I appreciate the wholly unique point(s) of view and the author’s beautiful writing. Yet if you look closer, the book has more in common with a Netflix teen drama than anything else.

“They burned down the market on the day Vivek Oji died”

This striking sentence serves as the entire first chapter of the novel. We know Vivek Oji has died, we know some of the events surrounding his death (though not if they are related). What we do not know is how Vivek Oji died, nor who Vivek Oji was.

This is important – as the book opens Vivek’s character is missing, invisible, hidden by the weight of his family’s grief. The reader wants to know more, and so does Vivek’s mother: Kavita is “made of nothing but questions, hungry questions bending her into a shape that was starving for answers”. Through her desperate hunt, we come to know Vivek.

Vivek story is gripping, and language Akwaeke Emezi uses only heightens the impact. Vivek had a “temper like gunpowder packed into a pipe” and his parents live in “separate world that happen to be under the same roof, pressed against each other but never spilling, never overlapping.”

After Kavita drags Vivek’s cousin Osita from his booze-soaked grief we begin to understand the secrets Vivek kept in life. We meet the children of a community of immigrant wives that Kavita belongs to, and who knew Vivek far more intimately than his family. We begin to see Vivek. More devastatingly, we begin to see that Vivek was in many ways invisible even in life: “If nobody sees you are you still there”. As Vivek never had the opportunity to seen in life, so in death – the scant few chapters from Vivek’s perspective are short, and from beyond the grave. This story is told by those he left behind.

It is not safe for anyone to see Vivek’s preference for men, lest he end up “blackened by fire … gashes from machetes showing old red flesh underneath”. Others are hiding too: Vivek wearing his mother’s gold jewellery is “so beautiful he made the air around him dull. Made Osita hard with desire” yet Osita cannot admit this aloud. After his death he “would give anything to see him like that one more time, alive and covered with wealth.”

Vivek’s own search mirrors Kavita’s. Where Kavita is searching for answers, Vivek seeks his identity, and the privilege of being recognised. Male pronouns are used to describe Vivek for most of the book. It is only towards the very end that the reader can truly see Vivek and realise which pronouns should have been used, along with a name: Nnemdi.

Osita’s face in a photograph looking at Vivek is open, “unfettered” and so in the end is Nnemdi. It was a pleasure to read her story, I would highly recommend it.

Beautiful and brutal. Tender and heartwrenching. Hopeful and hateful. Akwaeke Emezi touched my soul with her evocative storytelling. A stunning tale of tolerance, acceptance, friendship, and grief. This is the story of Vivek, A young Nigerian looking to discover who they are in a world that does not want to truly know them. The story starts with Vivek’s mother discovering their dead body wrapped in colorful cloth at the front door of the family home. The story then bounces around in time and between the perspectives of several characters. As much as I would have liked to get inside Vivek’s head a little more. I thought it was tremendously impactful to get to know them through the impressions of others. Parts of this book were hard to read, the story really shows us the ugliest side of humanity, but ultimately the story left me feeling hopeful. The audiobook is narrated by Yetide Badaki and Chukwudi Iwuji Who brought such raw authenticity to this gorgeous story. I loved listening to the lovely Nigerian accent and appreciated that I was able to understand every beautiful word. I know my words have not done this story justice, just read it or listen to it, it will stay with you.

*** Big thank you to Faber and Faber & LibroFM for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***

Rep: Nigerian rep, Indian rep, LGBTQIA+ rep

TW: homophobia, sexual assault, rioting

What started off as an intriguing story soon left me in tears. The Death of Vivek Oji is a beautifully written story that explores themes of identity and relationships, through the perspectives of various characters. The story flits between different characters, and different time points in the story to show how Vivek Oji’s life and death affected those around him. We see how various characters, Vivek included, struggle to define themselves, refusing to accept the gender and sexuality conformity forced upon them by their community. This is a powerfully-charged book about exploration, community, and acceptance. I loved Freshwater by this author, and I’m happy to say that this book has continued to raise the bar for me. I’m looking forward to reading more by Akwaeke Emezi.

