The Death of Vivek Oji was heartbreakingly beautiful. The story starts out with the death of Vivek and the burning of the village market. As Vivek’s family searches for answers for his sudden death, they soon start to realize perhaps the son they thought they knew wasn’t who he actually was. Perhaps we only see people how we want them to be seen instead of who they are meant to be. The family comes to a hard realization but they also realize that acceptance is the only way they will begin to heal their family after Vivek’s death. This book brought me to tears and the characters will stick with me and haunt me for a lifetime. Such an excellent read.

What a book! I read this novel in one sitting. Beautiful writing, inventive storytelling, and unique and heartwrenching plot. My sense of this book as a subversion of a crime book (which I garnered from some reviews) felt incorrect; I would describe this book, actually, as being about family, sexuality, gender identity, and community, though of course, the death is an ongoing part of the storyline. Either way, I really recommend this book, especially for people who are looking for unique books featuring LGBTQ characters, or LGBTQ stories that are not US-centric.

This book was so beautifully written. I listened to an ALC from Libro.fm and Prh Audio books. The narrators were amazing. I highly recommend the audio version.

This story is told through the eyes of Osita, Vivek, and Cavita mainly. Vivek’s body shows up on his parents’ doorstep. He is naked, wrapped in a colorful fabric and his head has been smashed in. We explore the life of Vivek and the events leading up to his death.

This story has amazing visual details, beautifully written prose, and such a heartbreaking story. I cried multiple times over this one and it is easily one of my favorite books. Best of 2020 so far. A book that speaks on so many diverse topics and issues prevalent in today’s society. This is absolutely a must read. So beautiful yet so devastatingly heartbreaking.

Thank you Faber & Faber for this copy of The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi for review on Netgalley.

I’m not sure there is much for me to say about a book as beautiful as this one. I loved how well you felt you knew the characters despite the pace of the book. The story was told from viewpoint to viewpoint, timeline to timeline, yet you never feel confused or left behind. The pace moves along perfectly and you are swept into this life but only after death. I really can not recommend this book enough if you want to be swept up in a story this summer.

A heartbreaking story that examines how when we lose the person closest to us, it changes us and, leaves us with questions that often go unanswered. This is what we get with the death of our main character, Vivek. The story goes from the past to the present, and we get to see the story of Vivek, and how his death affects his loved ones. It is a story of learning your identity, coming into your own as a person, and finding a safe space to be who you are, which is what Vivek had with his circle of friends.

Vivek was murdered and dropped on his parents door step. With other unrest in town his murder goes unsolved and his parents are desperately looking for answers. Told in alternating perspectives of after his death and before, from Vivek’s point of view, we start to understand what happened and get a glimpse into parenting a child who doesn’t fit into typical gender norms that are accepted by the culture.

I enjoyed this book and felt it was well written. I found it to be haunting and sad. It was slightly too heavy for my current circumstances right now but I will think of the characters often. 4 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Riverhead Books for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I also listened to some of the book on audio and felt it was excellent as well. You can pick up your copy now.

This book is pretty exceptional.
I loved how this book kind of played by it's own rules. It didn't have any set structure, it just flowed how it wanted to. It could have been confusing but never was.
The writing is beautiful and visceral. I was fully immersed in the story every time I picked this book up.
This story is about Vivek but it's also about the people who loved them. It's about the community that oppressed them as well as the community who helped them thrive. It's about living a true life.
We see Vivek through the eyes of the people that loved them but we also get a glimpse into how Vivek felt as well. I wish that there was just a little bit more time spent with Vivek but that is my only complaint with this book.
Overall just a wonderful, well written story that I hope many people pick up.

Wow. This was so sad...

The story starts telling that Vivek died. Which is obvious, because of the title. And then we discover that Vivek’s mother found his body in the veranda of their house, with part of his skull smashed and a lot of blood.

And then we follow Vivek’s life, as well as his family, friends, and other people.

I loved this book. The characters were really well made; their relationships were beautiful, sad, and painful at some points. I knew that it has LGBTQ+ representation, and I was expecting to be gay, but it has beyond this.

About the ending: I am broken. It was so sad to see what happened and know this happen in real life, when people cannot show themselves and need to hide from others. It was really emotive, I almost cried.

