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lizziaha's review against another edition
challenging
sad
5.0
AKWAEKE EMEZI YOUVE DONE IT AGAIN!! You ever read a sentence and it’s so good you want to eat it??
This book deals with some very complex issues and honestly i felt deeply uncomfortable about some of it. But I think that’s part of what made the book so good. It lets you form your own conclusions alongside the characters. It forces you to wade into the nuance and muddy your own moral compass.
It’s really impossible to describe this reading experience but i want a physical copy in my hands NOW. A reread is imminent.
This book deals with some very complex issues and honestly i felt deeply uncomfortable about some of it. But I think that’s part of what made the book so good. It lets you form your own conclusions alongside the characters. It forces you to wade into the nuance and muddy your own moral compass.
It’s really impossible to describe this reading experience but i want a physical copy in my hands NOW. A reread is imminent.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Death, Homophobia, Incest, Grief, and Infidelity
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Blood, Biphobia, Hate crime, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Dysphoria, and Mental illness
Minor: Rape
sydneyrose18's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Incest, and Homophobia
micksland'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
4.5
4.5 stars
This novel is emotional, dark, and cathartic. It contains several extremely violent and explicit passages which unfortunately relate to story spoilers, but please look up content warning if you choose to read it. It will rip your heart out. Fans of Shakspearean and Greek tragedies will love this modern equivalent.
I am convinced that Emezi's prose is some of the best in the English language. Each sentence is carefully placed and this short novel hits far above its page count. For example:
"Life was like being dragged through concrete in circles, wet and setting concrete that dried with each rotation of my unwilling body. As a child, I was light. It didn’t matter too much; I slid through it, and maybe it even felt like a game, like I was just playing in mud, like nothing about that slipperiness would ever change, not really. But then I got bigger and it started drying on me and eventually I turned into an uneven block, chipping and sparking on the hard ground, tearing off into painful chunks. I wanted to stay empty, like the eagle in the proverb, left to perch, my bones filled with air pockets, but heaviness found me and I couldn’t do anything about it. I couldn’t shake it off; I couldn’t transform it, evaporate or melt it. It was distinct from me, but it hooked itself into my body like a parasite. I couldn’t figure out if something was wrong with me or if this was just my life—if this was just how people felt, like concrete was dragging their flesh off their bones."
So, why not the full five stars? I was somewhat confused by the way that the narration was done. Sometimes it felt as if Vivek's ghost was commenting on the story, and sometimes it was written as if Vivek would have been commenting. It was almost like the novel could not decide if it was literary fiction or truly magical realism. Aside from that, just fantastic.
This novel is emotional, dark, and cathartic. It contains several extremely violent and explicit passages which unfortunately relate to story spoilers, but please look up content warning if you choose to read it. It will rip your heart out. Fans of Shakspearean and Greek tragedies will love this modern equivalent.
I am convinced that Emezi's prose is some of the best in the English language. Each sentence is carefully placed and this short novel hits far above its page count. For example:
"Life was like being dragged through concrete in circles, wet and setting concrete that dried with each rotation of my unwilling body. As a child, I was light. It didn’t matter too much; I slid through it, and maybe it even felt like a game, like I was just playing in mud, like nothing about that slipperiness would ever change, not really. But then I got bigger and it started drying on me and eventually I turned into an uneven block, chipping and sparking on the hard ground, tearing off into painful chunks. I wanted to stay empty, like the eagle in the proverb, left to perch, my bones filled with air pockets, but heaviness found me and I couldn’t do anything about it. I couldn’t shake it off; I couldn’t transform it, evaporate or melt it. It was distinct from me, but it hooked itself into my body like a parasite. I couldn’t figure out if something was wrong with me or if this was just my life—if this was just how people felt, like concrete was dragging their flesh off their bones."
So, why not the full five stars? I was somewhat confused by the way that the narration was done. Sometimes it felt as if Vivek's ghost was commenting on the story, and sometimes it was written as if Vivek would have been commenting. It was almost like the novel could not decide if it was literary fiction or truly magical realism. Aside from that, just fantastic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Hate crime, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Incest
Minor: Animal death
lotsofsoju's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
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? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest and Homophobia
madlyreading's review against another edition
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest
Moderate: Outing, Transphobia, and Homophobia
bruhbruh's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Another book about trans people for cis people, very disappointing from a non-binary author. And let's not even talk about the sexual/romantic cousin relationship.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Incest, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry
bail33's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
Best book I’ve read all year without question. Easily a classic in queer literature. No story has ever made me feel the way this one has.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Homophobia, Transphobia, Incest, and Violence
carriepond's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
From the first page and the title of The Death of Vivek Oji, we know the what—the story’s central character, Vivek Oji, has died. What this fairly short novel spends its time considering is the gut-wrenching why, which is answered for the reader through chapters that shift between characters and events before and after Vivek’s death.
Learning what happened to Vivek was as sad as I imagined it would be, but seeing the emotional fallout as characters reckon with the ways they failed to see and love Vivek in life was more devastating. Is protecting someone the same as loving them?
I loved this book.
Learning what happened to Vivek was as sad as I imagined it would be, but seeing the emotional fallout as characters reckon with the ways they failed to see and love Vivek in life was more devastating. Is protecting someone the same as loving them?
I loved this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest
Moderate: Transphobia, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry
reyastray's review against another edition
4.0
very good, very sad, added many content warnings
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Incest, Murder, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Hate crime
aiirglow's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Infidelity, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, and Sexual content
Moderate: Transphobia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Vomit