Rep: Nigerian rep, Indian rep, LGBTQIA+ rep

TW: homophobia, sexual assault, rioting

What started off as an intriguing story soon left me in tears. The Death of Vivek Oji is a beautifully written story that explores themes of identity and relationships, through the perspectives of various characters. The story flits between different characters, and different time points in the story to show how Vivek Oji’s life and death affected those around him. We see how various characters, Vivek included, struggle to define themselves, refusing to accept the gender and sexuality conformity forced upon them by their community. This is a powerfully-charged book about exploration, community, and acceptance. I loved Freshwater by this author, and I’m happy to say that this book has continued to raise the bar for me. I’m looking forward to reading more by Akwaeke Emezi.

The Death of Vivek Oji, is a beautifully written book about identity and love and loss. It very gradually tells its truth in dribs and drabs, until all is revealed at the very end. Whilst this makes for a compelling read I sort of wish the truth would have come out sooner in the story and allowed for more exploration of its nuances. That said, this book is an interesting look at the consequences of living out your gender expression, vs keeping it hidden and conforming to societies expectations. It’s an important perspective, and certainly has made me want to read more of the author’s work.

This book is 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 because I am not quite sure why the second half of the book 'lost' me.

Until about half-way through I found the writing compelling. Despite the fact that I wasn't drawn to the character of Vivek I did enjoy the 'Nigerian-style' English and the interactions with the Nigerwives and their families. The lives of the characters seemed to roll off the page and into my imagination.

But when the narrative began to revolve around the younger generation the story became restricted and claustrophobic. Their actions seemed disjointed, disconnecting me from them emotionally.

So much so that although the end was logical and completed the narrative, it did not move me as much as I had expected, which both surprised and disappointed me.

I would still recommend it as a book worth reading just be warned there are some quite graphic sex scenes

Powerful, moving and thought-provoking, Vivek Oji’s true identity begins to unfold after his heartbreaking death in a Nigerian town. The book is a lesson on acceptance and loving people just the way they are - and the consequences that arise from not doing so.

Emezi’s writing almost has a lyrical quality to it - as if the words sing off the page. The book is short but I read each chapter slowly as to take in all of its rich and vivid prose.

Thank you NetGalley and Faber & Faber for providing an eARC of the book although I did purchase it on my own.

Such an interesting take on the mystery genre, because from the start we know, what happened, but not how it could possibly happen. Really enjoyed.

The book starts off strong, with some really strong imagery, building Vivek’s world, and exploring his family and how he came to be born. There is some beautiful language and description throughout the entire book. The strength of the writing is probably my favourite part of the book.

It’s a non-linear narrative, so the only mystery is really how Vivek dies at the end. This does weave through the story quite well. It kept my interest throughout the whole story.

The characters are intriguing, though I think this story suffers from a lack of depth at points. I really liked Osita’s character, and most of the story is told from his perspective. Though there are some sections that are told from a more omniscient point of view.

We see both Osita and Vivek grow up, and as they do, the LGBT+ undertones get stronger. The reaction to these themes by the characters within the story shows that not everywhere in the world is as accepting of LGBT+ people as the West. It was a good reminder for me that in some places of the world it can still be very dangerous to no conform to sexual and gender norms.

There are also some odd moments in the story that felt almost like they didn’t belong. There was a whole chapter with a character, and I couldn’t work out why it was there. It didn’t seem to add anything to the story and the character literally wasn’t even mentioned anywhere else in the book.

There is also an element of Vivek’s character and experience that isn’t fully explained. It feels like it was added for effect early on in the story, but didn’t really matter to the overall story.

Whilst I enjoyed reading The Death of Vivek Oji, and found it a fast read, I also didn’t enjoy it as much as Freshwater. For me, it felt unfinished, like it needed another round of editing to remove the unneeded elements.

Like Freshwater, it’s an unusual style and has a really important message. I would recommend it to people who like experimental writing in their fiction, and to expand your understanding of the LGBT+ space across the world.

Like always I dove into the book without reading the blurb or knowing anything about it as that’s what I prefer.

The story starts with a woman finding a body of her son outside her home and thus the story begins. We know Vivek has died from the very beginning (and also from the title) so the story moves on from different perspectives and how the event unfolds at the end.

