Reviews tagging 'Miscarriage'

The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi

24 reviews

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

taviarz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Definitely challenged me and had me on the verge of tears. Will definitely stick with me because of all of the uncomfortable feelings it brought up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Sexism, Transphobia, Blood, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Violence

Minor: Miscarriage, Vomit, Islamophobia, and Sexual harassment

cyrinw98's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.25

Spoilers ahead:
1. I could've done without the incest plotline.
2. I wish it was longer
3. I felt the ending was anticlimactic.
4. I didn't understand the purpose of Ebinizer’s chapter.
Vivek Oji has to be one of my favorite literary characters. They were so vibrant and immediately jumped off of the pages. Emezi did an amazing job depicting the dangers of homophobia, societal pressures. They really illustrated the prominent impact that Vivek had on the people around them in life and in death. I could feel the love and tension throughput this book. This is one of the only books that made me cry. Hats off to voice narrators as well.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, and War

penofpossibilities's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Islamophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Eating disorder and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, Vomit, and War

salon3ly's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

i devoured this book and i feel guilty, shameful, for not cherishing it enough, for not holding on to the pages for a second too long and for not crying at the end even when my mind was melting away at having read the words. never has a book felt this sickening, nor left me so disgusted, but also with a sweetness between the gaps in my teeth, from which i can already feel the rotting bone. i have not loved a story more, i have not related to a story more, but i have also not hated a story more. i want to read this again for the first time. i don’t know what to do with myself anymore. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Transphobia, and Grief

Moderate: Deadnaming, Sexual assault, and Violence

Minor: Infidelity and Miscarriage

sydneybedell'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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Homophobia, and Transphobia

Moderate: Incest, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Animal death and Miscarriage

badmom's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Sexual content

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Transphobia, Grief, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Biphobia, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Outing, and Alcohol

booksandmo's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Incest, Sexual content, Transphobia, and Grief

Moderate: Deadnaming, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Blood

Minor: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, and Fire/Fire injury

kelly_e's review against another edition

emotional sad 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

3.75

Title: The Death of Vivek Oji
Author: Akwaeke Emezi
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: June 1 2020

T H R E E • W O R D S

Devastating • Moving • Powerful

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Vivek is dead, and when the lifeless body shows up bloodied and bare on the parents doorstep, a family is sent into the despairs of grief, and yet the mother can't help but question the circumstances and mysteries of the death. A story of friendship and family, of grief and denial, of identity and acceptance, of sexuality and loyalty, of community and cultural clashes that challenges expectations.

💭 T H O U G H T S

The story starts out with Vivek's death, and his mother finding his lifeless body on her front porch. From there the author takes the reader on a journey back in time to unravel the mysteries surrounding his life and ultimately his death. Akwaeke Emezi has the gift of beautiful language and writing in such a way that as a reader I felt transported into the story. It's written in a non-linear fashion, but the flow is easy to follow. Vivek, is truly an unforgettable character, and probably one of the most powerful and inspiring ones I've come across this year. The unguarded expression of self in the face of so much adversity is admirable. And I wanted so much more of this character and perspective. Maybe I am being difficult, but I truly the felt the power was in Vivek.

This book extends far beyond the confines of its classification as fiction. It's a coming-of-age story rooted in culture and family, acceptance and love, guilt and grief. It is truly a story of embracing human experience, whatever that might be. The Death of Vivek Oji is a necessary yet heartbreaking novel.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• any reader!
• readers who want depth to their story
• reader looking for excellent African LGBTQ+ lit

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"I'm not what anyone thinks I am. I never was. I didn't have the mouth to put it into words, to say what was wrong, to change the things I felt I needed to change. And every day it was difficult, walking around and knowing that people saw me one way, knowing that they were wrong, so completely wrong, that the real me was invisible to them. It didn't even exist to them. So: If nobody sees you, are you still there?"

"I'd heard it since secondary school, and I knew what that night was supposed to make me. Less than a man - something disgusting, something weak and shameful. But if that pleasure was supposed to stop me from being a man, then fine. They could have it. I'd take the blinding light of his touch, the blessed peace of having him so close, and I would stop being a man."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Homophobia, Sexual content, Transphobia, and Grief

Moderate: Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Infidelity, Physical abuse, and Violence

Minor: Miscarriage, Rape, and Murder

albernikolauras's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.5

The words rolled off of the page in this book. It starts off with Vivek's dead body on their mother's steps, and builds outwards. Bouncing around through time and from different people's memories of Vivek. Emotion dripped off the page as you slowly pick up momentum to discover how Vivek died.

This book was uncomfortable to sit with at times, beautiful, full of pain, full of joy. It was about being yourself and how that can put you at risk. It is a book to sit with or read/listen to when you can focus on it because Vivek deserves that level of consideration.

I am not sure what separates this book from being 5 stars. I just didn't end up quite feeling as connected to it as expected. I think I wanted more Vivek (which might be because everyone wanted more of them). Perhaps it was the discomfort of sitting in the grief of this book. Either way, I would strongly recommend this for anyone.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Grief, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Violence, and Blood

Minor: Miscarriage