bookishauntysteph's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Transphobia, Incest, Death, and Misogyny
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexism, Infidelity, Grief, Blood, Death of parent, and Death
Minor: Infertility and Islamophobia
thewordsdevourer's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
there are def things in the story that i (bombastically) side-eye, however, bc they dont have to do all that to make a point. while the structure adds more mystery to already-known conclusion, it can also be confusing w/ the various timelines and povs. the pacing's quite uneven in the novel's first half as well, being too detailed at points and focusing too much on confusion around vivek's behavior, when more time couldve been given to the friend group's time tgt in juju's house or another safe space, just to make us feel even more for vivek's loss whose happy times are rarely shown in detail.
in sum, tho, this is a story filled w/ emotions and one that shows the struggles of queer ppl that still persist despite popular belief to the contrary and progress elsewhere. it's some sad stuff but it's def the reality for many.
Graphic: Homophobia, Transphobia, Infidelity, Death, Grief, and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual assault, Lesbophobia, Blood, and Sexual content
Minor: Infertility
directorpurry's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Biphobia, Blood, Incest, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Sexual content, Transphobia, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexism, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Infertility, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse
Minor: Xenophobia and Fire/Fire injury
kerrygetsliterary's review
- 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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexism, Violence, Grief, Homophobia, Incest, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Drug use, Infidelity, Animal death, Biphobia, Blood, Death, Child death, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, and Transphobia
kasarin's review
- 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
Graphic: Incest, Transphobia, Death, Homophobia, and Grief
Moderate: Rape, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Violence, Sexism, and Sexual content
Minor: Sexual harassment, Lesbophobia, Infertility, Hate crime, Miscarriage, and Animal death
30something_reads's review against another edition
5.0
3 for 3 on the ugly crying. This one probably tops all the others. I'm literally crying right now as I write this. Everything was so beautiful and devastating all at once.
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Dysphoria, Grief, and Sexism
Moderate: Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Transphobia, Incest, and Homophobia
Minor: Rape, Bullying, and Blood
therainbowshelf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Transphobia, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness
Minor: Rape
nannahnannah's review
- 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
3.0
Representation:
- most characters are Nigerian, and several are biracial
- Vivek is Nigerian and Indian, as well as gay and gender fluid
- Osita is a closeted gay/bi man
- other secondary characters are sapphic
Vivek Oji was born the day his grandmother died, and he carries the same starfish-shaped scar on his foot that she did, a possible sign of reincarnation. He grows up experiencing strange mysterious blackouts and periods of dissociation, but the only one who knows about it is his cousin, Osita.
Even as he gets older, more reclusive, more strange to his parents, and befriends the daughters of the “Nigerwives”, the foreign-born women who, like his own mother, married Nigerian men, he and Osita have the closest bond. But when their relationship deepens and transforms, and Vivek decides not to hide who is anymore outside of the home, his life is cut short.
The book is told in multiple PoVs, through the eyes of Vivek’s loved ones. It uses Vivek’s point of view maybe once or twice, when the emotional impact is highest. Even then, it’s maybe a few sentences. He’s meant to be a kind of enigmatic figure, his ambiguousness manifested through his illness that is neither named nor ever explained, the possible reincarnation, and his “odd” behavior that’s described by each PoV character.
Although I understand the reason for his mysteriousness (that he’s possibly the reincarnation of his grandmother), I don’t necessarily like the fact that part of it has to include an illness. But there could be cultural factors here that I’m not aware of, so that will be all I’ll say on it.
I’ll get to the incest in a bit, but one thing that did really bother me was the treatment of Elizabeth. Something happened to her when she was younger that was largely Vivek’s fault
Spoiler
Vivek literally watched her and Osita have sex, without her consent, and then came into the room.But that might be the point. Even though everyone in the book seems to see him as a sort of angelic, larger-than-life creature, we can see him as a complete person--a completed picture through the eyes of everyone who loved him.
Everyone in this book is flawed, actually, and I love that. Osita in particular has flaws by the bucketful, and even though I didn’t really like him, I very much appreciated him as a character. He was written very well.
However, the wonderfully crafted characters hit a little bump when Vivek’s friends shows his parents pictures of him as he truly was, Vivek and Nnemndi, a gender fluid person.
Spoiler
That night, Vivek’s mother denies it completely. She says things like, “he was sick”, “that’s not my son”, etc., but then the next day she has this passionate speech to her husband about trans rights. She then chips part of Vivek’s gravestone off with the hoe (is that even possible?), to include the name Nnemndi on his grave.Okay, now before I end this thing, I’ll touch upon the incest. It’s a major part of this book. I’m not sure why, other than I remember seeing someone say that the author wanted you to be uncomfortable with it while you were reading and to almost examine that feeling a little bit. Well, they succeeded. I was definitely uncomfortable. I’m not sure, though, why incest is more normalized in the text than same-sex attraction. I know in other cultures that romance between first cousins isn’t considered incest, but I don’t think that’s the case with Igbo people (also side note, but WHAT was the deal with the leads having anal sex using spit as lube ??).
Despite my criticisms, this is a very good book. It just wasn’t an enjoyable one for me. However, I was so ecstatic to read a nonlinear plot! I was just talking to a friend about how much I needed that.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Incest, Rape, Domestic abuse, and Homophobia
Moderate: Sexism and Misogyny
mladd28's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Violence and Sexual content
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexism, and Transphobia
Minor: Sexual assault and Rape
isaarusilor's review
- 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
Graphic: Death, Grief, Murder, Homophobia, Violence, and Transphobia
Moderate: Sexism and Mental illness