamatory, libelous, hateful, racially or religiously biased or offensive, unlawfully threatening or unlawfully harassing to any individual, partnership or corporation;
    • For which you were compensated or granted any consideration by any unapproved third party;
    • That includes any information that references other websites, addresses, email addresses, contact information or phone numbers;
    • That contains any computer viruses, worms or other potentially damaging computer programs or files.
    You agree to indemnify and hold Bookswagon (and its officers, directors, agents, subsidiaries, joint ventures, employees and third-party service providers, including but not limited to Bazaarvoice, Inc.), harmless from all claims, demands, and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising out of a breach of your representations and warranties set forth above, or your violation of any law or the rights of a third party.


    For any content that you submit, you grant Bookswagon a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, transferable right and license to use, copy, modify, delete in its entirety, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from and/or sell, transfer, and/or distribute such content and/or incorporate such content into any form, medium or technology throughout the world without compensation to you. Additionally,  Bookswagon may transfer or share any personal information that you submit with its third-party service providers, including but not limited to Bazaarvoice, Inc. in accordance with  Privacy Policy


    All content that you submit may be used at Bookswagon's sole discretion. Bookswagon reserves the right to change, condense, withhold publication, remove or delete any content on Bookswagon's website that Bookswagon deems, in its sole discretion, to violate the content guidelines or any other provision of these Terms of Use.  Bookswagon does not guarantee that you will have any recourse through Bookswagon to edit or delete any content you have submitted. Ratings and written comments are generally posted within two to four business days. However, Bookswagon reserves the right to remove or to refuse to post any submission to the extent authorized by law. You acknowledge that you, not Bookswagon, are responsible for the contents of your submission. None of the content that you submit shall be subject to any obligation of confidence on the part of Bookswagon, its agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, partners or third party service providers (including but not limited to Bazaarvoice, Inc.)and their respective directors, officers and employees.

    Accept

    Fresh on the Shelf


    Inspired by your browsing history


    Your review has been submitted!

    You've already reviewed this product!