The Aquatics

Summary

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.

“Osvalde Lewat’s visual writing captures the heroine’s dilemma, following her thoughts and gestures as if in close-up.”—Le Monde

WINNER OF THE 2022 PAN-AFRICAN PRIZE FOR LITERATURE • WINNER OF THE 2022 KOUROUMA PRIZE • WINNER OF THE 2022 FRENCH ACADEMY LITERATURE PRIZE