Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Vivek Ojin kuolema by Akwaeke Emezi

70 reviews

salon3ly's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

i devoured this book and i feel guilty, shameful, for not cherishing it enough, for not holding on to the pages for a second too long and for not crying at the end even when my mind was melting away at having read the words. never has a book felt this sickening, nor left me so disgusted, but also with a sweetness between the gaps in my teeth, from which i can already feel the rotting bone. i have not loved a story more, i have not related to a story more, but i have also not hated a story more. i want to read this again for the first time. i don’t know what to do with myself anymore. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Grief, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, and Death

Moderate: Deadnaming, Violence, and Sexual assault

Minor: Infidelity and Miscarriage

amandalorianxo's review against another edition

emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

This was such a sad, heartbreaking story and I wish Vivek Nnemdi had been able to live their truth to the fullest. Yet, the author showed us how unsafe it still is for those that want to live their truth that it's not possible. It's definitely a potent piece that I listened to half on audio and half with a book in front of me. I definitely wanted more of VN and their story, I think there might have been too many people that were tied into the story and it lost some of the strength that was there in the first half of the novel. If we had fewer points of view or maybe just fewer characters but more Vivek possibly as the omniscient narrator, that would have assisted in possibly strengthening the novel.

The in**** plotline was not something I was one hundred percent comfortable with.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Incest, Murder, Transphobia, Death, Homophobia, and Body horror

Minor: Sexual assault, Lesbophobia, and Deadnaming

maxcarwile's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault

uh_haley's review against another edition

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Incest, and Sexual assault

deekshitar's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Death

Moderate: Incest

house_of_hannah's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I have some very conflicting thoughts about this book. One on hand the writing is beautiful, and I was engaged in the story, and the unraveling of what had happened. However, some aspects that people seem to find beautiful are just not it for me.

This story mainly follows the point-of-view of Vivek's mother, Kavita. We follow her questions and her grief as she tries to find the truth about her sons death. I found her to be a very real character, and she is the backbone of this book. I do wish we had seen more from Vivek's PoV though. We see his world through the eyes of others, but rarely from his own. Even just one or two more chapters from his PoV would have been perfect.

Some things that just felt weird in this story was the incest, and how the friends all had sex with each other. I have heard this book being highly praised multiple times, but no one has talked about this. Vivek and Osita are cousins who consider each other brothers, yet all of the characters are just a-ok with them becoming lovers. It just felt jarring when so much of the book is about acceptance, and being who you are.

Reading a book about a culture that detests anything that differs from the norm was heartbreaking. I found myself getting so angry with some of the characters, which is exactly the point. It felt so raw, and knowing that this is what people's lives are in reality is rough. 

Unfortunately, I found the "reveal" to be lacking. You see it coming from the very beginning, and it doesn't quite feel like the period at the end of a sentence that I was looking for. However, the last chapter is just perfect, and is a fantastic way to end the story of Vivek Oji. Overall, this is a gorgeous, tragic story, but it just isn't quite for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Incest, Sexual assault, Rape, Religious bigotry, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Homophobia, and Infidelity

Moderate: Animal death, War, Violence, Blood, and Child abuse

Minor: Abandonment and Infertility

daisydent's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Transphobia, Dysphoria, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Sexual assault

lena_loves_reading's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The amazing writing made me want to rate it higher but when it comes to the story I would've enjoyed a bit more character development of Vivek.

Plus, having a relationship with a cousin is a thing in some cultures and I can get over that but referring to him as brother at the same time is just hella weird.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Homophobia, and Incest

Moderate: Blood and Religious bigotry

Minor: Sexual assault, Rape, and Xenophobia

rliedtke's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Grief, Homophobia, Incest, Sexual content, and Transphobia

Moderate: Sexual assault and Infidelity

badmom's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Homophobia, Transphobia, Death, Religious bigotry, Emotional abuse, and Grief

Minor: Biphobia, Blood, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Outing, Sexual assault, Violence, and Alcohol