A review by ksaratom
The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

3.75

written in a quiet, understated tone, this book was devastating. the storytelling reminded me a bit of butter honey pig bread with deep, dark family history that affected the characters’ lives. the writing felt haunting and captured the desperation of a mother trying to understand her child. the friend group was quite interesting, but I don’t think I got enough from them to be fully invested. at the end, there was all this buildup to find out what happened to vivek, but it felt very obvious?

overall, I’m glad to have read this story, however, it was told in a confusing, nonlinear way. the changes in pov and timeline were sporadic, making it hard for me to follow.