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rachelrazzle's review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
If it weren’t for the hype surrounding this book I might have given it a higher rating. But honestly I struggled to get through this. I felt it was overwritten and overly long. It felt very flat to me. I struggled to care about any of the characters, except perhaps Kavita. But I also felt the way she was written was fairly simplistic. I felt no connection to Ossita’s character, who was just pretty unlikeable to me (maybe that was the point?) but because so much of the book is from his perspective it made it hard for me to connect to the book as a whole. Then just as the book is finally approaching a resolution/ revelation there is a whole unnecessary chapter from the perspective of a random person whose character is so one dimensional and whose perspective seems pointless to the narrative. By the time it got to the end I had pretty much lost interest, and thought the revelation at the end was fairly obvious. Overall I felt like the book raised some really important concepts, but didn’t deliver.
librarian_mandy's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
5.0
kmichaud125's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
micksland's review against another edition
emotional
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
4.5
4.5 stars
This novel is emotional, dark, and cathartic. It contains several extremely violent and explicit passages which unfortunately relate to story spoilers, but please look up content warning if you choose to read it. It will rip your heart out. Fans of Shakspearean and Greek tragedies will love this modern equivalent.
I am convinced that Emezi's prose is some of the best in the English language. Each sentence is carefully placed and this short novel hits far above its page count. For example:
"Life was like being dragged through concrete in circles, wet and setting concrete that dried with each rotation of my unwilling body. As a child, I was light. It didn’t matter too much; I slid through it, and maybe it even felt like a game, like I was just playing in mud, like nothing about that slipperiness would ever change, not really. But then I got bigger and it started drying on me and eventually I turned into an uneven block, chipping and sparking on the hard ground, tearing off into painful chunks. I wanted to stay empty, like the eagle in the proverb, left to perch, my bones filled with air pockets, but heaviness found me and I couldn’t do anything about it. I couldn’t shake it off; I couldn’t transform it, evaporate or melt it. It was distinct from me, but it hooked itself into my body like a parasite. I couldn’t figure out if something was wrong with me or if this was just my life—if this was just how people felt, like concrete was dragging their flesh off their bones."
So, why not the full five stars? I was somewhat confused by the way that the narration was done. Sometimes it felt as if Vivek's ghost was commenting on the story, and sometimes it was written as if Vivek would have been commenting. It was almost like the novel could not decide if it was literary fiction or truly magical realism. Aside from that, just fantastic.
This novel is emotional, dark, and cathartic. It contains several extremely violent and explicit passages which unfortunately relate to story spoilers, but please look up content warning if you choose to read it. It will rip your heart out. Fans of Shakspearean and Greek tragedies will love this modern equivalent.
I am convinced that Emezi's prose is some of the best in the English language. Each sentence is carefully placed and this short novel hits far above its page count. For example:
"Life was like being dragged through concrete in circles, wet and setting concrete that dried with each rotation of my unwilling body. As a child, I was light. It didn’t matter too much; I slid through it, and maybe it even felt like a game, like I was just playing in mud, like nothing about that slipperiness would ever change, not really. But then I got bigger and it started drying on me and eventually I turned into an uneven block, chipping and sparking on the hard ground, tearing off into painful chunks. I wanted to stay empty, like the eagle in the proverb, left to perch, my bones filled with air pockets, but heaviness found me and I couldn’t do anything about it. I couldn’t shake it off; I couldn’t transform it, evaporate or melt it. It was distinct from me, but it hooked itself into my body like a parasite. I couldn’t figure out if something was wrong with me or if this was just my life—if this was just how people felt, like concrete was dragging their flesh off their bones."
So, why not the full five stars? I was somewhat confused by the way that the narration was done. Sometimes it felt as if Vivek's ghost was commenting on the story, and sometimes it was written as if Vivek would have been commenting. It was almost like the novel could not decide if it was literary fiction or truly magical realism. Aside from that, just fantastic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Transphobia, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Animal death
apieceofjaaay's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I was questioning a lot about this story. The cousins still have me in disbelief but like… the chosen family, living in your truth & accepting the consequences, the grief, the idea of being no ones but your own, the interconnectedness of characters we’re all beautiful.
askatknits's review against another edition
5.0
This is a painfully beautiful story. The writing is just incredible and I just loved how the the story was woven through all the people who loved Vivek. As they each shared bits of Vivek, the story begins to take shape for the reader and at times, it brought tears to my eyes. The ending was so perfect, but be warned...it is not a "all tied up with a big red bow" ending. I highly recommend this book.
elizapills's review against another edition
4.0
I didn’t really know what to expect with this book because I won a copy in a giveaway, but I knew it had been very highly anticipated. I finished it in less than three hours. It reads almost like a short story: swift and beautiful, sad and brave. I need to read more of Akwaeke Emezi’s work. Their voice is startlingly clear and so vibrant. I highly recommend this book, but I would include trigger warnings about grief and prejudice (I’m being purposefully vague here, not as a spoiler alert or for entertainment value, but because I think the way revelations and characterizations unfold is very important.)
jw2869's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
4.5
Akwaeke truly did not miss with this one. A beautifully written book that asks how much a parent can really know about their child, the secrets we'll keep, lengths we will go, and costs we will pay to be our true selves.
The way they brought chapter 16 back full circle at the end of the book was perfection. There are some controversial things in this book that will definitely disturb some readers. I see this as a through line in Akwaeke's work - How truth and morality/"rightness" sit uncomfortably next to one another. Their books require readers to really sit in the discomfort of the world as it is even when it is taboo, offensive, and horrifying.
The way they brought chapter 16 back full circle at the end of the book was perfection. There are some controversial things in this book that will definitely disturb some readers. I see this as a through line in Akwaeke's work - How truth and morality/"rightness" sit uncomfortably next to one another. Their books require readers to really sit in the discomfort of the world as it is even when it is taboo, offensive, and horrifying.
shahla_fazul'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
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0