Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi

32 reviews

whatannikareads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious 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

4.25

EMEZI HIVE WE’RE HERE!! oh man oh man is this another banger. I don’t think anything can beat Freshwater for me and the experience reading that, but this book gave me the same verve to finish the book quickly and stay up past my bedtime bc I couldn’t put it down. What a culturally rich story that’s ripe full of lgbtq themes and both internal and external conflict. I think even though Vivek is the star, I can’t help but admire how Kavita is one of the most thoroughly written and thought out characters I’ve ever read. I can’t help but sympathize with her and be angry with her but understand and admire her love for her son.

But the things I didn’t really enjoy I couldn’t ignore, like the *big* intentional main controversial relationship; I have seen the reasoning for its inclusion but doesn’t mean it sat well with me ever. And also it felt like there were a lot of characters at times that could’ve been reduced; they weren’t as developed as they could have and sometimes I had trouble keeping up with who was who. The ending felt a bit anticlimactic to me and how it unfolds, but I’d be lying if Emezi’s writing didn’t have me in a chokehold. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail

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

dalmavatai'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? No

4.0

Such a beautiful story. I wish we'd gotten even more from Osita's and Vivek's perspectives because they were by far the most impactful and heartfelt parts of the book for me. Still, this story is beautiful, tender, raw, and will probably make you cry. 

I am SO stoked that Emezi has two novels coming out in 2022 plus a poetry collection, absolutely cannot wait to pick them up! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Homophobia, Incest, Sexual content, Transphobia, Grief, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, and Violence

epiphylium's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

I finished reading this book last night and I'm still at a loss as to how I feel about it. I wish I had went in with more of an idea as to what this was about -- because I didn't -- and that may be why I'm feeling a bit unsettled.

There were a lot of parts of this book that I enjoyed. I liked the way the author played around with non-linear storytelling. We know from the get go that this novel is about Vivek and that they die, and going from present day POV writing to a retelling of past tense. I think if done correctly, this can create a sense of mystery and tension that is engaging to read and helps pushes the story line. I enjoyed the author's writing style, which was although simple, it was effective. The characters I enjoyed getting to know also.

I really struggled with the incest however. I found that it was completely unnecessary (as it didn't really aid in story or character development) and it would have had the same effect if they were friends without the discomfort of having to read cousins engaging in sexual activities. The only thing I could think of is that it was potentially to build up shame in the characters experiencing it, but it wasn't really ever discussed or focused on so I'm just. We really could've done without it.

The ending can be seen as anti-climatic, but I don't think that lessened my feelings around it. I think it was cool that it left the readers/and the characters guessing,

thinking it could have been suicide, a hate crime, a murder, but it was actually just an accident.

Sometimes life just happens like that and it was a pleasant surprise(?) to see it go down that route.

Either way, I feel like I would tentatively recommend this book to others but only if they asked about it, and I would be very clear about the content warnings before having them pick up the book.

I would say that The Summer That Melted Everything by Tiffany McDaniel has a similar energy to this, although based in a fictional town in America and goes a bit more in depth on certain issues. It has a vastly different writing style however, written in prose, poetry, and metaphors, which whilst I personally love, I can see not everyone enjoys, so there's that! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Misogyny, Sexism, and Transphobia

Moderate: Ableism, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Sexual content

puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition

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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Transphobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, and Death of parent

lilcoppertop's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Biphobia, Body shaming, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Gaslighting

mmefish's review against another edition

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

_fallinglight_'s review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Death, Sexism, and Transphobia

kudzi1's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

This story explores trans life, sexuality, incest, loss, family dynamics, and most of all guilt. Not my usual book choice but still a very engaging read and thought provoking. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia

eleennaeisloved's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child death, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Transphobia, Grief, and Suicide attempt