The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi

This is a gorgeously written story of identity, sexuality, love, grief, friendship, and the need to live the life you want, even in a country where doing so might be deadly.

Osita wished, much later, that he’d told Vivek the truth then, that he was so beautiful he made the air around him dull.

“It was impossible not to miss him when I was with her, it was as if someone had driven a shovel into my chest, then levered it out again, taking up all it could hold, leaving a screaming mess behind”.

One day in Nigeria, a woman finds the body of her son, Vivek, on the porch of their house, wrapped in a colorful fabric where it appears he has been beaten to death.

My mouth is still open and has refused to close! 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 details of the story-puzzle together. It’s not until the very end that we discover the actual circumstances of Vivek’s death, and the revelation is devastating. 

The Death of Vivek Oji is a gorgeously written story of identity, sexuality, love, grief, friendship, and the need to live the life you want, even in a country where doing so might be deadly. This book made me bawl my eyes out.

The prose wasn’t just phenomenal; the writing is so fantastic and so vivid! The structure and development of the storyline and its characters are skillfully done, and the language is simple and direct. The themes were LGBTQ, family, love, loss, grief, and finding yourself. 

Akwaeke Emezi writes the most lyrical, poignant prose-crafted novel, I totally fell in love with all the characters, and I can’t get their words out of my head. I loved this book so much and never wanted it to end.

I absolutely recommend it!