Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi

30 reviews

dalmavatai's review

emotional sad 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? No

4.0

Such a beautiful story. I wish we'd gotten even more from Osita's and Vivek's perspectives because they were by far the most impactful and heartfelt parts of the book for me. Still, this story is beautiful, tender, raw, and will probably make you cry. 

I am SO stoked that Emezi has two novels coming out in 2022 plus a poetry collection, absolutely cannot wait to pick them up! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Dysphoria, Grief, Homophobia, Incest, Sexual content, and Transphobia

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, and Violence

epiphylium's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

I finished reading this book last night and I'm still at a loss as to how I feel about it. I wish I had went in with more of an idea as to what this was about -- because I didn't -- and that may be why I'm feeling a bit unsettled.

There were a lot of parts of this book that I enjoyed. I liked the way the author played around with non-linear storytelling. We know from the get go that this novel is about Vivek and that they die, and going from present day POV writing to a retelling of past tense. I think if done correctly, this can create a sense of mystery and tension that is engaging to read and helps pushes the story line. I enjoyed the author's writing style, which was although simple, it was effective. The characters I enjoyed getting to know also.

I really struggled with the incest however. I found that it was completely unnecessary (as it didn't really aid in story or character development) and it would have had the same effect if they were friends without the discomfort of having to read cousins engaging in sexual activities. The only thing I could think of is that it was potentially to build up shame in the characters experiencing it, but it wasn't really ever discussed or focused on so I'm just. We really could've done without it.

The ending can be seen as anti-climatic, but I don't think that lessened my feelings around it. I think it was cool that it left the readers/and the characters guessing,

thinking it could have been suicide, a hate crime, a murder, but it was actually just an accident.

Sometimes life just happens like that and it was a pleasant surprise(?) to see it go down that route.

Either way, I feel like I would tentatively recommend this book to others but only if they asked about it, and I would be very clear about the content warnings before having them pick up the book.

I would say that The Summer That Melted Everything by Tiffany McDaniel has a similar energy to this, although based in a fictional town in America and goes a bit more in depth on certain issues. It has a vastly different writing style however, written in prose, poetry, and metaphors, which whilst I personally love, I can see not everyone enjoys, so there's that! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Misogyny, Sexism, and Transphobia

Moderate: Ableism, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Sexual content

puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition

reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Grief, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Murder, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual content, and Transphobia

Moderate: Bullying, Death of parent, Xenophobia, and Suicidal thoughts

lilcoppertop's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Biphobia, Blood, Body shaming, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Outing, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia

mmefish's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

2.0

Underwhelming character development, unnecessary “mystery” and unsatisfying ending. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Incest, Infidelity, and Sexual content

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Rape, and Sexism

Minor: Islamophobia

_fallinglight_'s review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief

Moderate: Death, Sexism, and Transphobia

kudzi1's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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

3.5

This story explores trans life, sexuality, incest, loss, family dynamics, and most of all guilt. Not my usual book choice but still a very engaging read and thought provoking. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia

eleennaeisloved's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child death, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Transphobia

skudiklier's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

This book was stunning and heartbreaking and beautiful and painful and surprising. I read it for a book club that isn't meeting for several weeks (I always read book club books too early accidentally haha), but this time I'm glad because I want to think about it a lot before I'll know what to say. I'd definitely recommend it though, it's very good.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Biphobia, Blood, Xenophobia, Violence, Vomit, Transphobia, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Islamophobia, Infidelity, Infertility, Incest, Homophobia, Hate crime, Grief, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, Deadnaming, and Bullying

Moderate: Abortion, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Murder, Eating disorder, Cursing, and Rape

Minor: Ableism

naika's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

I have complicated feelings about this book, sadly. Do I think the writing was as harrowing and gripping as the hyper suggests? Yes. It tackled a wide range of themes, from grief and loss, identity, abuse, cultural and social differences, etc. That is what initially drew me to the story. But I would be dishonest if I did not say some of what was written was unsettling to me - specifically the incest. It would be one thing if the book clearly unpacked the problems with this, but to me, the story took a passive, unchallenging approach. I could not come to terms with how it was handled. 

I also struggled with some sections of the story where we got points of view from characters who ultimately had little to do with the larger story. It ended up being unnecessary filler and distracted me from the narrative. So I would also say the pacing did not always work for me. 

But the story continues to sit with me, despite some of the jarring aspects. This is making it difficult for me to give a star rating, so I won't. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Transphobia, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Sexism, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Infidelity, Homophobia, and Cursing

Minor: Infertility