A review by rachelisathomas22
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi

challenging emotional reflective slow-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

3.25

Akwaeke Emezi is a talented writer. They are able to evoke emotions and culture into their writing so the reader is immersed. This book explores grief in an intimate way to help answer the question - can you love again after the person who you believed was the love of your life dies? 

Grief is messy, and in that regard Emezi captures this perfectly. I think they had a goal to showcase the messiness of loving again after tragedy, and they did. 

But the reason I rated this 3.25/5⭐️ is because of a plot choice Emezi made, and the pacing of the story that surrounds this plot choice, left me unsettled at the end of the story. 

While personally, I knew I wouldn't be able to enjoy this plot choice, I think the time it took for the reader to think main character Feyi was going to be with one person, and how long the aftermath took in the plot made it a harder time to get over the plot choice and settle with it. From my perspective, a reader doesn't have time to see that this was a good choice after the emotional turmoil. 

Emezi is a talented writer, and I think they executed the story they wanted to tell. This book wasn't for me. And I think that's okay!