Scan barcode
indiaess's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
khetti's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
morgie27's review against another edition
Read 181 pages, 51%....not feeling it. I have a bit of FOMO that's it's going to get good and I'll miss something but I'm struggling to pay attention.
thedogmother's review against another edition
3.0
I feel a little bad rating this one because going in I knew it wouldn’t be my kind of book. I wanted to try something different and I’m happy with myself for getting through to the end, so there’s that. I thought the concept was incredibly interesting, but I just didn’t like the execution. The main character drove me crazy. I feel bad about it, but I just couldn’t stand the repetitiveness of the story. So much of the plot is just her destructively sleeping with random men. Like I get it, but it was boring after the millionth time. I think I would have liked this book when I was in college, but it didn’t vibe with me at this point in my life.
thereadingrunnner's review against another edition
3.0
I truthfully can't even believe I picked this book up because I was so NOT a fan of the Death of Vivek Oji. Yet I decided I wanted to give Emezi another chance and her debut got good reviews, so here I am... This novel was so incredibly odd, yet I found it to be quite engaging and captivating. This is really not a novel that I can in any way relate to, but it had a very fantasy-like quality to it, although I know it is not a fantasy at all for those who experience what the main character, Ada, experiences. Taken from an excerpt on this novel, this explains the general concept and synopsis of the story which is done through Ada: "An ogbanje is an Igbo spirit that’s born into a human body, a kind of malevolent trickster, whose goal is to torment the human mother by dying unexpectedly only to return in the next child and do it all over again. They come and go. They are never really here — if you are a thing that was born to die, you are a dead thing even while you live."
This is the story of Ada, who discovers at a fairly early age that she has these spirits/gods living inside of her. As each god surfaces, it is "born" into her and takes over a part of her. It is essentially the equivalent of having multiple personalities - each serving a specific purpose in her life and in a way, attempting to protect her from certain things, all the while knowing their main goal is to ultimately kill her. The POV shifts throughout between each of these gods who have taken over her flesh. The novel is extremely hyper-sexual, so be forewarned on that. Definitely at times I thought it became very repetitive as it was just going through partner after partner after partner. The struggles of Ada are highlighted when at times, she attempts to seek out help through self research and therapy, but she is quickly convinced by her inner gods that she is fine and does not need human help, only their help. I felt a real sense of anguish for Ada and kept rooting for her to somehow defeat these inner spirits. I did feel the ending wrapped up much, much too quickly for me to feel any sort of sense of satisfaction. However, I definitely did enjoy this far better than Vivek Oji!
This is the story of Ada, who discovers at a fairly early age that she has these spirits/gods living inside of her. As each god surfaces, it is "born" into her and takes over a part of her. It is essentially the equivalent of having multiple personalities - each serving a specific purpose in her life and in a way, attempting to protect her from certain things, all the while knowing their main goal is to ultimately kill her. The POV shifts throughout between each of these gods who have taken over her flesh. The novel is extremely hyper-sexual, so be forewarned on that. Definitely at times I thought it became very repetitive as it was just going through partner after partner after partner. The struggles of Ada are highlighted when at times, she attempts to seek out help through self research and therapy, but she is quickly convinced by her inner gods that she is fine and does not need human help, only their help. I felt a real sense of anguish for Ada and kept rooting for her to somehow defeat these inner spirits. I did feel the ending wrapped up much, much too quickly for me to feel any sort of sense of satisfaction. However, I definitely did enjoy this far better than Vivek Oji!
blazing_orchids's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
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? Yes
4.0
casebounder's review against another edition
5.0
Y’aaallllllll. What an incredible debut novel and reading experience. After reading FRESHWATER, and also PET earlier this year, I’m (A) totally an Emezi fan and (B) totally ready for their next book, THE DEATH OF VIVEK OJI, in August from @riverheadbooks.
Knowing that this was billed as an autobiographical novel written by a gender-queer author, I figured I’d be in for some great genderfuckery storytelling. But I was unprepared for the layers here exploring dissociative identity disorder, gender expression, myth and ritual, trauma survival, sex, and empowerment. Simply loved, 5/5 stars for me. Although I do want to say that the beginning had a bit of a learning curve and took me a moment to sink into - so if you’re slow to start then just stick it out! This book really took off for me after the first section (which I don’t want to detail because this book is best without the premise being fully explained).
And no, it’s no coincidence I’m posting this on Harry Potter’s bday, aka also JKR’s bday. Just a reminder that trans women are women, and excluding any women from your brand of feminism is degrading to feminism as a whole. JKR isn’t losing her freedom of speech or thought, she’s just being a bigot with a huge platform.
Knowing that this was billed as an autobiographical novel written by a gender-queer author, I figured I’d be in for some great genderfuckery storytelling. But I was unprepared for the layers here exploring dissociative identity disorder, gender expression, myth and ritual, trauma survival, sex, and empowerment. Simply loved, 5/5 stars for me. Although I do want to say that the beginning had a bit of a learning curve and took me a moment to sink into - so if you’re slow to start then just stick it out! This book really took off for me after the first section (which I don’t want to detail because this book is best without the premise being fully explained).
And no, it’s no coincidence I’m posting this on Harry Potter’s bday, aka also JKR’s bday. Just a reminder that trans women are women, and excluding any women from your brand of feminism is degrading to feminism as a whole. JKR isn’t losing her freedom of speech or thought, she’s just being a bigot with a huge platform.
sford7's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting concept. I'm not into the cerebral books, but cleverly done.
anshar's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75