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patricia0227's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Moderate: Child death, Death, and Sexual content
thecoolestmoe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Homophobia, Incest, and Transphobia
ollie_again's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Child death, Death, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Grief
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Incest, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Eating disorder and Dysphoria
sydneybedell's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Homophobia, and Transphobia
Moderate: Incest, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Animal death and Miscarriage
writtenontheflyleaves's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
🔥 The plot: When Vivek Oji arrives on his mother’s doorstep, dead and swaddled naked in akwete material, the mystery of what happened to him sends the reader back many years. Through the day of his birth, through the eyes of his friends and family, through his own interjections, we piece together the glory and tragedy of Vivek’s short life and the love he leaves behind.
Like the character of Vivek themselves, this novel is brief and vivid, thanks to Emezi’s brilliant characterisation. Kavita, Vivek’s mother, was a particularly powerful force - I felt her emotions as though I was in her body, and her story will stay with me for a long time.
What Kavita goes through in the aftermath of Vivek’s death is painful to read, but it’s one of the most masterful elements of the novel, illustrating the tangled nature of grief, and asking the ugly question of who gets to feel ownership of someone who’s gone.
I’ve talked to lots of my friends about “Grief Maths” before: the tendency for people to try and measure griefs against one another, adding or deducting points for closeness, timing, trauma. Emezi shows beautifully both the logic and illogic of this kind of thinking, because they show that everyone’s grief is its own country. Everyone’s trying to navigate as best they can, and everyone knows a different version of the lost person. Emezi isn’t afraid of showing the jagged edge of grief, and I loved that about this book.
I also loved that despite the inherent tragedy of Vivek’s story - one you know about from the beginning and that intensifies unexpectedly at its close - the abiding image I have of Vivek is of a person capable of huge joy and love. The moments of gender euphoria that Vivek experiences shine brightly in this book, and they help to end it on a hopeful note, despite the depth of the pain the novel explores.
♥️ Read it if you like multi-perspective narratives, stories that look at motherhood and parental relationships, and a lyrical prose style.
🚫 Avoid it if you’re not in a place to read novels that deal with transphobia, homophobia, grief, or scenes of violence and sexual assault.
Graphic: Child death, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Grief
Moderate: Death, Violence, and Blood
ashlynhare's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Child death and Sexual content
Moderate: Deadnaming and Dysphoria
Minor: Transphobia
dalmavatai's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I am SO stoked that Emezi has two novels coming out in 2022 plus a poetry collection, absolutely cannot wait to pick them up!
Graphic: Child death, Homophobia, Incest, Sexual content, Transphobia, Grief, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, and Violence
meganniathomas's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Homophobia, Incest, Sexual content, Transphobia, and Violence
emliza's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Transphobia, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Violence, Religious bigotry, Outing, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
faizoo's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Child death, Death, Incest, Transphobia, and Blood
Moderate: Deadnaming, Homophobia, and Outing
Minor: Infertility and Infidelity