I think that has some things that was unnecessary, but it’s one or two, but in general it is a great book.

One afternoon, in a town in south-eastern Nigeria, a mother opens her front door to discover her son’s body, wrapped in colourful fabric, at her feet. What follows is the tumultuous, heart-wrenching story of one family’s struggle to understand a child whose spirit is both gentle and mysterious.⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
Despite the novel’s title, Vivek’s death; the how and why of that single moment, is not the primary focus. Rather, we see snippets of his tragically short life and learn of the distress it causes for those he left behind. Instead of the novel’s driving force, his death looms on every page, acting as a backbone that holds the story in place. ⁣⁣⁣
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As the main characters come of age within their restrictive society, issues of gender identity and sexuality lie at the forefront. Vivek becomes increasingly disinterred with the rest of the world: he hides at home, grows his hair out long, and drops out of university. His parents, meanwhile, struggle to understand what their child is going through. Thankfully, Vivek finds solace in the daughters of the Nigerwives and in his cousin, Osita. Their relationships were sweet, light, and fiercely loyal as they figure out who they are in this crazy world. ⁣
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Through confident, nonlinear storytelling, Emezi masterfully balances different voices and timelines. However, I do wish we heard more from Vivek: the most vibrant and interesting character in the book. His chapters were short but sweet, wrapped up in phenomenal prose and quiet melancholy. Yet, given that Vivek was an enigma to his loved ones, they, and therefore, we, were not able to completely appreciate his essence. Nonetheless, Emezi seamlessly depicts the depths of Osita and Kavita’s grief with grace and clarity, and, despite Vivek’s tragic end, gives us hope through their exploration of the permeable borders between life and death.⁣⁣⁣
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The Death of Vivek Oji is a beautifully emotive and tender novel. "Why are you so afraid? Because something is different from what you know?", Vivek asks at one point – but there are some people who know what he needs: "They barely understood him themselves, but they loved him, and that had been enough."

The title of this book, The Death of Vivek Oji, is a misnomer, because this book is all about the life of Vivek Oji and the impact he has on the people he left behind. The book starts with his death but slowly, page by page, through the vignettes offered by his grieving friends and family, we are shown the life he lived.
Emezi’s simple yet profound prose pulls you into the world of Vivek as soon as you start the book. The narration by Chukwudi Iwuji and Yetide Badaki is so masterful that you can immediately visualise each character in your mind. Emezi succeeds in keeping our focus on the life of Vivek while slowly building up the dread, creeping higher and higher as you get closer to knowing the how and the why of his death. The bewildering grief of Kavita, Vivek’s mother and the heartbreaking despair of Osita, his cousin was perfectly captured in both Emezi’s prose and the brilliant narration.
But what made this book an absolute favourite was of course Vivek. He was tender, fragile, precious yet also fierce. The constant cultural and religious restraints he has to fight through to discover and embrace his self, his burgeoning need to break out of the mould society wants to fit him in, bleeds through each line of Emezi’s evocative yet transparent prose. I wish there was just a bit more of Vivek’s PoVs but that’s my only complaint.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩."

I also loved the beautiful friendships and love stories in this book and how the queer community comes together to create a safe space where each individual can discover and explore their identities.
The death of Vivek Oji, is a bittersweet coming of age story that leaves you with tender hope and lasting ache in your heart.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

The title of this book, The Death of Vivek Oji, is a misnomer, because this book is all about the life of Vivek Oji and the impact he has on the people he left behind. The book starts with his death but slowly, page by page, through the vignettes offered by his grieving friends and family, we are shown the life he lived.
Emezi’s simple yet profound prose pulls you into the world of Vivek as soon as you start the book. The narration by Chukwudi Iwuji and Yetide Badaki is so masterful that you can immediately visualise each character in your mind. Emezi succeeds in keeping our focus on the life of Vivek while slowly building up the dread, creeping higher and higher as you get closer to knowing the how and the why of his death. The bewildering grief of Kavita, Vivek’s mother and the heartbreaking despair of Osita, his cousin was perfectly captured in both Emezi’s prose and the brilliant narration.
But what made this book an absolute favourite was of course Vivek. He was tender, fragile, precious yet also fierce. The constant cultural and religious restraints he has to fight through to discover and embrace his self, his burgeoning need to break out of the mould society wants to fit him in, bleeds through each line of Emezi’s evocative yet transparent prose. I wish there was just a bit more of Vivek’s PoVs but that’s my only complaint.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩."

