Scan barcode
jmiles758's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Outing, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
marmoo's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.25
There’s no escaping the tragedy right there in the title. The novel is at its strongest when charting the ripples of grief set off by that death, tracking with rawness and sensitivity how the loss reverberates through a family and community.
The stylistic choice to reveal Vivek primarily through others’ eyes with only brief POV snippets was an effective way of exploring the impact of his loss, but it also left me wanting to know more about our titular character. Instead, he remained more of a cipher than I might have preferred, leaving me wondering about some fateful decisions late in the novel. Still, with strong dialogue and compelling characterizations, the emotional beats very much land. And despite the heaviness of the subject matter, the prose flies by.
The stylistic choice to reveal Vivek primarily through others’ eyes with only brief POV snippets was an effective way of exploring the impact of his loss, but it also left me wanting to know more about our titular character. Instead, he remained more of a cipher than I might have preferred, leaving me wondering about some fateful decisions late in the novel. Still, with strong dialogue and compelling characterizations, the emotional beats very much land. And despite the heaviness of the subject matter, the prose flies by.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Incest, and Transphobia
cnord's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
Beautifully written and the audio book narrators were some of the best I’ve ever heard. I’ve been thinking about how to process the fact that Vivek and Osita were cousins and also had a sexual relationship. I’m not sure if the author wanted us to feel uncomfortable with that information or not. I feel like they could have been childhood best friends or life-long next door neighbors and the plot still would have been as compelling. Despite that I thought it was a very nuanced reflection on identity, grief, and the restrictions culture/family put on you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Incest, and Transphobia
Minor: Animal death
allypricee's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
gave this a 4 initially but can’t stop thinking about it so it’s a 5 for me. cried on the airplane reading it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Transphobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Dysphoria
clariast7's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, and Grief
attackrat's review against another edition
emotional
sad
5.0
this book is absolutely devastating. I haven’t cried this much in god knows how long. please take care reading if you’re queer or trans. what a haunting capture of grief and identity
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Incest, and Transphobia
dinosher's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-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? Yes
5.0
This is how Vivek was born, after death and into grief.
Went into this book blind but came out with such a heavy heart, it broke me in more ways than one. It's incredible how the author managed to capture the essence of grief in such a tragic yet gentle way. I'm a very slow reader but with this book, I was just so eager to discover Vivek's story that the pages felt like they were just turning themselves. This book is about the death of Vivek Oji, it's about the life he has lead before, it's a story about Vivek Oji. At the same time, it's so much more than that, it's about all the people that love him in their own ways, it's about all the ways they tried to protect him, it's about who they thought he was.
How could he be gone when he'd overtaken us so completely while he was here?
The combined amount of chapters we get to venture inside Vivek's mind are limited. Instead, we get told who he is through the perspectives of other people. We slowly uncover the truth about the what happened on the day of his death while venturing deeper into all the moments before his death, we get to see all the memories that made Vivek.
They barely understood him themselves, but they loved him, and that had been enough.
All the characters felt like they were jumping off the pages, bursting with their own personalities and stories, you could tell that the author wrote them as individuals and not just side characters. I felt especially connected to the women in the story, they were not just wives, they were also mothers, sisters, daughters and survivors, every one of them were once bright young girls as well. The author really expresses how such a conservative community tears people apart from the inside out in the most brutal way, with beautiful prose.
I know what they say about men who allow other men to penetrate them. Ugly things; ugly words. Calling them women, as if that's supposed to be ugly too.
Vivek's story was just heartbreaking to read, how he must've suffered when he was forced to hide his true self in such a restrictive community, to hide his happiest side from his parents. The rage when Vivek's mother finally uncovered this side of her child, how was she supposed to deal with the knowledge of having to mourn someone who was so familiar yet so unrecognizable? The way acceptance of Vivek's death was found in in end was just gut wrenching. Vivek was truly loved, no matter who he was.
I want to thank him for loving me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Transphobia, and Grief
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Violence
Minor: Miscarriage
vanesst's review against another edition
emotional
sad
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child death, Infidelity, Transphobia, Grief, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Hate crime, Homophobia, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, and Fire/Fire injury
hazel_oat's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest
Moderate: Homophobia and Transphobia
girlreading's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
I’m a little conflicted on this one. It was fantastically written and utterly devastating but there were elements that I struggled with, mainly the relationship between Vivek and Osita, that have me settling on a three star rating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Incest, and Transphobia
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Eating disorder