Ratings59
Average rating4.2
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.
Reviews with the most likes.
oh my god i'm screaming crying throwing up in the hot tub like cassie
am i crying? i'm crying i'm a mess
family is a tough word for me to define, especially in this day and age, and i think this book really highlights exactly why. your prescribed family is one you do not choose, one that is supposed to love you unconditionally, and one you can never really shake. they raise you and give you life on their terms. but your chosen family, the friends you keep close, the ones who actually love you unconditionally, and the ones who may come and go but will alway have a special place in your heart, are the ones who accept you as you come, and thus are the family you have on your own terms. the stark contrast of these families and the effects each has on us is highlighted so beautifully in the death of vivek oji that your heart is sure to break by the end of it.
beautiful prose, amazing characters, and a story i won't forget for a long time
The Death of Vivek Oji tells the story of those touched by Vivek in his life and death. For how intense and heavy this book and its content are it was one that I didn't want to stop reading. This book is incredible. I need to pick of the rest of Emezi's work.