I also loved the beautiful friendships and love stories in this book and how the queer community comes together to create a safe space where each individual can discover and explore their identities.
The death of Vivek Oji, is a bittersweet coming of age story that leaves you with tender hope and lasting ache in your heart.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

I read and enjoyed Emezi’s young adult novel, Pet, but this newest one blew me away. I devoured it in one day. The story was emotional and affecting, but the aspect that stood out the most to me was the characters—particularly Vivek and Ostia—who flew off the page and into my heart. This is a must read!

Utterly necessary and so humanistic. Really worth reading, especially late in a summer that seems too hot to bear.

Title - The Death of Vivek Oji

Author - Akwaeke Emezi

Genre - Contemporary LGBT Fiction

I was provided by a e-galley from NetGalley by Publishers in exchange of an honest review

I have been meaning to read books by Akwaeke Emezi for a long time now since I had come across Freshwater and the review by a good friend of mine. Though I had picked up Freshwater a few weeks back but I had to put down the book due to other commitments and finally I was able to pick up this galley. Here is why the books by the author are so revered and are a must read.

The plot mainly revolves around Vivek Oji and his friends and family. Vivek was one day found dead outside his own home wrapped in colorful fabric and thus begins the story of what were the troubles and issues undergone by Vivek. From a life filled with disorienting blackouts to getting acknowledged for what Vivek is in the society forms the crux of the novel. Vivek's bond with Osita who struggles to understand what Vivek has been going through and the way Osita tries to acknowledge the same is explored in this novel.

I know the description of the plot is a bit vague but I would rather let you folks explore this beautiful novel that has moved just not mine but many a hearts. The book not only explores the struggles of a person who is conflicted but about the people around who are either denying or trying to understand the meaning of what the person is.

With not just Vivek but the novel is pretty much focused on Osita as well who is more than a cousin to Vivek and with such a backward society in Nigeria, how Osita learns to acknowledge Vivek. With characters who LGBT folks encounter everyday, this novel is a must read for anyone and everyone out there. Though I have heard it's not as brilliant as the authors' other work, for me since this was my first experience with the author, I could not put it down at all.

My Ratings - 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (5 out of 5 stars)

I really enjoyed this book a lot. The characters were clever and engaging, and getting to spend time with them was a treat. I liked the writing too - it was descriptive without ever veering into flowery territory, and I would certainly be interested in reading more work by this author. The cover is great too!

Barely into adulthood, Vivek Oji is dead. That's not a spoiler - we are told as much in the title of Akwaeke Emezi's beautiful new novel, the follow up to their debut, Freshwater. I don't really want to box it into a genre, but I suppose it would be fair to say the narrative is propelled along by the mystery of Vivek's death and the doggedness of a mother's search for the truth behind the death of her only child.

So it begins with the death, then circles back to the beginning, when Vivek's parents first met and fell in love. Following Vivek through life, we get to know the loving parents; one fierce and strong, the other weaker and flawed, but both devoted to the child born on the day their grandmother died. Luckily for only-child Vivek there was cousin Osita, of a similar age and as close as any brother, spending more time at Vivek's home growing up than at his own. Things begin to change in their late teenage and university years though, and the cousins drift apart. Then, when Vivek is taken out of university to recover from being 'unwell', the two are reunited.

The story is told from the alternating perspectives of Vivek and Osita, each withholding and divulging certain pieces of information that help to ease the pieces of the story-puzzle together. There are strong themes of sexual and gender identity throughout. It's not until the very end that we discover the true circumstances of Vivek's death, and the revelation is devastating. I had a lump in my throat for hours after.

Highly recommended.

5 stunning stars!!

This book was everything.

The writing was beautiful.

The story was beautiful.

The characters were beautiful.

I loved absolutely everything about this book.

