Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

La morte di Vivek by Akwaeke Emezi

65 reviews

thepassivebookworm's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring sad fast-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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Transphobia, Deadnaming, Homophobia, Incest, Blood, Dysphoria, Physical abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Death, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault

fransbooks's review against another edition

challenging 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

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Transphobia and Homophobia

Minor: Sexual assault

tea_kettle's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-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? Yes

4.75

amazing story, beautifully written, and one i would read again despite the heartbreak. However, the mildly (and later very graphically) incestuous themes were pretty uncomfortable to get through, and i don’t think they necessarily needed to be that way. Still, it was a great story, and i’m glad it was told, especially by a writer so skilled. 

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Infidelity

Minor: Deportation, Sexual assault, Vomit, Child abuse, Infertility, Pregnancy, and Rape

angiepoggi's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

4.75

The Death of Vivek Oji not only depicts mourning in a beautyful manner, but also brings us, the readers, into that mourning as well.

Vivek's death is not only about the act of not ever being able to breath anymore, it's about the death of who his family thought he was, and, as well as his birth that was accompanied by grief, about her rebirth.

It's such a carefully woven story that never let's go of the nuances of every decision and thought of It's characters, who, if you told me were real, I would've believed without sparing a doubt. 

Even thought there were some relationships that I have conflicted feelings about and believe could've been brought here in a different way, I'll still cary this story for life and think about it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Transphobia, Alcoholism, Drug use, Incest, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Drug abuse, Xenophobia, Animal death, Grief, Mental illness, Infidelity, Sexism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

Minor: Rape

triple_m's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

A very beautiful story about the complexity of being human and exploring one’s sexual and gender identity in a repressive culture. 

Absolutely loved the writing will be checking out more from this author.

But…. Why the incest? ☹️

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Sexual assault and Rape

masego's review against another edition

challenging 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? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Sexual assault

meganeorcx's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

My connection to this book came in waves, often disturbed by the large number of perspectives. That ending, however, entirely broke me. I cried. The Death of Vivek Oji is such an intimate and raw exploration of sexuality, gender and relationships, both romantic and familial, and I am left utterly speechless. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Grief, Death, and Incest

Moderate: Homophobia and Violence

Minor: Sexual assault

jessyhere's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Transphobia, Homophobia, and Sexual assault

thequeenofsheba3's review against another edition

challenging 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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Transphobia, and Homophobia

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Sexual assault

thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

emotional 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

3.25

im v happy that i enjoy the death of vivek oji much more than emezi's previous work. this novel brims with emotion while the writing also deeply touches me at times, and a sense of doom and sadness permeates the whole book even thru - or perhaps esp during - the brief happy moments bc of the inevitable, unfortunate conclusion so obvs touted in the title.

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.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Transphobia, Infidelity, Death, Grief, and Sexism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Lesbophobia, Blood, and Sexual content

Minor: Infertility