Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi

156 reviews

pipercurda's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

“Some people can't see softness without wanting to hurt it.”

a beautifully written exploration of sexual and gender fluidity and identity. heartbreaking, but a necessary look into the lives of others we may not understand. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Homophobia, and Infidelity

kylosten's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Incest

Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual content, Transphobia, and Violence

Minor: Animal death, Physical abuse, and Religious bigotry

kjofalltrades's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse

sara_berlin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I found this book to have a less avant-garde style than some of Akwaeke Emezi's other books, but still with their unique flair, which I always love. It also fit into my accidental reading trend of gravitating toward perspectives that I don't often hear, which definitely applies to mainstream American literature and queer Nigerians. For both of those reasons, I really enjoyed the story, despite it's clear tragedy. The Death of Vivek Oji deserves to become a classic. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Violence, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Transphobia, and Death of parent

bookrecsondeck's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Infidelity, and Transphobia

Moderate: Sexual content

hannahmayreads's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This book is very very good. Phenomenally written. Absorbing and original, it was also delicate yet unflinching. This is a love story of a different kind, that seeks to show how we measure different kinds of love against each other. The cleverness of Emezi is that she demands we respect all of them, especially the ones that challenge us the most, as a way of illuminating our blind spots. Sometimes we know someone so intimately, with a love so strong, but we will always see them within that prism and so in the fog of our love we miss things. So much of what forms our relationships with people are the pieces of them that we don’t see, and it’s those pieces that Emezi wants to render visible. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Incest, Infidelity, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, and Grief

Minor: Domestic abuse and Infertility

abitbetterbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Transphobia, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Death of parent and Alcohol

Minor: Animal death and Physical abuse

thepassivebookworm's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring sad fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Blood, Grief, and Dysphoria

sundayfever's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Beautiful, heartbreaking. Very well written. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Incest, Transphobia, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Deadnaming, Death, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Grief

marywahlmeierbracciano's review against another edition

challenging emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The Death of Vivek Oji feels like an extended meditation on queerness and transness.  In a country like Nigeria, where these identities are criminalized, it’s especially true for trans people that only they know what is best for them, though this will not stop well-meaning friends and family.  Emezi’s heartbreaking parable invites readers to imagine a world in which a trans person living freely is not “dancing with death.”  A world in which trans people are recognized as otherworldly gifts.  Born on the anniversary of his grandmother’s death, Vivek Oji was destined to be different

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity and Grief

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Homophobia, Infertility, Sexual content, Transphobia, Blood, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Sexual violence, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail