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zoe_'s review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.5
I feel myself in a bit of a pickle here. On the one hand, I think this was a really good book and I'm soooo glad that I'm able to get rid of some of the bitter taste I had developed towards Emezi because of Pet. On the other hand, I (emotionally) disconnected from the book at some point in the second half.
The latter is mostly what happens all too often when I read about gay romances and it's nothing against those gay romances whatsoever it's just that sex isn't for me. I don't even know why it is, but sex just seems a lot more prominent in gay romances and it seems to do a lot of the heavy lifting for emotional and inter-personal relationships. This would be completely fine but I'm usually pretty disassociated from sex so I can almost see the train driving off without me on it. I'm obviously not blaming the book for this (I'm also not blaming myself), merely stating what didn't work for me.
Oh, and also that whole incest-thing is completely beyond me. I was all questionmarks on that front.
So, yeah, emotionally this is more of a 3-star read, but I think the execution and much of the craft warrants at least 4 stars. So I'm meeting myself in the middle. I hope future books of Emezi will be more hits for me.
The latter is mostly what happens all too often when I read about gay romances and it's nothing against those gay romances whatsoever it's just that sex isn't for me. I don't even know why it is, but sex just seems a lot more prominent in gay romances and it seems to do a lot of the heavy lifting for emotional and inter-personal relationships. This would be completely fine but I'm usually pretty disassociated from sex so I can almost see the train driving off without me on it. I'm obviously not blaming the book for this (I'm also not blaming myself), merely stating what didn't work for me.
Oh, and also that whole incest-thing is completely beyond me. I was all questionmarks on that front.
So, yeah, emotionally this is more of a 3-star read, but I think the execution and much of the craft warrants at least 4 stars. So I'm meeting myself in the middle. I hope future books of Emezi will be more hits for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Rape and Incest
morgankopanski's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
kelly_e's review
emotional
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? It's complicated
3.75
Title: The Death of Vivek Oji
Author: Akwaeke Emezi
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: June 1 2020
T H R E E β’ W O R D S
Devastating β’ Moving β’ Powerful
π S Y N O P S I S
Vivek is dead, and when the lifeless body shows up bloodied and bare on the parents doorstep, a family is sent into the despairs of grief, and yet the mother can't help but question the circumstances and mysteries of the death. A story of friendship and family, of grief and denial, of identity and acceptance, of sexuality and loyalty, of community and cultural clashes that challenges expectations.
π T H O U G H T S
The story starts out with Vivek's death, and his mother finding his lifeless body on her front porch. From there the author takes the reader on a journey back in time to unravel the mysteries surrounding his life and ultimately his death. Akwaeke Emezi has the gift of beautiful language and writing in such a way that as a reader I felt transported into the story. It's written in a non-linear fashion, but the flow is easy to follow. Vivek, is truly an unforgettable character, and probably one of the most powerful and inspiring ones I've come across this year. The unguarded expression of self in the face of so much adversity is admirable. And I wanted so much more of this character and perspective. Maybe I am being difficult, but I truly the felt the power was in Vivek.
This book extends far beyond the confines of its classification as fiction. It's a coming-of-age story rooted in culture and family, acceptance and love, guilt and grief. It is truly a story of embracing human experience, whatever that might be. The Death of Vivek Oji is a necessary yet heartbreaking novel.
π R E C O M M E N D β’ T O
β’ any reader!
β’ readers who want depth to their story
β’ reader looking for excellent African LGBTQ+ lit
π F A V O U R I T E β’ Q U O T E S
"I'm not what anyone thinks I am. I never was. I didn't have the mouth to put it into words, to say what was wrong, to change the things I felt I needed to change. And every day it was difficult, walking around and knowing that people saw me one way, knowing that they were wrong, so completely wrong, that the real me was invisible to them. It didn't even exist to them. So: If nobody sees you, are you still there?"
"I'd heard it since secondary school, and I knew what that night was supposed to make me. Less than a man - something disgusting, something weak and shameful. But if that pleasure was supposed to stop me from being a man, then fine. They could have it. I'd take the blinding light of his touch, the blessed peace of having him so close, and I would stop being a man."
Author: Akwaeke Emezi
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: June 1 2020
T H R E E β’ W O R D S
Devastating β’ Moving β’ Powerful
π S Y N O P S I S
Vivek is dead, and when the lifeless body shows up bloodied and bare on the parents doorstep, a family is sent into the despairs of grief, and yet the mother can't help but question the circumstances and mysteries of the death. A story of friendship and family, of grief and denial, of identity and acceptance, of sexuality and loyalty, of community and cultural clashes that challenges expectations.
π T H O U G H T S
The story starts out with Vivek's death, and his mother finding his lifeless body on her front porch. From there the author takes the reader on a journey back in time to unravel the mysteries surrounding his life and ultimately his death. Akwaeke Emezi has the gift of beautiful language and writing in such a way that as a reader I felt transported into the story. It's written in a non-linear fashion, but the flow is easy to follow. Vivek, is truly an unforgettable character, and probably one of the most powerful and inspiring ones I've come across this year. The unguarded expression of self in the face of so much adversity is admirable. And I wanted so much more of this character and perspective. Maybe I am being difficult, but I truly the felt the power was in Vivek.
