Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi

147 reviews

kylosten's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest and Homophobia

Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual content, Transphobia, and Violence

Minor: Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, and Animal death

brittonmc1221's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Deadnaming, Hate crime, and Violence

kjofalltrades's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, Violence, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Incest, Homophobia, Outing, Mental illness, Infertility, and Grief

Moderate: Domestic abuse

lyonmir16's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Violence, and Transphobia

sara_berlin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense 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

5.0

I found this book to have a less avant-garde style than some of Akwaeke Emezi's other books, but still with their unique flair, which I always love. It also fit into my accidental reading trend of gravitating toward perspectives that I don't often hear, which definitely applies to mainstream American literature and queer Nigerians. For both of those reasons, I really enjoyed the story, despite it's clear tragedy. The Death of Vivek Oji deserves to become a classic. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, and Sexual content

Minor: Infertility, Death of parent, Animal death, Domestic abuse, and Transphobia

tess_me's review against another edition

challenging 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? Yes

4.5

Somehow scandalous and shocking but tender at the same time 

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Content Warnings

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

ashleycmms's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Grief

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, and Violence

Minor: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Rape

hannahmayreads's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

This book is very very good. Phenomenally written. Absorbing and original, it was also delicate yet unflinching. This is a love story of a different kind, that seeks to show how we measure different kinds of love against each other. The cleverness of Emezi is that she demands we respect all of them, especially the ones that challenge us the most, as a way of illuminating our blind spots. Sometimes we know someone so intimately, with a love so strong, but we will always see them within that prism and so in the fog of our love we miss things. So much of what forms our relationships with people are the pieces of them that we don’t see, and it’s those pieces that Emezi wants to render visible. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Incest, Death, Violence, Infidelity, Grief, and Transphobia

Minor: Infertility and Domestic abuse

sahanasri's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

3.5

I have some very mixed feelings on this book (a read for novel nights book club). I really loved the writing style, which immediately drew me in for how delicately descriptive it is. I felt like I could really see the characters and setting, which both felt fleshed out and unique to me. However where it started to lose me was definitely the characters to an extent and also the plot (lol).

idk man really not a fan of reading incest …….. also didn’t see that aspect as super essential to the plot??? idk maybe i missed something (edit: upon further reflection at book club could see how multiple characters had messy relationships with sex and see how that influenced what happened here, so judgement slightly removed)

I didn’t really feel too attached to any of the characters except Kavita, who feels pretty understandable at least. The queer aspects of the story were really interesting but felt like they were fully explored a bit too late? or at least held off just to keep the story more of a mystery? I wasn’t a huge fan even though I can appreciate the nuance of the characters identities. I think I didn’t feel attached enough to Vivek to be able to mourn him much as a person (although I felt for him much more at the end of the book), which really hurt the beginning and middle of the book for me. Overall an interesting read… will be interested to hear some other takes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Transphobia, and Incest

marywahlmeierbracciano's review against another edition

challenging emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The Death of Vivek Oji feels like an extended meditation on queerness and transness.  In a country like Nigeria, where these identities are criminalized, it’s especially true for trans people that only they know what is best for them, though this will not stop well-meaning friends and family.  Emezi’s heartbreaking parable invites readers to imagine a world in which a trans person living freely is not “dancing with death.”  A world in which trans people are recognized as otherworldly gifts.  Born on the anniversary of his grandmother’s death, Vivek Oji was destined to be different

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Infidelity

Moderate: Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Infertility, Blood, Homophobia, Animal death, Death, and Sexual content

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, and Violence