This is my first book from Akwaeke and The storytelling is absolutely fantastic and kept me gripped and curious throughout. The book is definitely powerful, beautiful, sad and powerful. This is definitely one of the best and most impactful books of 2020 for me. It pains me to accept that the story of Vivek is not just fiction but there are numerous people even in this generation (let alone earlier days) who struggle with their identity and sexuality. The society we live in doesn’t make it easy and especially some countries are totally against same sex couples or marrriage making them illegal and outcast. It’s saddening to hear when people mark it as ‘unnatural’ or ‘sick’ when someone born and identified a specific gender doesn’t behave the way the gender is supposed to. These topics are so well written by the author through the characters in Nigeria. To read the book and to realise this happens in real saddens me more than I can contemplate.

The author has done such an amazing work to make us feel the grief, loss and pain the mother, father, relatives and their friends feel.
I loved how Awkwaeke has used different persepectives for storytelling and how well written the characters are. I liked how it was just to the point and wasn’t unnecessarily lengthy. The ending in a way I did see it coming but somehow it was a bit more/less than I thought it would be.

Here is to the loveliest and now one of my best characters ‘Nnemdi’!

3.5 stars. Emezi writes a heartfelt tale of transformation and love, heartbreak and friendship set in Nigeria. It's difficult for me to discuss what I loved about this book and what I didn't because of possible spoilers, but here goes... I loved the description and handling of Vivek's metamorphoses, the raw emotion felt by his family (especially his mother) and the setting of the story in Nigeria.

I liked the glimpses into the lives of the Nigerwives and their more progressive children.

Yet I still struggled to feel a real connection to the characters - they felt just a little out of reach.

Thanks to NetGalley and The Publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars rounded up.

I decided to read this book as I'd seen the title come up on quite a few lists I follow and I had enjoyed Freshwater. However, I had no idea what this book was about as I hadn't even read the blurb.

All I can say is wow, wow, wow!!! Captivating, breathtaking, heart-wrenching, devastating, unputdownable. All in only 256 pages of mesmerizing writing. Read it already!

I know that I’m always on to a winner with an Akwaeke Emezi novel, so I was delighted when I was approved for their new release. However, I wasn’t quite prepared for how much of a stomach punch it would be.

One afternoon in southern Nigeria, Kavita opens her front door to discover the naked body of her dead son on the doorstep, the whole family is forced to contend with not only their unimaginable grief but the notion that they never really knew their beloved child.

The story is told after Vivek’s death through first person accounts from Vivek in the afterlife and Vivek’s cousin Osita as well as third person perspectives from Kavita and Juju.

Vivek was raised by an overprotective Indian mother and a largely absent Nigerian father. Throughout adolescence, Vivek struggles with episodes of dissociation and blackouts. The self inside is not the same as the self that the world sees, so of course Vivek grows up stifled and lost.

‘Some people can’t see softness without wanting to hurt it.’

Vivek finds freedom in friendships with the daughters of the Nigerwives (foreign women who are married to Nigerian men). These girls allow Vivek to express their genderqueerness in a safe, understanding environment. Vivek’s relationship with Juju is incredibly complex, layered and so beautiful. Juju is coming to terms with her own sexuality but she is undeniably in love with Vivek, as is Vivek’s cousin Osita. There is a scene in the second half of the book that had me sobbing, as Juju and Osita deal with their grief in a way that is so unique to them and unbelievably heartbreaking.

One very small detail that says so much is the mentioning of Vivek hiding things in a copy of The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born by Ari Kwei Armah, a Ghanaian novel about a man fighting the pressures of African society to push him to corruption. When you know that Vivek was killed because of a non-conforming gender and queerness, their love for this book becomes hugely poignant. Vivek had hope for the future of queer Africans, refusing to bow to the pressures and restrictions of Nigerian society, and this legacy is something that ripples through those who loved Vivek.

Motherhood is another very strong theme in the novel. Kavita is so desperate to hold on to her boy that she becomes determined to solve the mystery of what happened to him. This, of course, leads her to discovering the truth about who her child was. We all know mothers like Kavita. The over-anxious, helicopter mothers, who are besotted with their children but who project their own expectations as to who they are, in such a way that they fail to see or accept their children’s true selves. Kavita’s last act for her child told me that despite all of the unaccepting ingrained attitudes of her society, she finally saw Vivek.

