Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi

6 reviews

coolfoolmoon's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Ever since this book came out all I've heard is people wahwahwah about the incest when there is a MUCH LARGER, MORE IMPORTANT THEME AND PLOT POINT to the story. AND!!! Emezi says the two books that inspired this one in the acknowledgements!!! They did the work for you and people still didn't get it!!!! You people make me sick. You lack media literacy, reading comprehension, AND critical thinking skills.

Akwaeke Emezi, the person that you are. You've done it yet again. I can't wait to read all their books. They are truly amazing.

In my notes I put Vivek was her grandma reincarnated. The grandma the baby. This may have been intentional but if it's not I'm saying it as fact!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Biphobia, Deadnaming, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Outing, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Dysphoria

Minor: Confinement, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Vomit, Murder, and Abandonment

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Deadnaming, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Alcoholism, Miscarriage, Islamophobia, and Pregnancy

henriettaenam's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Violence, Grief, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Biphobia and Fire/Fire injury

amandalorianxo's review against another edition

emotional sad tense 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? It's complicated

3.5

Re-read February 2025 - Still a sad read the second time around.  I think this could have used less POV’s and more of Vivek’s. 

This was such a sad, heartbreaking story and I wish Vivek Nnemdi had been able to live their truth to the fullest. Yet, the author showed us how unsafe it still is for those that want to live their truth that it's not possible. It's definitely a potent piece that I listened to half on audio and half with a book in front of me. I definitely wanted more of VN and their story, I think there might have been too many people that were tied into the story and it lost some of the strength that was there in the first half of the novel. If we had less point of view's or maybe just less characters but more Vivek possibly as the omniscient narrator, that would have assisted in possibly strengthening the novel. The in**** plotline was not something I was one hundred percent comfortable with.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Death, Homophobia, Incest, Transphobia, and Murder

Minor: Deadnaming, Sexual assault, and Lesbophobia

miachalupa'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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, and Grief

Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Islamophobia

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.

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Content Warnings

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

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

Minor: Ableism