This book extends far beyond the confines of its classification as fiction. It's a coming-of-age story rooted in culture and family, acceptance and love, guilt and grief. It is truly a story of embracing human experience, whatever that might be. The Death of Vivek Oji is a necessary yet heartbreaking novel.
π R E C O M M E N D β’ T O
β’ any reader!
β’ readers who want depth to their story
β’ reader looking for excellent African LGBTQ+ lit
π F A V O U R I T E β’ Q U O T E S
"I'm not what anyone thinks I am. I never was. I didn't have the mouth to put it into words, to say what was wrong, to change the things I felt I needed to change. And every day it was difficult, walking around and knowing that people saw me one way, knowing that they were wrong, so completely wrong, that the real me was invisible to them. It didn't even exist to them. So: If nobody sees you, are you still there?"
"I'd heard it since secondary school, and I knew what that night was supposed to make me. Less than a man - something disgusting, something weak and shameful. But if that pleasure was supposed to stop me from being a man, then fine. They could have it. I'd take the blinding light of his touch, the blessed peace of having him so close, and I would stop being a man."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, Homophobia, Sexual content, and Transphobia
Moderate: Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Infidelity, Physical abuse, and Violence
Minor: Miscarriage, Murder, and Rape
mmefish's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Underwhelming character development, unnecessary βmysteryβ and unsatisfying ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Incest, Infidelity, and Sexual content
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Rape, and Sexism
Minor: Islamophobia
robinsong's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
4.0
This book was wonderful and all consuming. The exploration of grief and the messiness of the characters' lives was expertly done and made them feel like real people.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Transphobia
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Domestic abuse, and Hate crime
Minor: Animal death, Car accident, Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, and Sexual harassment
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Death, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Islamophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
ok7a's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Transphobia, Homophobia, Grief, Domestic abuse, and Incest
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Infidelity
Minor: Infertility, Rape, and Pregnancy
emmeline's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
2.0
Emezi's writing is incredible. I was fully willing to give this five stars but the incest tanked the rating. In my opinion, it wasn't necessary for the plot, changing Vivek and Osita's relationship from cousins/considering each other brothers to just childhood friends would have had the same effect on the plot and would have removed the incest.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Animal death, Blood, Death, Grief, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual content, Transphobia, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent
andreiaoh's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
sad
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? Yes
3.0
This story started off so well for me. The prose was beautiful from the get-go; the varying perspectives, tenses, and the non-linear storyline was super interesting and gripped me. The story, throughout the whole book really, felt rich and alive from the environment to the language to the characters. No characters felt flat or empty; even the very minor and (in my opinion) unnecessary characters came across as fully fleshed out people.
However, from the middle onwards, there was a significant lull. Firstly, I thought there was a lot of unnecessary padding in terms of chapters I found added nothing to the story and characters that didn't need that much page time, for example, I still fail to understand the relevance of Ebeneezer's chapter other than a flawed attempt at foreshadowing. It was even more jarring considering how short this book was and I would have preferred that time spent to be reading about Vivek and the girls' friendships that we really didn't get to see much of.
Second, the major thing of this story that I just couldn't be on board with was the incestous relationship. It was uncomfortable to read and I personally didn't think it added much to the story. I understand Emezi has done an interview that explains their reasoning for this relationship but I don't believe that I have to understand the author's decision for this relationship to be included in this book to enjoy reading it. I understood their decision but I did not enjoy reading it regardless.
Lastly, the ending of this story ruined the book for me. I thought it was a weak ending and to avoid giving spoilers, I wish the mystery unfurled in a more satisfying manner that didn't feel like a rushed attempt at a plot twist.
This started off as a strong read for me but my critiques of the story as a whole did pile up towards the end β a shame, considering I was expecting to love this book. I am still glad I read it, the writing was genuinely stunning, and I did enjoy the read, but I did have personal issues with some of the author's plot decisions.
However, from the middle onwards, there was a significant lull. Firstly, I thought there was a lot of unnecessary padding in terms of chapters I found added nothing to the story and characters that didn't need that much page time, for example, I still fail to understand the relevance of Ebeneezer's chapter other than a flawed attempt at foreshadowing. It was even more jarring considering how short this book was and I would have preferred that time spent to be reading about Vivek and the girls' friendships that we really didn't get to see much of.
Second, the major thing of this story that I just couldn't be on board with was the incestous relationship. It was uncomfortable to read and I personally didn't think it added much to the story. I understand Emezi has done an interview that explains their reasoning for this relationship but I don't believe that I have to understand the author's decision for this relationship to be included in this book to enjoy reading it. I understood their decision but I did not enjoy reading it regardless.
Lastly, the ending of this story ruined the book for me. I thought it was a weak ending and to avoid giving spoilers, I wish the mystery unfurled in a more satisfying manner that didn't feel like a rushed attempt at a plot twist.
This started off as a strong read for me but my critiques of the story as a whole did pile up towards the end β a shame, considering I was expecting to love this book. I am still glad I read it, the writing was genuinely stunning, and I did enjoy the read, but I did have personal issues with some of the author's plot decisions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Infidelity, Transphobia, Homophobia, and Vomit
Minor: Infertility
jojo_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Sexual content, and Transphobia
Moderate: Grief, Mental illness, Animal death, Blood, and Infidelity
Minor: Death, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Physical abuse