INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER“Electrifying.” — O: The Oprah Magazine Named a Best Book of 2020 by The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, USA TODAY, Vanity Fair, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire, Shondaland, Teen Vogue, Vulture, Lit Hub, Bustle, Electric Literature, and BookPageWhat does it mean for a family to lose a child they never really knew? One afternoon, in a town in … does it mean for a family to lose a child they never really knew?
One afternoon, in a town in southeastern Nigeria, a mother opens her front door to discover her son’s body, wrapped in colorful 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. Raised by a distant father and an understanding but overprotective mother, Vivek suffers disorienting blackouts, moments of disconnection between self and surroundings. As adolescence gives way to adulthood, Vivek finds solace in friendships with the warm, boisterous daughters of the Nigerwives, foreign-born women married to Nigerian men. But Vivek’s closest bond is with Osita, the worldly, high-spirited cousin whose teasing confidence masks a guarded private life. As their relationship deepens—and Osita struggles to understand Vivek’s escalating crisis—the mystery gives way to a heart-stopping act of violence in a moment of exhilarating freedom.
Propulsively readable, teeming with unforgettable characters, The Death of Vivek Oji is a novel of family and friendship that challenges expectations—a dramatic story of loss and transcendence that will move every reader.
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This is an incredible book. Emezi does it again. They delve into a known world that deserves more representation. The story of Vivek Oji and his death takes place in 1990’s Nigeria. Expertly reflecting cultural nuances–food, clothing, hair, social propriety–Emezi weaves a tale that can speak to many.
A non-linear timeline and multiple narratives, the reader is immersed into a complicated family. While the death of Vivek is established in the title and first sentence of the book (so not a spoiler), I fell so in love with the realism of the characters that I kept hoping the death never comes. I wanted it to be a twist, even though I *knew* it wouldn’t be. That would have been a cheap trick that would have undone the incredible story Emezi tells.
Where Emezi shines is through their characters. Flawed and real, I wanted to know them. Vivek, Osita (Vivek’s cousin), Kavita (Vivek’s mother), and Juju (Vivek’s friend) run the gamut for defining love and acceptance. Even though there are many more characters throughout the book, as the story continues into the how-they-got-here backstories, the reader witnesses growth for all of them. Yet, it’s never boring, it never slows down. The overlapping experiences are enough that the reader can fully appreciate how each of the characters either progresses or why they remain stagnant.
When the book ends, you’ll be left with a feeling of sorrow (the title isn’t subtle) as well as an overwhelming wash of love. I highly recommend this book.
Trigger warning: Consensual adult incest
Heartbreaking story of a young man, Vivek, who is exploring his sexuality. Vivek dies, and his mother tries to search for the truth of what happened to her beloved son. The novel gives the back story of Vivek’s parents, his aunt, uncle, and cousin, and several of their friends. It gives hints of Vivek and his feelings and his love.
While we know that Vivek dies because of the title, it is the how he died which is so heartbreaking.
Beautifully written, with grief evident throughout.
The Death of Vivek Oji is one of the best books that I have read in the past six months (I would say year, but it is only February). I could not put the book down; that is how much I liked it.
I will admit that it took me a chapter or so to get into the book’s rhythm. But once I got the rhythm, the book went fast. There was no lag and no excess storyline. That made for a delightful read.
The Death of Vivek Oji is written mainly from the 1st person perspectives of Vivek and Osika. There are some 3rd person chapters written when describing the events around specific events in Vivek’s life (mainly their death and their mother’s meetings with the Nigerwives). Some people might have an issue with that, but I didn’t, which surprised me. I was quickly able to follow when the book switched perspectives and people.
The author did a great job of showing how repressed Nigerian culture was for gay/trans people. The main scenes that stand out to me were when Vivek grew their hair out, and their parent’s first response was to cut it. Vivek was not allowed out because of how they looked. Their aunt had a preacher beat them to “get the demons out.” It was heartbreaking to read.
I felt for Osita the entire book. He loved Vivek with his whole heart but couldn’t share that love with the world. Instead, the small group of friends Vivek and Osita had known. It must have been so tiring to live like that. My heart hurt for him.
There is sex in The Death of Vivek Oji. I won’t lie and say that it isn’t graphic because it is.
The end of Vivek Oji’s death was one of the rawest that I have read to date. I am not going to get into it, but it was intense. I do like that Vivek’s parents finally understood their daughter and honored her. But, it was the final scene with Osita that made me cry. That poor, poor man!!
The Death of Vivek Oji was a fantastic book to read. It was fast paced and was able to deliver a heavy plotline with the grace that it was due. I am actively looking for other books by the same author to read!!!
After much thought, I will recommend The Death of Vivek Oji for anyone over the age of 21. There is a scene of attempted rape. There is talk of domestic violence. There is deadnaming. There is graphic sex.
