remoran569's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-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? Yes
4.25
reads_vicariously's review against another edition
4.0
"They burned down the market on the day Vivek Oji died"
It's no surprise that this is a heavy, sad story to read. But it's also brilliantly structured, filled with complex characters, and written in a style that breezes along.
Much of the book is concerned with Vivek's life growing up in Nigeria, but told predominantly through the eyes of characters around him (his parents, his cousin, his friends, etc). This puts the emphasis on how other people view his "strange" behavior, and that's kind of the point. How well do we really know someone, even someone so close? How well can we empathize with someone so "different" than us.
The structure is brilliant because we know that he's going to die the entire time, giving a layer of depth and emotion to all the scenes preceding this monumental event. Since it's a story centered around grief and loss, the moments of joy and life sprinkled throughout help show us characters in a different light and also highlight the sadness of Vivek's death. The story also jumps around in time, juxtaposing scenes post-death with events leading up to it. There's a lot of moving in time, a lot of moving pieces, and a lot of characters. And yet it all flows so well and I never felt lost, which speaks to the power of the story and the storyteller.
There's also a murder mystery element to the story, as Vivek's body is found naked and wrapped in a cloth on his parent's doorstep. This mystery deepens as we get closer to the end of the book, ultimately revealing itself in the final earth-shattering pages.
I'm speaking vaguely here. Yes, the death isn't a spoiler (it's in the title and the first line). But the shocking reasons behind it, as well as the complexities of the relationships and character dynamics in the book, should absolutely be experienced in the moment as you're reading. There's no way I could discuss it as well as the author writes it...so go read it!
It's no surprise that this is a heavy, sad story to read. But it's also brilliantly structured, filled with complex characters, and written in a style that breezes along.
Much of the book is concerned with Vivek's life growing up in Nigeria, but told predominantly through the eyes of characters around him (his parents, his cousin, his friends, etc). This puts the emphasis on how other people view his "strange" behavior, and that's kind of the point. How well do we really know someone, even someone so close? How well can we empathize with someone so "different" than us.
The structure is brilliant because we know that he's going to die the entire time, giving a layer of depth and emotion to all the scenes preceding this monumental event. Since it's a story centered around grief and loss, the moments of joy and life sprinkled throughout help show us characters in a different light and also highlight the sadness of Vivek's death. The story also jumps around in time, juxtaposing scenes post-death with events leading up to it. There's a lot of moving in time, a lot of moving pieces, and a lot of characters. And yet it all flows so well and I never felt lost, which speaks to the power of the story and the storyteller.
There's also a murder mystery element to the story, as Vivek's body is found naked and wrapped in a cloth on his parent's doorstep. This mystery deepens as we get closer to the end of the book, ultimately revealing itself in the final earth-shattering pages.
I'm speaking vaguely here. Yes, the death isn't a spoiler (it's in the title and the first line). But the shocking reasons behind it, as well as the complexities of the relationships and character dynamics in the book, should absolutely be experienced in the moment as you're reading. There's no way I could discuss it as well as the author writes it...so go read it!
kandicez's review against another edition
5.0
All the stars. All of them.
I could have finished this book in one sitting, except that it was painful to read. Emezi's prose was beyond gorgeous. Including slang, words, and phrases I wasn't familiar with enhanced the experience, and that's what this book was. An experience.
We are told from the beginning that Vivek is dead. It's in the title, for Pete's sake, but the story isn't the death. The story is their life. Who knew them. Who didn't. Who wanted to. Who refused.
I am certain that I read this book, as a mother, in a very different way than someone else would. I have children. I know how hard it is to feel you truly know them once they reach a certain age. To be unable to tell who they really are and who they want you to believe they are. Vivek is not who their parent's think they are. They are so much more.
Our society is built on norms. Norms that simply aren't all that normal anymore. We become, in part, the people, the person those raise us shape us to be. Underneath that is the person we truly are. The person we embrace, or do not. The person we share, or do not. The person others know, or do not. Occasionally someone is able to throw off the shackle of normality and don the garb of truth. Often this is done only in private, but what a beautiful world it could be if this never had to be a private journey. If we could all accept each other for exactly who and what we are.
