Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi

140 reviews

alyssaakdefusco's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-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? No

4.5

I could barely put this book down, but not because I needed to know what happened to Vivek. The portrait of a young, queer Nigerian man and his family was so vivid, generous, and devastating. Walking through their lived experiences and their grief was so raw and beautiful. The timeline jumps and narrator shifts were absolutely seamless. This book flowed in such a poignant way and it will stay with me for a long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Incest, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Violence, Homophobia, and Transphobia

rhall19's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Blood, and Incest

virgcole398's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.75

One of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read in my life.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Transphobia, Violence, Rape, and Deadnaming

filosophicfoton's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Grief, Transphobia, Abandonment, Death, Incest, and Outing

Moderate: Homophobia, Blood, Hate crime, Violence, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, and Domestic abuse

aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

4.25

The ending of this def made me cry a little. It was also a reveal I wasn't expecting. I really enjoyed this book for the complexities of the characters and how the story was structured. I also listened to the audiobook as I followed along with the physical book and the narrators were great.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Transphobia, Death, Mental illness, Sexual content, Animal death, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Blood, and Suicidal thoughts

workingdaley's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

5.0

This book made me feel, deeply. It really makes me think of all of the moments of joy that we try to find, even when we are surrounded by tragedy. I am deeply fascinated by the characters and their motivations. Their moments of discovery, their moments of betrayal, their moments of joy, their moments of grief. Each of these characters carry a significant weight on their shoulder, and you can feel it in the way that they move through the world. But you can also feel how deeply they care for one another, and the lengths that they would go to protect one another. This is a deeply emotional story, but I feel like it's so relevant to the times.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Transphobia, Death, Blood, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Lesbophobia

Minor: Sexual harassment and Drug use

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

abitbetterbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Blood, Transphobia, Homophobia, Grief, Death, and Infidelity

Moderate: Death of parent and Alcohol

Minor: Animal death and Physical abuse

thepassivebookworm's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Transphobia, Deadnaming, Homophobia, Incest, Blood, Dysphoria, Physical abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Death, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault

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