A review by marcm8
The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi

dark emotional medium-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? It's complicated

3.25

I read Little Rot before picking up The Death of Vivek Oji, and after enjoying Little Rot, I was eager for more. The prose here is undeniably beautiful—Emezi’s writing always pulls me in—but the story itself never quite took off for me. The big reveal at the end felt underwhelming, and the incestuous relationship was… strange, and didn’t really add anything meaningful to the narrative in my opinion. I’m still a fan of Emezi’s style and definitely plan to read more of their work, but this one just wasn’t the story for me.