I don't want to spoil any of the reveals hidden in the final chapters of this book, even if they weren't all that hidden. This, for me, was a novel version of this song:
The Origin of Love
Hedwig & The Angry Inch
When the earth was still flat and the clouds made of fire
And the mountains stretched up to the sky, sometimes higher
Folks roamed the earth like big rolling kegs
They had two sets of arms
They had two sets of legs
They had two faces peering out of one giant head
So they could watch all around them as they talked while they read
And they never knew nothing of love
It was before the origin of love
Origin of love
The origin of love
Origin of love
Well there were three sexes then
One that looked like two men glued on back to back
They were the children of the sun
And similar in shape girth were the children of the earth
They looked like two girls rolled up in one
And the children of the moon was like a fork shoved on a spoon
They were part sun part earth part daughter part son
Oh the origin of love
Well the gods grew quite scared of our strength and defiance
And thor said i'm gonna kill them all with my hammer
Like i killed the giants
But zeus said no
You'd better let me use my lightning like scissors
Like i cut the legs off the whales
Dinosaurs into lizards
Then he grabbed up some bolts, he let out a laugh
Said i'll split them right down the middle
Gonna cut them right up in half
And then storm clouds gathered above into great balls of fire
And then fire shot down from the sky in bolts
Like shining blades of a knife
And it ripped right through the flesh
Of the children of the sun and the moon and the earth
And some indian god sewed the wound up to a hole
Turned it 'round to our bellies to remind us the price we payed
And osiris, and the gods of the nile gathered up a big storm
To blow a hurricane
To scatter us away
A flood of wind and rain, a sea of tidal waves
To wash us all away
And if we don't behave they'll cut us down again
And we'll be hopping 'round on one foot
Looking through one eye
The last time i saw you we had just split in two
He was looking at me, i was looking at you
You had a way so familiar i could not recognize
Cause you had blood on your face
And i had blood in my eyes
But i swear by your expression
That the pain down in your soul was the same
As the one down in mine
That's the pain
That cuts a straight line down through the heart
We call it love
We wrapped our arms around each other
Tried to shove ourselves back together
We were making love, making love
It was a cold dark evening such a long time ago
When by the mighty hand of jove
It was a sad story how we became lonely two-legged creatures
The story, the origin of love
That's the origin of love
Oh yeah, the origin of love
The origin of love
The origin of love
I could have finished this book in one sitting, except that it was painful to read. Emezi's prose was beyond gorgeous. Including slang, words, and phrases I wasn't familiar with enhanced the experience, and that's what this book was. An experience.
We are told from the beginning that Vivek is dead. It's in the title, for Pete's sake, but the story isn't the death. The story is their life. Who knew them. Who didn't. Who wanted to. Who refused.
I am certain that I read this book, as a mother, in a very different way than someone else would. I have children. I know how hard it is to feel you truly know them once they reach a certain age. To be unable to tell who they really are and who they want you to believe they are. Vivek is not who their parent's think they are. They are so much more.
Our society is built on norms. Norms that simply aren't all that normal anymore. We become, in part, the people, the person those raise us shape us to be. Underneath that is the person we truly are. The person we embrace, or do not. The person we share, or do not. The person others know, or do not. Occasionally someone is able to throw off the shackle of normality and don the garb of truth. Often this is done only in private, but what a beautiful world it could be if this never had to be a private journey. If we could all accept each other for exactly who and what we are.
