Rosewater was perhaps my most anticipated read of 2023. I’ve been a big fan of Liv Little’s work since she founded Gal-Dem, a platform which did significant work improving representation of women of colour across the British media. Little is a pioneer. And this type of book is right up my street. Rosewater is, at its heart, a romance between two Black women – still unfortunately rare, for all the recent gains we’ve made in sapphic fiction.
After being evicted, down on her luck poet Elsie moves in with her best friend. It’s been three months since she and Juliet last spoke – Elsie ghosted Juliet when she confessed her true feelings, but still Juliet’s there in her time of need. And the bond between them is beautiful. There’s deep love there, even if it’s complicated. But, even though Juliet gives her a safe place to turn things around, the wolves aren’t far from Elsie’s door. She has no money, no job, no parental safety net.
This book does a stunning job of depicting messy Millennial lives. And it reflects Black lesbian life with an honesty that left me breathless. It’s a simple but extraordinary thing to pick up a book and see some of the essential truths about how you live and love there on the page – something that straight and white people get to take for granted. But it still feels like a special kind of magic to me. And I’m grateful to Little for creating a sincere, heartfelt novel.
Rosewater is also an insightful story about class, gentrification, the options that come with money – and the stifling lack of choices when you’re without it. This book is unapologetically political. Though there’s no such thing as an apolitical story. And Elsie’s perceptive take on the world she inhabits – a world that wasn’t built with people like her in mind – adds to the book’s authenticity.
Rosewater is a good book. But there are times when the writing style is self-conscious and overblown. For example:
“‘I’m not going,’ I say defiantly with all the strength I can induce. I’m holding in tears for fear that I’ll lose control, completely overflow and drown in my melancholy.”
Elsie goes through a lot over the course of this novel. It’s understandable that she has big feelings. But the purple prose distracts from those emotions rather than making the reader feel them along with our protagonist. A more experienced editor could, perhaps, have helped Little refine the book while staying true to her vision for the story.
That being said, when Little relaxes into the story into the story, Rosewater becomes a much more enjoyable read. The push and pull between Elsie and Juliet is nothing short of miraculous. Little creates extraordinary chemistry. And her sex scenes are quite possibly the best I’ve ever read, a deep and true depiction of lesbian desire. The strap on scenes are perfection. And if that doesn’t convince you to read this book, I don’t know what will.
Lou Morgan 