Reviews tagging 'Islamophobia'

The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi

12 reviews

katewhite77's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

Wow, just wow 

This book tells the story of a tragedy. The clues in the name, but how did we get here?

Set in Nigeria, it tells the of a family through the eyes of two generations. The story has an interesting structure, and one I can't remember reading before in that we hear from 3 points of view, but  one of these is an omniscient narrator which allows us to zoom in and zoom out  all the time. 

Themes here include how changing social attitudes can manifest within families even in an oppressive society  Gender identity and what children can teach their parents 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Homophobia, and Death

Moderate: Grief, Violence, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Infidelity, Outing, and Transphobia

Minor: Islamophobia

the_abundant_word's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

4.0

Was this book a celebration or condemnation? Honestly I’m really not sure. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Transphobia, Incest, Death, and Misogyny

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexism, Infidelity, Grief, Blood, Death of parent, and Death

Minor: Infertility and Islamophobia

litliz'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? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Body horror, Vomit, Homophobia, Outing, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Death of parent, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, and Mental illness

Moderate: Deadnaming, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Islamophobia, Miscarriage, Alcoholism, and Pregnancy

mschmidt's review

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

This short novel is filled with power, connects the moments of these lives in one flowing river. The imperfections within each character are put on display with unrivaled compassion.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Bullying, Grief, Incest, Sexual content, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Child death, Dysphoria, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Eating disorder, and Transphobia

Moderate: Islamophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse

sofipitch's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.75

Not quite sure how I feel about this one yet but Akwaeke Emezi's writing style is SO SO beautiful. They tug on your hearystrings like a poet. I think. the incest had a lot to do with isolation, the isolation of immigrants, the isolation of queer individuals. But the reveal of how Vivek died feels weird. Anticlimatic? I can understand the author not wanting to actually harm the character. Also there was a chapter from the POV of someone who we never see again that felt out of place. But still a beautiful book and worth a read

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Infidelity, Transphobia, Child death, and Grief

Moderate: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Islamophobia, and Violence

taviarz's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Definitely challenged me and had me on the verge of tears. Will definitely stick with me because of all of the uncomfortable feelings it brought up.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Sexism, Transphobia, Homophobia, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, and Blood

Moderate: Physical abuse, Violence, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Sexual harassment, Islamophobia, Vomit, and Miscarriage

penofpossibilities's review

dark emotional reflective sad

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Violence, Animal cruelty, Grief, Animal death, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Sexual content, and Transphobia

Moderate: Eating disorder and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Miscarriage, Infertility, Rape, War, and Vomit

elliez's review against another edition

challenging 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

4.0

What a complex, moving story this was. So much to digest. If you enjoy books that deal with heavy subject matter, grab this book. This author did an amazing job relaying heavy subject matter in both a beautiful and genuine way.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Infidelity, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Transphobia

Moderate: Blood, Body shaming, Death, and Sexual content

Minor: Islamophobia and Infertility

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

paskendus's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

5.0

I think this book will need a re-read, to pick on more subtle scenes and subjects. Nevertheless it transported me to Nigeria, felt like I was there with the characters making some scenes so impactful I not only cried but gave characters lectures and vented my frustration with them. It felt painfully realistic.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Incest, and Transphobia

Moderate: Infidelity and Islamophobia