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A review by writtenontheflyleaves
The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
🔥 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.
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
🔥 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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Child death, Grief, and Transphobia
Moderate: Death, Violence, and Blood