I'm having a hard time putting into words the emotions this book made me feel. I was unsure how I felt after the first few chapters because there were so many characters and the the timeline kept jumping around.

BUT once I had a good hold on who everyone was, I was in love with them all. I loved their flaws and I loved how they loved one another. There were many characters yes, but they were all so necessary to the story.

Vivek Nnemdi Oji is someone that will stay with me for a long time.

Please read this book.

A big thank you to Faber and Faber Ltd and NetGalley for the ARC and wanting my honest opinion!

Thank you to NetGalley and Faber and Faber for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

One day in Nigeria a mother finds her son’s body laid on her doorstep, stripped of his clothes and wrapped in cloth. Based on the title of the book, it's no spoiler that the body belongs to Vivek. The story follows his life leading up to that day, slowly unfolding the mystery of his death. It's a story of grief and loss, but also of living and identity as Emezi explores how the various characters react to Vivek in life and in death.

So compelling and accessible was The Death of Vivek Oji that it instantly pulled me in. I loved the Nigerwives (as they call themselves), the foreign women who have come to live in Nigeria with their Nigerian husbands and formed a community. One moment they were supportive and lifting each other up and the next they were gossipy and judgemental. I also loved being immersed in the Nigerian culture and language, the roar of the motorbikes and the bustle of the market.

Emezi made me feel all the feels and I absolutely loved this book! I'd recommend The Death of Vivek Oji to anyone looking for a beautifully written tragic story of love, grief and acceptance and to fans of Chinelo Okparanta's Under the Udala Trees.

Profound, moving, and tragic, The Death of Vivek Oji is a beautifully written story that takes you out of your comfort zone. The story begins with the titular event when the naked body of Vivek Oji is found wrapped in colorful fabric on his parents’ doorstep. The preceding and following events are presented in non-linear fashion from the perspectives of Vivek’s mother and Vivek’s cousin, Osita. The author has successfully crafted a book that is incredibly gripping, eloquent, and thought-provoking. I was immediately captured by the characters’ emotions and by the authors’ poetic writing style. They manage to broach a variety of sensitive subjects in a heartbreakingly raw and realistic manner. There are certain passages throughout this short book that I am certain will stick with me because of how deeply they spoke to my soul. The Death of Vivek Oji is a fast and profound read that will leave you drowning in emotion. It is the kind of book that absolutely should not be missed.

When they hear some noise outside, Kavita opens the door and finds her son Vivek dead on the porch. There was some commotion at the local market and Vivek had wanted to go there where he obviously was killed. But who would ever want to do something to her beloved son? Yes, he had always been different, a bit strange which also made it hard for his cousin and childhood best friend Osita who witnessed strange occurrences such as Vivek’s mind wandering away and making him believe being a different person. And that’s just what he was, secretly, without his parents’ knowledge. But Osita, too, has some secrets he keeps from his and Vivek’s family, some just because they do not fit in their village’s idea of a young man’s life, others because they would be impossible to endure for anybody.

Just like in her novel “Freshwater”, “The Death of Vivek Oji” centres around a young protagonist who differs, whose mind works in a very singular way, yet, Vivek’s is less extraordinary than Ada’s. Nevertheless, the main conflict is placed between the individual and society: a person who does not comply with general expectations and cannot really reveal his emotions and most certainly cannot live the way he would prefer since this simply does not work in the place he lives.

“We can’t keep insisting he was who we thought he was, when he wanted to be someone else and he died being that person, Chicka. We failed, don’t you see?”

The story is told in flashbacks to describe the long road that lead to Vivek’s death. Alternately, Vivek and Osita narrate from their point of view what they experienced and how they felt. Both are trapped somehow since there are things they cannot talk about to anybody except for each other, at the same time, it is difficult for Osita to support Vivek’s otherness. The struggles they go through are very well established and easy to relate to. From a western perspective, it is incredible what is done to Vivek, especially the exorcism performed on him, but there are still places where binary thinking is the rule.

There is some mystery to solve, yet, it is much more about young people who are trying to figure out who they are and how they can live in a place where fixed rules and high expectations do not go well together with who they are. Even though it is, in the end, a rather sad story in many ways, I’d consider it a great and noteworthy read.