The Aquatics

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