Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi

32 reviews

nytephoenyx's review against another edition

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? No

4.0

The Death of Vivek Oji is a heartbreaking book. It was also the perfect book to read through Transgender Awareness Week and Remembrance Day. It's far too easy to dismiss the transphobia that runs rampant in the world. Vivek/Nnemdi's story - mirroring parts of Akwaeke Emezi's experience - tells of the painful stages of discovery of one's identity in a world that would deny her the truth of her identity and would kill her for it.

There's a single sticking point though. Most this book is wonderful, but there's some strong, graphic, repeated, unopposed incest. If not for that, I'd give the book five stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, Incest, Blood, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Homophobia, Infidelity, Transphobia, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Animal death, Hate crime, and Murder

marisa_n's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Incest, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Outing

summerb's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Incest, Infidelity, Sexual content, Grief, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Biphobia, Body shaming, Child death, Cursing, Eating disorder, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual content, Transphobia, Grief, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Deadnaming, Drug use, Hate crime, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

professorbadger's review against another edition

reflective sad 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

4.5

Beautiful story, with memorable characters and imagery. In many ways, it reminded me of The Hairdresser of Harare, but I thought Vivek Oji was the better book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Transphobia

Moderate: Grief, Religious bigotry, and Murder

ocean's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Sexual content, and Transphobia

Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Grief, and Murder

tree_hugging_ginge's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Deadnaming, Homophobia, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

egg_cup's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

this book chewed me up and spat me out like a pomegranate seed I cried so hard during the last quarter of this book my eyes were sore and I had to lie silently and stare at the ceiling after I was finished for a while no thoughts head empty reduced to just an absolute shell of a human. 

Vivek I love you; Akwaeke Emezi it is ON SIGHT.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Sexual assault, and Gaslighting

isleoflinds's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Blood, and Murder

amandalorianxo's review against another edition

emotional sad tense 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? It's complicated

3.5

This was such a sad, heartbreaking story and I wish Vivek Nnemdi had been able to live their truth to the fullest. Yet, the author showed us how unsafe it still is for those that want to live their truth that it's not possible. It's definitely a potent piece that I listened to half on audio and half with a book in front of me. I definitely wanted more of VN and their story, I think there might have been too many people that were tied into the story and it lost some of the strength that was there in the first half of the novel. If we had fewer points of view or maybe just fewer characters but more Vivek possibly as the omniscient narrator, that would have assisted in possibly strengthening the novel.

The in**** plotline was not something I was one hundred percent comfortable with.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Death, Homophobia, Incest, Transphobia, and Murder

Minor: Deadnaming, Sexual assault, and Lesbophobia

kiesx010's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, and Murder