Death of Vivek Oji (Emezi) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
[A] dazzling, devastating story…. A puzzle wrapped in beautiful language, raising questions of identity and loyalty that are as unanswerable as they are important.
New York Times Book Review


Remarkably assured and graceful…. Emezi has once again encouraged us to embrace a fuller spectrum of human experience.
Washington Post


Instead of getting flattened by death, Vivek becomes more vivid on each page. He glows like the sun, impossible to look at directly yet utterly charismatic. I missed him when the novel was done.
NPR


Powerful…. [A] slim book that contains as wide a range of experience as any saga—a little bit like Vivek’s brief yet gloriously expansive life.
Los Angeles Times


Electrifying.
Oprah Magazine


[A] brisk tale that whirs around the mysterious death of a young Nigerian man…. While Emezi leans on cliches…, they offer sharp observations about the cost of transphobia and homophobia, and about the limits of honesty…. Despite a few bumps, this is a worthy effort.
Publishers Weekly


(Starred Review) How [Vivek Oji] came to his untimely end is the focus of this haunting novel… [T]his achingly beautiful probe into the challenges of living fully as a nonbinary human being, is an illuminating read. —Sally Bissell, formerly with Lee Cty. Lib. Syst., Fort Myers, FL
Library Journal


(Starred Review) [A] deeply unsettling yet ultimately redeeming story about one young man’s struggles in Nigeria in a society which too often straitjackets one’s identity.… This is another knockout performance from a writer who… refuses to color within the lines.
Booklist


(Starred Review) There’s something heartbreaking about the fact that his story can only be told by others, especially since some of them never saw [Vivke] as he wanted to be seen.… Even so, the novel ends on a note of hope. Vividly written and deeply affecting.
Kirkus Reviews