Title: The Death of Vivek Oji
Author: Akwaeke Emezi
Published By: Kachifo Limited under its Farafina Imprint
Release Date: 2020
Genre: Fiction, Coming-of-age
Format: Paperback
Length: 263 pages
Synopsis
They burned down the market on the day Vivek Oji died.
One afternoon, a mother opens her front door to find the length of her son’s body stretched out on the veranda, swaddled in akwete material, his head on her welcome mat. The Death of Vivek Oji transports us to the day of Vivek’s birth, the day his grandmother Ahunna died. It is the story of an overprotective mother and a distant father, and the heart-wrenching tale of one family’s struggle to understand their child, just as Vivek learns to recognize himself.
Teeming with unforgettable characters whose lives have been shaped by Vivek’s gentle and enigmatic spirit, it shares with us a Nigerian childhood that challenges expectations. This novel, and its celebration of the innocence and optimism of youth will touch all those who embrace it.
Review
This book is HEAVY!
I don’t know why it has taken me this long to put up a review of this book but hey, life happens.
I read this some months ago and I had some thoughts on it. I shared in my review on my YouTube channel (which I recorded 4 score years ago btw but did not put up for whatever reason known to me🙄 )I have now put up the review.
I enjoyed it and finished in a couple of sittings. I loved that the book is set in eastern Nigeria with Nigerians deep-set in traditional beliefs and cultures as the major characters. The dominant themes explored in the book were also issues that need to be discussed in the Nigerian society, but in my opinion, we’re not ready for that yet. But hey, this literary piece is out there and that counts for something
Watch my full review on this lovely book by clicking on the video below:
Rachel Eyo 