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A review by awebofstories
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi
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
3.0
Grade: B
I am sure of one thing about this book: Akwaeke Emezi is a literary powerhouse with an exciting and vibrant future.
Also, this book was very hard for me to process. There are things about this book that blew my mind, but there is also one element that I found irritating and another that bothered me so much that it greatly impacted my enjoyment of this novel. I had to use the CAWPILE system to create a rating for this book because I was so torn.
Let me start with what I loved. The writing was evocative and enthralling. I had previously read The Death of Vivek Oji, so I was not surprised by this. What I think this book has over that one is that Emezi seems to be more skilled here in creating distinct voices for the characters. The dialogue here is quite amazing--it's completely believable, and Emezi captures so much of each character's essence in their own words. There is also a fair amount of food writing here. My mouth watered through all of these descriptions, even though the foods described were foods that probably would not appeal to me if it was served to me on a plate.
This book is messy, and that is its shining moment. Emezi captures grief and emotions, unlike any other writer I've read. I don't mind messy if it is done well, and Emezi could lead a masterclass on it. I found Feyi annoying at times, but annoying in a way I could sympathize with.
Ironically, while I found the dialogue to be so strong, it was also sometimes a source of irritation for me. A few times, Emezi takes it just a bit too far. A conversation may happen, but then one character develops a strong sense of self-awareness (which, really, none of these characters would have), and the conversation begins to fall into the "The More You Know" category. Not only did this not fit in with the characters, but it started to come off as preachy.
However, my biggest issue was with the character of Alim. He is portrayed as being not just perfect, but almost other-worldly. He is introduced as "a fixed point" in the sun. Everything about him is described as superlative. Now, I realize that we are getting all of this through Feyi's point of view. This character treatment would be effective if this story had gone in a different direction. Here, though, it actively works against the book. Alim never comes across as exactly human. Even when Emezi seems to try to bring him down to Earth, it doesn't work. Unfortunately, Alim is a major player in this novel, and this treatment seems to pull the rug out from under the whole thing.
As much as admired so many elements of this book, that one thing made it fall short for me. There is much to recommend in this book, and it may be that my issue with one character is mine alone. In any case, I do recommend Akwaeke Emezi as an author, even if this book did not entirely work for me.
I am sure of one thing about this book: Akwaeke Emezi is a literary powerhouse with an exciting and vibrant future.
Also, this book was very hard for me to process. There are things about this book that blew my mind, but there is also one element that I found irritating and another that bothered me so much that it greatly impacted my enjoyment of this novel. I had to use the CAWPILE system to create a rating for this book because I was so torn.
Let me start with what I loved. The writing was evocative and enthralling. I had previously read The Death of Vivek Oji, so I was not surprised by this. What I think this book has over that one is that Emezi seems to be more skilled here in creating distinct voices for the characters. The dialogue here is quite amazing--it's completely believable, and Emezi captures so much of each character's essence in their own words. There is also a fair amount of food writing here. My mouth watered through all of these descriptions, even though the foods described were foods that probably would not appeal to me if it was served to me on a plate.
This book is messy, and that is its shining moment. Emezi captures grief and emotions, unlike any other writer I've read. I don't mind messy if it is done well, and Emezi could lead a masterclass on it. I found Feyi annoying at times, but annoying in a way I could sympathize with.
Ironically, while I found the dialogue to be so strong, it was also sometimes a source of irritation for me. A few times, Emezi takes it just a bit too far. A conversation may happen, but then one character develops a strong sense of self-awareness (which, really, none of these characters would have), and the conversation begins to fall into the "The More You Know" category. Not only did this not fit in with the characters, but it started to come off as preachy.
However, my biggest issue was with the character of Alim. He is portrayed as being not just perfect, but almost other-worldly. He is introduced as "a fixed point" in the sun. Everything about him is described as superlative. Now, I realize that we are getting all of this through Feyi's point of view. This character treatment would be effective if this story had gone in a different direction. Here, though, it actively works against the book. Alim never comes across as exactly human. Even when Emezi seems to try to bring him down to Earth, it doesn't work. Unfortunately, Alim is a major player in this novel, and this treatment seems to pull the rug out from under the whole thing.
As much as admired so many elements of this book, that one thing made it fall short for me. There is much to recommend in this book, and it may be that my issue with one character is mine alone. In any case, I do recommend Akwaeke Emezi as an author, even if this book did not entirely work for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident, Blood, and Grief
Minor: Child death