REVIEW-ISH: PET by AKWAEKE EMEZI

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Sometime about 2 years ago, I stumbled upon (or maybe it was fate) AKWAEKE EMEZI with FRESHWATER which was quite a read BTW (find my review here).

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Naturally, when you find one’s work fascinating to a degree, you look forward to something new from them, ei? So, when I started seeing feeds of Emezi’s new work, PET, on my socials, I began wondering if I’d come around to reading it. In the course of this pandemic, I’ve been acquiring e-books (cos what else is there to be done🤷🏾‍♀️) and luckily enough, I find PET. At this point, I had read one too many books and was essentially looking for a quick read not a “long term commitment”. Pet, being a few pages shy of a hundred pages definitely fit the bill.

Overview

The story is set in a utopian town called LUCILLE. Once filled with ‘corrupt people’, referred to as monsters, Lucille underwent a revolution (with the intervention of angels), ridding the city of these monsters. The main character is Jam, a 15 year old trans girl with most of the narrative being from her POV. The first couple pages and chapters touch on her obsession with the revolutionary angels and what they looked like, being that she didn’t witness the said revolution.
Aloe, a health worker and Bitter, a painter, Jam’s parents experienced the revolution but, didn’t really like to talk about it. In a unexpected turn of events, Jam messes with one of her mother’s paintings, bringing a creature from another dimension to Lucille. This event causes her to realize that the monsters she had believed no longer existed were still very much in existence, and closer than she could think. The rest of the book explores Jam’s experience with the creature, alias Pet, for the time it spent in Lucille, hunting a monster.


 My thoughts

It took me up till the second chapter to actually get a grip of what was going on in this book. First, the names of characters were quite unusual, but ended up working out anyway. Then, the reality Emezi painted was a wee bit contorted for me.Things aren’t what they were painted to be. As I went on however, I realized that was what it was all about.

The truth doesn't change whether it is seen or unseen. . . A thing that is happening happens whether you look at it or not. Maybe it is easier not to look. Maybe it is easier to say because you don't see it it isn't happening~ PET

I appreciate the author’s adept exploration of themes in the short course of the story. From family, friendship, abuse to pedophilia, law and order and the dual-faced nature of humans. All these were beautifully woven into this piece of work.

Essentially, this quick read was worth it, even if it left me befuddled for a minute at the start. Though unconventional (people being named after plants, things and even condiments coupled with a city bearing a female name), the message it conveys is rather crisp. Things are not always as they seem by face value as exemplified by Hibiscus’ action. In the end, we have to look beyond what is seen to actually see. 

Be kind,
‘Mina.

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