Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Death of Vivek Oji

Title: The Death of Vivek Oji
Author: Akwaeke Emezi
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: June 1 2020

T H R E E • W O R D S

Devastating • Moving • Powerful

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Vivek is dead, and when the lifeless body shows up bloodied and bare on the parents doorstep, a family is sent into the despairs of grief, and yet the mother can't help but question the circumstances and mysteries of the death. A story of friendship and family, of grief and denial, of identity and acceptance, of sexuality and loyalty, of community and cultural clashes that challenges expectations.

💭 T H O U G H T S

The story starts out with Vivek's death, and his mother finding his lifeless body on her front porch. From there the author takes the reader on a journey back in time to unravel the mysteries surrounding his life and ultimately his death. Akwaeke Emezi has the gift of beautiful language and writing in such a way that as a reader I felt transported into the story. It's written in a non-linear fashion, but the flow is easy to follow. Vivek, is truly an unforgettable character, and probably one of the most powerful and inspiring ones I've come across this year. The unguarded expression of self in the face of so much adversity is admirable. And I wanted so much more of this character and perspective. Maybe I am being difficult, but I truly the felt the power was in Vivek.

This book extends far beyond the confines of its classification as fiction. It's a coming-of-age story rooted in culture and family, acceptance and love, guilt and grief. It is truly a story of embracing human experience, whatever that might be. The Death of Vivek Oji is a necessary yet heartbreaking novel.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• any reader!
• readers who want depth to their story
• reader looking for excellent African LGBTQ+ lit

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"I'm not what anyone thinks I am. I never was. I didn't have the mouth to put it into words, to say what was wrong, to change the things I felt I needed to change. And every day it was difficult, walking around and knowing that people saw me one way, knowing that they were wrong, so completely wrong, that the real me was invisible to them. It didn't even exist to them. So: If nobody sees you, are you still there?"

"I'd heard it since secondary school, and I knew what that night was supposed to make me. Less than a man - something disgusting, something weak and shameful. But if that pleasure was supposed to stop me from being a man, then fine. They could have it. I'd take the blinding light of his touch, the blessed peace of having him so close, and I would stop being a man."

Content Warnings

solly's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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

3.5

Akwaeke Emezi's writing is absolutely gorgeous. It flows beautifully, is incredibly easy to fall into, and has some lines that'll stay with me forever.

I loved that this was a masterfully crafted book. The fact that we don't get a lot of Vivek's chapters/thoughts really resonated with the rest of the book, the idea that most people didn't really know Vivek fully. It's really a beautifully crafted story.

However, there's a few things I didn't know how to feel about. The incest wasn't one of them, weirdly enough, but I understand that the main romantic/sexual relationship being between cousins is going to be upsetting or triggering to some people, so be warned.

No, what bothered me is that I spoiled the ending for myself before picking it up.

So, spoilers ahead. I didn't know if I could go through a book about a death to transmisogynist violence, so I looked at spoilers and found out Vivek doesn't die to transphobic violence. Which made it easier to read the book, but meant that it didn't always sit right with me that the whole book implies a transphobic death that ends up being an accident. I probably need to think about it more because I can see a bit of what the author was going for with that ending, but I don't really like it. It's probably not the intention but it feels a tiny bit like "hey let's talk about how horrible transmisogyny is all throughout the book and then GOTCHU it was an accident" (though the accident could be further commentary about how being scared/hiding is also dangerous?)

I'm just. Really ambivalent about that ending. But I enjoyed almost everything else about the book immensely, so it's really hard to rate it properly. Maybe I'll change the rating when I've thought about the ending some more.

Content Warnings

ktberck's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative 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

3.75

Content Warnings

jessaminebooks's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad 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? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

ohlhauc's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

Emezi's writing is so gorgeous, sparse yet evocative. You really feel like you're feeling the emotions of the characters, which in turn made the darker moments very heart-wrenching.

The story had a slow start for me, especially when the chapters focused on the present day of mother of the deceased titular character. Once the plot began to focus more on flashbacks, and we got nearer to finding out what happened to Vivek, the story became more riveting and I couldn't put it down. The relationships between the younger characters felt honest and how the author went about showing how they grappled with their identities and growing up was exquisite.

Content Warnings

chymerra's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad fast-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

The Death of Vivek Oji is one of the best books that I have read in the past six months (I would say year, but it is only February). I could not put the book down; that is how much I liked it.

I will admit that it took me a chapter or so to get into the book’s rhythm. But once I got the rhythm, the book went fast. There was no lag and no excess storyline. That made for a delightful read.

The Death of Vivek Oji is written mainly from the 1st person perspectives of Vivek and Osika. There are some 3rd person chapters written when describing the events around specific events in Vivek’s life (mainly their death and their mother’s meetings with the Nigerwives). Some people might have an issue with that, but I didn’t, which surprised me. I was quickly able to follow when the book switched perspectives and people.

The author did a great job of showing how repressed Nigerian culture was for gay/trans people. The main scenes that stand out to me were when Vivek grew their hair out, and their parent’s first response was to cut it. Vivek was not allowed out because of how they looked. Their aunt had a preacher beat them to “get the demons out.” It was heartbreaking to read.

I felt for Osita the entire book. He loved Vivek with his whole heart but couldn’t share that love with the world. Instead, the small group of friends Vivek and Osita had known. It must have been so tiring to live like that. My heart hurt for him.

There is sex in The Death of Vivek Oji. I won’t lie and say that it isn’t graphic because it is.

The end of Vivek Oji’s death was one of the rawest that I have read to date. I am not going to get into it, but it was intense. I do like that Vivek’s parents finally understood their daughter and honored her. But, it was the final scene with Osita that made me cry. That poor, poor man!!

The Death of Vivek Oji was a fantastic book to read. It was fast paced and was able to deliver a heavy plotline with the grace that it was due. I am actively looking for other books by the same author to read!!!

After much thought, I will recommend The Death of Vivek Oji for anyone over the age of 21. There is a scene of attempted rape. There is talk of domestic violence. There is deadnaming. There is graphic sex.

Content Warnings

skudiklier's review against another edition

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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.

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