Vivek’s discovery of happiness and the strength it takes to put that above the intense fear of being killed is incredibly inspirational. I felt that perhaps Vivek was some kind of otherworldly being, who patently didn’t belong in this society, sent to teach other outsiders that the true self is always beautiful and should never be hidden. This method of storytelling always touches my heart and Emezi does it beautifully.

The prose is unlike any other. It’s so stunning, evocative and sensual that it completely captivates the reader. I finished the book with a strange concoction in my mouth that tasted like both sorrow and hope. I knew that Osita, Juju, Elizabeth and even Kavita had learned so much from knowing and loving Vivek. That Vivek’s story and message would reshape their minds and change the rest of their lives. Yes, Vivek died in the most tragic, heart-wrenching way but it wasn’t for nothing and their spirit is still very much alive.

Masterfully written, extremely powerful and compulsively readable, The Death of Vivek Oji is a vital, urgent read for today.

As I closed the last page of the book, I realized I had been crying. Which was strange....because I didn't feel remember being particularly awed or moved - but here I was sobbing over the death of Vivek Oji.

Emezi's novel deals with many ideas but for me the most potent were the ideas of love, acceptance and the many way grief manifests itself when a loved one dies.

In a town in Nigeria, Vivek spends his day trying to both hide and show who he really is. Help comes from the most unlikely quarter - a group of childhood friends. But in the end that's not enough!

“ Picture: a house thrown into wailing the day he left it, restored to the way it was when he entered.”

This story gripped me from it the start and only pulled me further and further in with each chapter. Every character is vivid and different, their emotion soaring off the page in waves.

This is a stunningly beautiful exploration of family, grief, love, loss, and acceptance.

This. Moved. Me. To. Tears. I'll admit that I wasn't sold on it in the first third or so, but The Death of Vivek Oji quickly sunk it's talons into me (UMM THE GRAVEYARD SCENE?!). Beautiful prose and definitely one of my top reads for the year. 4.5 stars.

While this is a story that begins with a death, it’s truly a story about a life.

This book broke my heart, and left me weeping. It’s lovely, and tragic & I sense that it’s the kind of story that will stay with be & haunt me. The concepts of unconditional love, identity & grief are elegantly explored. The setting is beautiful, and fascinating and is a preference as much as any of the characters.

Thank you Netgalley & Faber and Faber for this e-ARC.

This was quite the beautiful gut punch. The writing of this book is just incredible, almost feeling like poetry in the cadance and style of the prose. Akwaeke Emezi makes you feel like an observer, looking in from the outside on this community filled with secrets, many of those secrets kept from you as the reader. You cannot help but feel you're not getting the full story —and you're not.

But even with the reader kept at a distance, oh did I get attached to the characters! Their happiness, pain, love, sorrow, everything was so palpale on the page. They truly glowed.

I've had Emezi's debut Freshwater on myself for awhile and I am absolutely KICKING myself for not picking it up sooner. It will be one of my next reads very soon and Akwaeke Emezi has now become an auto-buy author for me.

wow wow wow!!! what a book this one was, powerful from start to finish, so emotional and no spoilers but I just can't get over that ending :( as it states in the synopsis we know that something terrible happens to Vivek Oji and that's how we start the novel. from the first page I was sucked into this story and with what Emezi does best and we follow few different characters significant to the story and the switch between before and after of this incident that happens. Yes it is about the death of Vivek Oji but its not just that is explores the life of Vivek Oji and the company he kept (his family and friends) and how they treated Vivek with the ongoings of so many societal issues being put into these characters day in and out.

The way that Emezi can just write these stories is mind blowing and they are a force to be reckoned with from their writing and the beautiful prose to the characters and you can feel the emotion just rolling of the page with every novel Emezi writes, and this one did not disappoint. Auto buy author forever and always!!

this book deals with many subject matters that many readers could not want to read about but if you feel you are up for this novel I would recommend so so much!!!