There is so much to unpack with The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi and there is no way I can do this book justice, but I am going to try to get some thoughts down. This is no doubt a heavy hitter, and there is a lot going on in it. Emezi touches on so many different themes and hearing about modern day Nigeria made me think a lot about the United States. Even though the story isn’t set in the US, this could have happened here, and this is definitely not an escape read of any sort. It is real, it is broken, and it has to be told.
I have actually had Emezi’s last novel, Freshwater on my shelf for a long time, but after reading The Death of Vivek Oji, I am going to have to make sure I get to it this year and not wait any longer. Now let’s talk about the audio for this book, the narrators are Chukwudi Iwuji & Yetide Badaki and they made the story even more real for me. The audio is so well done, and they stay authentic to the culture and the story. This is a loaded read, and one that will definitely stick with me for a long time. The different viewpoints were a necessity and I loved them, and the end was not what I was expecting. I would definitely recommend to literary fiction lovers and fans of the author.
Thank you to Libro.fm and the publisher for my advance listening copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
This lovely cover holds a heartbreaking novel … a beautifully-written coming-of-age story of an individual with the courage to truly be themselves.
As the title states, this book begins with the mysterious death of main character Vivek Oji. Akwaeke Emezi then tells the rest of the story in a non-linear fashion that slowly enables the reader to piece together the circumstances that led to Vivek’s identity and death. This character study explores themes of identity, tradition, parental love, romantic love, and friendship.
Absorbing this novel as an audiobook was powerful, especially with dual narrators Yetide Badaki and Chukwudi Iwuji. Thank you to @libro.fm for the gifted ALC.
4 stars for a coming of age story in present day Nigeria. Vivek Oji is a young man whose body is discovered by his mother one day at her doorstep. His body has been wrapped in fabric. The story of his life is told in flashbacks, from 2 different points of view: Vivek and Osita. Osita is his cousin and best friend. They grow up together and are like brothers. However, Vivek is subject to spells(possibly epilepsy) and enters Osita’s room when Osita and his girlfriend are intimate. Osita loses his girlfriend and blames Vivek.
Vivek realizes that he is not comfortable as a man in Nigerian society. Gay people are looked down upon in Nigeria, subject to Christian “conversion” which means exorcism and beating a victim to rid him of the devil. Also, sometimes gay people are attacked and killed. Vivek’s mother Kavita is desperate to find out what happened to her son. Vivek’s father, Chika, is distant and has an affair. The ending is somewhat of a surprise. There are excellent descriptions of Nigerian society–food, spirituality, customs and people.
Some quotes:
Chika thinking about a connection between Vivek and Chika’s mother: “How else could that scar have entered the world on flesh if it had not left in the first place? But still, he denied this for many years, for as long as he could. Superstition, he said. It was a coincidence, the marks on their feet–and besides, Vivek was a boy and not a girl, so how can? Still. His mother was dead and their family was bereft, and in the middle of it all was a new baby.”
Plants: “There was a cluster of bitterleaf bushes in front of the boys’ quarters, fighting with an ixora hedge for space.”
Vivek’s book: “I kept the book for the title, for how it was spelled. Beautyful. I had no idea why that spelling was chosen, but I liked it because it kept the beauty intact. It wasn’t swallowed, killed off with an i to make a whole;e new word.”
Thanks to Penguin Group Riverhead for sending me this eARC through NetGalley.
Beautifully sad
The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi is a brilliant novel that pieces together the life, identity, and person that is presented to the reader as already determined to meet a final fate. Here through the voices of others, we are able to configure the life of Vivek and all the turmoil that comes with it. The snippets of his life are presented to the reader in a collage of voices in a non chronological order. Here we find the fundamental questions and subjects of purpose, acceptance, forgiveness, love, loss, friendship, family, and the need to be seen for who we truly are.
Very heartbreaking and yet beautiful at the same time. Unique and memorable.
5/5 stars
Thank you NetGalley and Riverhead Books for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.
Thank you Libro.fm & Penguin Audio for gifting me with a copy of this audiobook. These opinions are my own.
2/5 Steamy Rating
LGBTQ+
Even days after this story, I’m struggling to put into words what I felt about Vivek’s story, but I’ll try to do my best…
This is the poignant story about the life and death of Vivek Oji and those closest to him. Vivek is a man that is living in Nigeria and facing the conservative environment of the county and culture. When he’s left dead at his mothers doorstep, we’re swept into a story to discover who Vivek truly was and what happened to him. This story is not told in a linear way, so I did run into a couple times where I wasn’t sure at what point we were at in the story. With that said, I enjoyed the nonlinear telling of the story, it helped build the questions around what really happened to Vivek in his final days/hours. I had several ideas about might have occurred but none of them turned out to be what ultimately happened.
This book is written from multiple POV with the help of two different narrators, one male and one female. I loved listening to this on audiobook, as the Nigerian accents came to life better than I could have done reading them.
A beautifully written story that will stay with me for a while.