Reviews tagging 'Islamophobia'

The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi

12 reviews

katewhite77'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? Yes

5.0

Wow, just wow 

This book tells the story of a tragedy. The clues in the name, but how did we get here?

Set in Nigeria, it tells the of a family through the eyes of two generations. The story has an interesting structure, and one I can't remember reading before in that we hear from 3 points of view, but  one of these is an omniscient narrator which allows us to zoom in and zoom out  all the time. 

Themes here include how changing social attitudes can manifest within families even in an oppressive society  Gender identity and what children can teach their parents 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Infidelity, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Islamophobia

the_abundant_word's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Was this book a celebration or condemnation? Honestly I’m really not sure. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, and Transphobia

Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Infertility and Islamophobia

torturedreadersdept'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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Deadnaming, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Alcoholism, Miscarriage, Islamophobia, and Pregnancy

mschmidt's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

5.0

This short novel is filled with power, connects the moments of these lives in one flowing river. The imperfections within each character are put on display with unrivaled compassion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Sexual content, Transphobia, Blood, Grief, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Islamophobia, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

sofipitch's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

4.75

Not quite sure how I feel about this one yet but Akwaeke Emezi's writing style is SO SO beautiful. They tug on your hearystrings like a poet. I think. the incest had a lot to do with isolation, the isolation of immigrants, the isolation of queer individuals. But the reveal of how Vivek died feels weird. Anticlimatic? I can understand the author not wanting to actually harm the character. Also there was a chapter from the POV of someone who we never see again that felt out of place. But still a beautiful book and worth a read

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Transphobia, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Violence, and Islamophobia

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

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

elliez's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-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

4.0

What a complex, moving story this was. So much to digest. If you enjoy books that deal with heavy subject matter, grab this book. This author did an amazing job relaying heavy subject matter in both a beautiful and genuine way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Infidelity, Transphobia, Grief, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Body shaming, Death, Sexual content, and Blood

Minor: Infertility and Islamophobia

mmefish's review

emotional medium-paced

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

2.0

Underwhelming character development, unnecessary “mystery” and unsatisfying ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Grief

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Rape, and Sexism

Minor: Islamophobia

paskendus's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

5.0

I think this book will need a re-read, to pick on more subtle scenes and subjects. Nevertheless it transported me to Nigeria, felt like I was there with the characters making some scenes so impactful I not only cried but gave characters lectures and vented my frustration with them. It felt painfully realistic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Incest, and Transphobia

Moderate: Infidelity and Islamophobia