Scan barcode
A review by lennie_reads
The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Thanks to NetGalley and Faber & Faber for my ARC.
I read Pet earlier this year and was utterly amazed so I knew when I saw this on NetGalley I had to request it. And now after reading this I know I need to read everything Emezi has ever or will ever write.
Once I started this I ended up reading it in one sitting; it's addictive. It's also visceral, gritty, raw, dark, uncomfortable, extremely upsetting and so so powerful.
It's hard to explain this book without giving away spoilers but the basic premise is that Vivek's body is found by his mother after he has been left on his doorstep wrapped in material.
From here we travel back in time to before Vivek's parents have met and the story builds from there.
I guess you would probably class this book as a mystery but not necessarily 'what happened to Vivek?' but 'who was Vivek and why did this happen?'.
We have different POVs from family members & friends, who build the story around Vivek, whilst also delving into their changing attitudes towards each other and life itself. I feel that Emezi is perfectly happy letting you make your own mind up about the characters and all of them are delightfully and distressingly complex. Also, for one reason or another, most of them have been pushed to the extreme - religious bigotry, internalised homophobia, over protectiveness, stigma against mental illness and more.
There is a huge focus on relationships in this book and it's a testament to Emezi's skills that you can route for a couple when there are a lot of complicated issues surrounding them.
This book delves into taboos, the life of niger-wives, found family vs blood family, embracing who you are and how devastatingly cruel life can be.
CW: Rape, incest, Mental illness, Transphobia, homophobia, death, religious extremism, physical abuse, violence, infidelity, death, rape, sexual assualt, sexual favours, hate crime, grief, domestic abuse, deadnaming
I read Pet earlier this year and was utterly amazed so I knew when I saw this on NetGalley I had to request it. And now after reading this I know I need to read everything Emezi has ever or will ever write.
Once I started this I ended up reading it in one sitting; it's addictive. It's also visceral, gritty, raw, dark, uncomfortable, extremely upsetting and so so powerful.
It's hard to explain this book without giving away spoilers but the basic premise is that Vivek's body is found by his mother after he has been left on his doorstep wrapped in material.
From here we travel back in time to before Vivek's parents have met and the story builds from there.
I guess you would probably class this book as a mystery but not necessarily 'what happened to Vivek?' but 'who was Vivek and why did this happen?'.
We have different POVs from family members & friends, who build the story around Vivek, whilst also delving into their changing attitudes towards each other and life itself. I feel that Emezi is perfectly happy letting you make your own mind up about the characters and all of them are delightfully and distressingly complex. Also, for one reason or another, most of them have been pushed to the extreme - religious bigotry, internalised homophobia, over protectiveness, stigma against mental illness and more.
There is a huge focus on relationships in this book and it's a testament to Emezi's skills that you can route for a couple when there are a lot of complicated issues surrounding them.
This book delves into taboos, the life of niger-wives, found family vs blood family, embracing who you are and how devastatingly cruel life can be.
CW: Rape, incest, Mental illness, Transphobia, homophobia, death, religious extremism, physical abuse, violence, infidelity, death, rape, sexual assualt, sexual favours, hate crime, grief, domestic abuse, deadnaming
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, and Transphobia