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kdahlo's review against another edition
4.0
Heavy, intense book. It was great but not always an easy thing to read, there are many subjects here worthy of a trigger warning, violence, sexual violation and grief described in a very raw, painful way. The writing was beautiful and compassionate. The author of this book is nonbinary, and I really appreciated their approach to discussing and describing gender, across all the many great characters in this book, including but not limited to its titular subject.
proofofruin's review against another edition
4.0
i liked this a lot, agree with some criticisms and disagree with others. the premise of exploring a community's reaction to a central character's queerness was, as a gay person, both validating and difficult to read. i agree that pieces of it read as disjointed and incomplete, but i felt at least some of that fed into the tone of the entire story as being told through a fog of grief and stress, even during third-person narration. bittersweet and engrossing, made me cry a TON in the last few chapters and more than worth the time i spent with it (only about 6hrs altogether).
a8bhatia's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
lesedi66's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
readingafrica's review against another edition
4.0
This is a queer Nigerian story set in Aba (Ngwa) featuring a close-knit immigrant community of foreign-born women married to Nigerian men, spirituality, a looming tragedy, and Emezi's trademark writing style. The ending was unexpected, but quite beautiful and bittersweet. I really had a problem with the incestuous relationship between the main characters, there were some other moments that just seemed weird to me.
I love Akwaeke Emezi's work, because they reject the common tropes and themes that we've come to associate with African Literature. I like that they tell 'unusual' and imaginative stories about complex characters.
I love Akwaeke Emezi's work, because they reject the common tropes and themes that we've come to associate with African Literature. I like that they tell 'unusual' and imaginative stories about complex characters.
enid815's review against another edition
5.0
This book kept my interest from the first page. Trying to figure out how Vivek was killed was a journey. It was completely unexpected how it happened.
kathrinelar's review against another edition
4.75
Virkelig god, trist men samtidig comforting. Elskede den måde den var skrevet på