I don't want to spoil any of the reveals hidden in the final chapters of this book, even if they weren't all that hidden. This, for me, was a novel version of this song:
The Origin of Love
Hedwig & The Angry Inch
When the earth was still flat and the clouds made of fire
And the mountains stretched up to the sky, sometimes higher
Folks roamed the earth like big rolling kegs
They had two sets of arms
They had two sets of legs
They had two faces peering out of one giant head
So they could watch all around them as they talked while they read
And they never knew nothing of love
It was before the origin of love
Origin of love
The origin of love
Origin of love
Well there were three sexes then
One that looked like two men glued on back to back
They were the children of the sun
And similar in shape girth were the children of the earth
They looked like two girls rolled up in one
And the children of the moon was like a fork shoved on a spoon
They were part sun part earth part daughter part son
Oh the origin of love
Well the gods grew quite scared of our strength and defiance
And thor said i'm gonna kill them all with my hammer
Like i killed the giants
But zeus said no
You'd better let me use my lightning like scissors
Like i cut the legs off the whales
Dinosaurs into lizards
Then he grabbed up some bolts, he let out a laugh
Said i'll split them right down the middle
Gonna cut them right up in half
And then storm clouds gathered above into great balls of fire
And then fire shot down from the sky in bolts
Like shining blades of a knife
And it ripped right through the flesh
Of the children of the sun and the moon and the earth
And some indian god sewed the wound up to a hole
Turned it 'round to our bellies to remind us the price we payed
And osiris, and the gods of the nile gathered up a big storm
To blow a hurricane
To scatter us away
A flood of wind and rain, a sea of tidal waves
To wash us all away
And if we don't behave they'll cut us down again
And we'll be hopping 'round on one foot
Looking through one eye
The last time i saw you we had just split in two
He was looking at me, i was looking at you
You had a way so familiar i could not recognize
Cause you had blood on your face
And i had blood in my eyes
But i swear by your expression
That the pain down in your soul was the same
As the one down in mine
That's the pain
That cuts a straight line down through the heart
We call it love
We wrapped our arms around each other
Tried to shove ourselves back together
We were making love, making love
It was a cold dark evening such a long time ago
When by the mighty hand of jove
It was a sad story how we became lonely two-legged creatures
The story, the origin of love
That's the origin of love
Oh yeah, the origin of love
The origin of love
The origin of love
jevon_mommy's review against another edition
4.0
I had the audiobook and followed along with physical book. It’s a sad story but a good one to be told.
arescobarruiz's review against another edition
5.0
This book drew me in from the beginning. The amount of detail that went into this book describing each character’s feelings and emotions made me feel like I was a part of the story. Highly recommend.
alecerachelle's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest
Moderate: Homophobia and Transphobia
mollyq18's review against another edition
5.0
WOW. Five stars. This story… Wow.
This story is so, so amazing. Painful, beautiful, real. I loved it so much and can’t recommend it enough.
I can’t even put into words how beautiful this story is. It’s such a quick read and such an impactful story. Emezi’s descriptions of their characters are specific and beautiful, honest, and filled with grief. I felt transported into the story- into each character’s home, personality, and meals. I felt like part of the story.
Each moment is so TRUE and relatable- it’s just such an amazing book.
10/10, 5 stars, 100% recommend- however you want to think about it. This is a must read.
This story is so, so amazing. Painful, beautiful, real. I loved it so much and can’t recommend it enough.
I can’t even put into words how beautiful this story is. It’s such a quick read and such an impactful story. Emezi’s descriptions of their characters are specific and beautiful, honest, and filled with grief. I felt transported into the story- into each character’s home, personality, and meals. I felt like part of the story.
Each moment is so TRUE and relatable- it’s just such an amazing book.
10/10, 5 stars, 100% recommend- however you want to think about it. This is a must read.
chekwube's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book was wow…just wow.
Started and finished it in the same day, not just because it’s a shorter book but because it was that good. The plot kept thickening, we kept learning more about the characters and it just altogether built in such a beautiful way. Akwaeke really keeps you on your toes throughout itching to understand the characters more and understand what exactly led to the death of Vivek Oji. It was amazing.
It was also very challenging because you rarely ever find books that make you really think about issues critically and challenge your set-in-stone ideals. This was one of those books and the whole time, I felt like I could relate with and connect to the characters.
Also the ending was literally spectacular. Like wow. Everyone should read this book. One critic said you leave the book feeling wiser and empathetic and I definitely agree.
This book made me think a lot about the things people are going on beyond the surface that we really don’t see.
Started and finished it in the same day, not just because it’s a shorter book but because it was that good. The plot kept thickening, we kept learning more about the characters and it just altogether built in such a beautiful way. Akwaeke really keeps you on your toes throughout itching to understand the characters more and understand what exactly led to the death of Vivek Oji. It was amazing.
It was also very challenging because you rarely ever find books that make you really think about issues critically and challenge your set-in-stone ideals. This was one of those books and the whole time, I felt like I could relate with and connect to the characters.
Also the ending was literally spectacular. Like wow. Everyone should read this book. One critic said you leave the book feeling wiser and empathetic and I definitely agree.
This book made me think a lot about the things people are going on beyond the surface that we really don’t see.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Physical abuse, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, and Homophobia
emilyinprint's review against another edition
emotional
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