A review by luneclaire
Speak No Evil by Uzodinma Iweala

3.0

I have complicated feelings about this book. I think it's absolutely worth reading and definitely an important addition to queer literature, especially for young, black men. Its heartbreaking exploration of a conservative, immigrant household and how those family members impact Niru highlight the convergence of "Old World" vs. "New," religious vs. not, gay vs. "being a man." But then the story takes an abrupt turn, and it loses me. It may be because I've recently read other books that address this type of turn better/more comprehensively. Or that I was so fully engrossed in the book's initial trajectory, it felt divisive. It's almost like the book tries to do too much, address too many worthy themes, that it doesn't give all the issues their due attention. It left me feeling really conflicted, both in a thought-provoking way but also with slight dissatisfaction.

I both listened to (45%) and read this (55%), utilizing the two mediums out of necessity while traveling. The male narrator captures the voices, accents, and emotions brilliantly; bringing to life this raw, emotional story written in a "stream of consciousness" style, which I feel has more impact being heard than read on pages. I highly recommend listening to it if you can.