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A review by annbutnotanne
The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I need to read all of Akwaeke Emezi's work, and am somewhat embarrassed I hadn't heard of them sooner.
The Death of Vivek Oji is one of my favorite kinds of books, and so is going to be one of my favorite books of the year. You follow all these characters connected by a single thread, and watch as they live their lives, cope with their grief, and all their other problems.
Emezi does a fantastic job at painting such intimate portraits of every single character. You know the horrible parts of themselves, what they're struggling with, and why they decide to make what are ultimately regrettable choices. You don't necessarily agree or like said choices, but you understand why they made them, what led them here. This is about telling you every journey the characters make and why they go down the paths they do. How, ultimately, they all are interconnected by one thing: the death of Vivek Oji, the one character we only get small glimpses of yet feels all the more real because of it.
The dialogue is perfect, the writing is beautiful, and the tone in every scene is matched exactly with what's occurring. Emezi has a gift and I'm glad to be able to see what they've done with it.
If you pick this up, the audiobook is for sure the way to go. The performances the narrators give are incredible and deserve to be listened to.
I didn't think I'd love a book like this so late in the year. I'm happy to be wrong.
The Death of Vivek Oji is one of my favorite kinds of books, and so is going to be one of my favorite books of the year. You follow all these characters connected by a single thread, and watch as they live their lives, cope with their grief, and all their other problems.
Emezi does a fantastic job at painting such intimate portraits of every single character. You know the horrible parts of themselves, what they're struggling with, and why they decide to make what are ultimately regrettable choices. You don't necessarily agree or like said choices, but you understand why they made them, what led them here. This is about telling you every journey the characters make and why they go down the paths they do. How, ultimately, they all are interconnected by one thing: the death of Vivek Oji, the one character we only get small glimpses of yet feels all the more real because of it.
The dialogue is perfect, the writing is beautiful, and the tone in every scene is matched exactly with what's occurring. Emezi has a gift and I'm glad to be able to see what they've done with it.
If you pick this up, the audiobook is for sure the way to go. The performances the narrators give are incredible and deserve to be listened to.
I didn't think I'd love a book like this so late in the year. I'm happy to be wrong.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Transphobia, Homophobia, and Rape