Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi

49 reviews

samdalefox's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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? No

4.5

I think it's much better to go into this book without knowing too much. The story unfolds relatively evenly and the developments and realisations are more powerful if you don't know them beforehand. The absolute minimum information you need to know is that this is a book about frienship, family, and Queerness in southeastern Nigeria. It is heartbreaking in a sad and a happy way. I definitely recommend reading it. I particuarly enjoyed listening as an audiobook due to the excellent performances and accents. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual assault, Grief, Rape, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Biphobia, Death, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Transphobia, Deadnaming, Misogyny, Lesbophobia, and Sexual harassment

Describes absence seizures or dissociative fugue states and the difficulties accompanying them.

sydapel's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

Big trigger warning for incest, but I still do encourage you to read this because I think the book is worth your interaction, if that subject is something you can handle. 

Something I really admire about Emezi's work is their approach to the central relationships in their work. Never conventional (and in this case illegal), but wholly complex and layered and specific to the culture of the characters. This book is also a tragic exploration of gender identity in a society and culture that is actively hostile towards gender queer people. However, the violence takes a backseat to the sometimes fraught ways in we protect each other in the name of love.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Child death, and Grief

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Transphobia, Violence, and Infidelity

Minor: Domestic abuse

garynoplastie's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Religious bigotry, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Outing, Domestic abuse, Blood, Death, Misogyny, Death of parent, Hate crime, Incest, and Infidelity

Moderate: Sexual content, Dysphoria, Homophobia, and Racism

Minor: Animal death

marisa_n's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Grief, Gore, Death, Incest, Transphobia, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Deadnaming, Mental illness, Murder, and Child death

Moderate: Sexual assault, Infidelity, Bullying, Sexual violence, Outing, and Incest

martinza's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad fast-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

4.75

Beautiful, I cried a lot

A few weird scenes feeling a bit off

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Transphobia

sofipitch's review against another edition

dark 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? It's complicated

4.75

Not quite sure how I feel about this one yet but Akwaeke Emezi's writing style is SO SO beautiful. They tug on your hearystrings like a poet. I think. the incest had a lot to do with isolation, the isolation of immigrants, the isolation of queer individuals. But the reveal of how Vivek died feels weird. Anticlimatic? I can understand the author not wanting to actually harm the character. Also there was a chapter from the POV of someone who we never see again that felt out of place. But still a beautiful book and worth a read

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Infidelity, Transphobia, Child death, and Grief

Moderate: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Islamophobia, and Violence

savvylit's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Vivek's gender fluidity is the point around which this novel's narrative pivots. Growing up in small-town Nigeria, Vivek dissociates from their assigned gender from a young age. Vivek's depression and  gender expression is constantly misinterpreted by family members as a mysterious illness. As the novel progresses, Emezi explores the heartbreaking ways that misunderstandings can damage relationships and life itself.

Nobody else writes the way Akwaeke Emezi does. In each of their books, their empathetic portrayal of the joys and pain of life feels like an unveiling of universal truths. The Death of Vivek Oji is no exception to this pattern in their work. Vivek, Osita, and their loved ones are all fully-fleshed, fully-flawed characters. True to life, their suffering often comes from ignorance and repressed feelings. 

I would have rated this five stars if not for the incest. I just could not understand why the primary relationship in this story had to be incestual. Not only are Vivek and Osita cousins but - as they often note themselves - they were raised as brothers. Couldn't we have been given a powerful romance without it happening with a blood relative? Maybe I'm being a prude but the inclusion of incest often took me out of an otherwise incredibly engaging story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Blood, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Incest, and Grief

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Homophobia

summerb's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria, Sexual content, Child death, Death, Grief, Incest, and Infidelity

Moderate: Alcohol, Infidelity, Biphobia, Body shaming, Child death, Cursing, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Transphobia

Minor: Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Outing, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Deadnaming, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Vomit

orireading's review

dark emotional sad fast-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

4.75

emotionally distraught 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Transphobia, Violence, Homophobia, Incest, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, and Grief

There’s incest, be warned, it is a key part of the book and how the author creates an overall emotionally-charged and high-stakes narrative.

elmasbooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Deadnaming, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Violence, and Grief

Minor: Physical abuse, Murder, Sexual assault, Outing, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Hate crime, Lesbophobia, Violence, Sexual violence, and Rape