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A review by kingofthehillxl
The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.5
3.5 stars
CW for hate crimes, incest, and abuse
Took off one star for incest and half a star for a slight lack of characterization for the main queer character. I read this a while ago, and I have been sitting on these thoughts for a while. I have enjoyed a lot Emezi's work but this one has fallen slightly short for me. Read in a combination of physical and audio, the audio book is very good and I think it helps distinct and vitalize some of the characters as they make hard to grapple with decisions. The writing does the heavy lifting, but I think the performances also help.
A lot of heavy things are dealt with here. One may ask why that doesn't take away from my enjoyment of the work even though it is the central theme of the book. I think that for me it is multifaceted. For one. it does make a difference that this is an underserved perspective geographically. It also helps that the trauma is actually dealt with and disected for a character perspective. I think that makes some of the aspects I didn't like very disappointing though. Beware the emotional rollercoaster that is this novel.
CW for hate crimes, incest, and abuse
Took off one star for incest and half a star for a slight lack of characterization for the main queer character. I read this a while ago, and I have been sitting on these thoughts for a while. I have enjoyed a lot Emezi's work but this one has fallen slightly short for me. Read in a combination of physical and audio, the audio book is very good and I think it helps distinct and vitalize some of the characters as they make hard to grapple with decisions. The writing does the heavy lifting, but I think the performances also help.
A lot of heavy things are dealt with here. One may ask why that doesn't take away from my enjoyment of the work even though it is the central theme of the book. I think that for me it is multifaceted. For one. it does make a difference that this is an underserved perspective geographically. It also helps that the trauma is actually dealt with and disected for a character perspective. I think that makes some of the aspects I didn't like very disappointing though. Beware the emotional rollercoaster that is this novel.