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vixvoncroz's review against another edition
5.0
This was an incredible story about grief, shame, guilt, the many complicated layers of acceptance and the empty finality of truth.
I really loved this book, it reminded me of the impact and role our chosen families play in the shaping of our true selves.
5/5
I really loved this book, it reminded me of the impact and role our chosen families play in the shaping of our true selves.
5/5
thepetitepunk's review against another edition
4.0
I’m not what anyone thinks I am. I never was. I didn’t have the mouth to put it into words, to say what was wrong, to change the things I felt I needed to change. And every day it was difficult, walking around and knowing that people saw me one way, knowing that they were wrong, so completely wrong, that the real me was invisible to them. It didn’t even exist to them. So: If nobody sees you, are you still there?
Read this for an in-person book club discussion that I found on Instagram so that’s fun!!
Overall I really enjoyed the writing and themes. There were a couple topics I wish were discussed a bit more and I kept getting confused with the timeline and characters (but that’s always a problem for me when things are all back and forth in writing) but I’d still recommend this if you like books that are complex without being difficult to read.
Read this for an in-person book club discussion that I found on Instagram so that’s fun!!
Overall I really enjoyed the writing and themes. There were a couple topics I wish were discussed a bit more and I kept getting confused with the timeline and characters (but that’s always a problem for me when things are all back and forth in writing) but I’d still recommend this if you like books that are complex without being difficult to read.
navman98's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.75
seymone's review against another edition
4.0
"I felt heavy my whole life.
I always thought that death would be the heaviest thing of all, but it wasn't, it really wasn't. 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 playing in mud, like nothing about the 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." (Emezi)
Why did I pick it up?
This was my August, Book of the Month, pick. I went in this novel, blind. The only familiarity I had was with the author, as I own several of her novels.
Describe the book in 5 words
Heart-wrenching, Relatable, Complex, Tragic, and Surprising.
Who would love , "The Death of Vivek Oji" ?
Those who want to get a glimpse into the complexity of being authentic to oneself, when you are a part of a community that threatens and hampers that.
Thoughts
As a mother, this novel touched me.
The author's wordplay really made Kavita's (Vivek's mother) pain come alive. You really went on the journey with Kavita of processing the loss of her son. The unnerving feeling of not knowing the who, what, and why - of what happened to her child. Coming to terms with not truly knowing, the child that she carried in her womb and raised, added complexity to her pain and grief. As a reader, I was able to get a glimpse into those feelings.
Vivek, such a complicated and beautiful character.
As we follow Vivek's journey, it would seem from the beginning, his life was marked for tragedy. Being born into grief, feeling like an outlier, and finally owning his authentic self - a modern-day, hero's journey. I would have loved for the author to give more glimpses of Vivek's life from a first-person POV, rather than those around him.
The complexity that is, Osita.
My feelings about Osita, is still forming, especially after the ending. It is truly hard for me, to describe this character, as he causes me - much confusion. The two words, that come to mind is tortured soul. You could say that both Vivek and Osita had a parallel hero's journey, in which their journeys collide in an explosive unexpected way. I cannot imagine how Osita could live with himself after all is revealed. I wish the author gave us more insight.
This novel was captivating. However, there were parts in the middle that was a bit sluggish. As the setting of this novel took place in Africa, there was some colloquial language used that I needed to search, to get a better understanding of the passage. This worked at times, but there were times, it made the sentence cumbersome. I wish the author provided more balance in describing the environment, i.e. the beauty of the country or city. In spite of a few cons, this was a beautiful and memorable story.
Emezi, Akwaeke. “Chapter 10 - Vivek.” The Death of Vivek Oji, p. 89.
I always thought that death would be the heaviest thing of all, but it wasn't, it really wasn't. 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 playing in mud, like nothing about the 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." (Emezi)
Why did I pick it up?
This was my August, Book of the Month, pick. I went in this novel, blind. The only familiarity I had was with the author, as I own several of her novels.
Describe the book in 5 words
Heart-wrenching, Relatable, Complex, Tragic, and Surprising.
Who would love , "The Death of Vivek Oji" ?
Those who want to get a glimpse into the complexity of being authentic to oneself, when you are a part of a community that threatens and hampers that.
Thoughts
As a mother, this novel touched me.
The author's wordplay really made Kavita's (Vivek's mother) pain come alive. You really went on the journey with Kavita of processing the loss of her son. The unnerving feeling of not knowing the who, what, and why - of what happened to her child. Coming to terms with not truly knowing, the child that she carried in her womb and raised, added complexity to her pain and grief. As a reader, I was able to get a glimpse into those feelings.
Vivek, such a complicated and beautiful character.
As we follow Vivek's journey, it would seem from the beginning, his life was marked for tragedy. Being born into grief, feeling like an outlier, and finally owning his authentic self - a modern-day, hero's journey. I would have loved for the author to give more glimpses of Vivek's life from a first-person POV, rather than those around him.
The complexity that is, Osita.
My feelings about Osita, is still forming, especially after the ending. It is truly hard for me, to describe this character, as he causes me - much confusion. The two words, that come to mind is tortured soul. You could say that both Vivek and Osita had a parallel hero's journey, in which their journeys collide in an explosive unexpected way. I cannot imagine how Osita could live with himself after all is revealed. I wish the author gave us more insight.
This novel was captivating. However, there were parts in the middle that was a bit sluggish. As the setting of this novel took place in Africa, there was some colloquial language used that I needed to search, to get a better understanding of the passage. This worked at times, but there were times, it made the sentence cumbersome. I wish the author provided more balance in describing the environment, i.e. the beauty of the country or city. In spite of a few cons, this was a beautiful and memorable story.
Emezi, Akwaeke. “Chapter 10 - Vivek.” The Death of Vivek Oji, p. 89.
kdahlo's review against another edition
4.0
Heavy, intense book. It was great but not always an easy thing to read, there are many subjects here worthy of a trigger warning, violence, sexual violation and grief described in a very raw, painful way. The writing was beautiful and compassionate. The author of this book is nonbinary, and I really appreciated their approach to discussing and describing gender, across all the many great characters in this book, including but not limited to its titular subject.
proofofruin's review against another edition
4.0
i liked this a lot, agree with some criticisms and disagree with others. the premise of exploring a community's reaction to a central character's queerness was, as a gay person, both validating and difficult to read. i agree that pieces of it read as disjointed and incomplete, but i felt at least some of that fed into the tone of the entire story as being told through a fog of grief and stress, even during third-person narration. bittersweet and engrossing, made me cry a TON in the last few chapters and more than worth the time i spent with it (only about 6hrs altogether).
a8bhatia's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5