The Aquatics -- Osvalde Lewat, Paperback
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.
Author: Osvalde Lewat
Publisher: Coffee House Press
Published: 12/2/2025
Pages: 226
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.65 lbs
Size: 8.2" H x 5.5" L x 0.8" W
ISBN: 9781566897457
