Book Reco # 23: The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi

A coming-of-age story of a boy who struggles to find himself against an unstable political background in Nigeria.

Nov 15, 2023

Hi there friend,

I have heard the quote “I have lived a thousand lives and I've loved a thousand loves. I've walked on distant worlds and seen the end of time. Because I read.” by George R.R. Martin so many times before but it didn’t truly hit home until I read The Death of Vivek Oji. In the book, we weave through the daily life of people living in southeastern Nigeria and I truly lived through each one of them (the main characters, that is).

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 stars

The Death of Vivek Oji starts with a death and initially kind of plays as a murder mystery book. We then follow how various characters deal with Vivek’s death, especially his grief-stricken mother who tries to solve the mystery of his death. The book alternates between the present and the past and we are given a glimpse of who Vivek was when he lived. As a child, he grows up with his cousin Osita, high-spirited and confident but guards a private life. Into adulthood, Vivek battles a personal crisis but finds solace in his friendship with the daughters of the Nigerwives, foreign women married to Nigerian men. Then, we discover how Vivek died and whether he truly lived.

But it’s not really a murder mystery book. It’s a novel of grief, friendships, sexuality, and self-identity. It’s greatest strength is in the writing - fluid, visceral and poetic. The characters come alive through Emezi’s beautiful prose. While they aren’t described much physically, they come alive with their grief and the actions they do with their grief. Take for example, Vivek’s Aunt Mary, dull with grief after several miscarriages she becomes a religious fanatic. With this description she becomes alive in my head as a persistent and irrational woman. One can also dissect the many layers of this book - the characters, the political back drop, the writing, and the daily life in Nigeria.

Probably my favorite part of this book is the heavy inclusion of Igbo language and culture. I felt like I lived and spoke like Vivek and his friends as I read how they live their daily life.

The Death of Vivek Oji is a tender, sad, and beautiful book. With that, I’ll leave you with these quotes.

“Somewhere, you see, in the river of time, I am already alive.”

“Fresh starts were good; that separateness was where you could feel yourself, where you could learn who you were apart from everyone else.”

“His grief was chasing him from room to room, begging him to spend some time alone with it.”

“You are crying,” she said. It was only then that Osita noticed the tears slipping into his ears. It was evening and the light was leaving. “It’s raining,” he told her, slurring his words.

She laughed. “It’s not raining.”

“It’s raining inside me,” he said and a wave if darkness took over.”

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