Kathmandu, March 9 -- Forgive us, we sound scattered," says a spirit in Akwaeke Emezi's debut novel, Freshwater.

It is as if the book is asking forgiveness for its random and disjointed but wild flashes of brilliance that simply refuse to stitch themselves together into a seamless pattern.

The spirits might disagree with this opinion, they might rebel. For they often are willful in the novel, stretching the plot and characters this way and that. Their constant whirring and clicking makes it almost impossible to follow the storyline, which holds gentle undulation within all its turmoil.

The best things first: Freshwater is interestingly angled, innovative, and unique. Even among a litany of creations talking about the ogbanje-an evil sp...