‘It was the clearest terror and pleasure I had ever known.’
Have you ever wondered what it felt like finishing a novel before it was dubbed a “Classic?‘It was the clearest terror and pleasure I had ever known.’
Have you ever wondered what it felt like finishing a novel before it was dubbed a “Classic?” Upon turning the final page in Akwaeke Emezi’s The Death of Vivek Oji I had the feeling I was finishing something that deserves to be important for a long time and could likely be a modern Classic. The follow up to their incredibly imaginative and important 2018 novel Freshwater--which set such a high bar I didn’t think possible to clear--and the wonderful 2019 YA novel Pet, Emezi returns with a bittersweet and powerfully moving story set in their home of Nigeria and follows the lives of characters who, for a variety of reasons, don’t quite fit in. Central to these lives is Vivek, whose death casts a long shadow over the novel as Emezi deftly weaves past and a post-death present to expertly tease tension and narrative reveals to absolute perfection. With most of the story taking place in 1998 surrounding the death of dictator Sani Abacha Emezi entwines Nigerian social issues with their characters awakenings of identity in a novel so moving, so exquisitely crafted it deserves to become a modern Classic.
‘Osita wished, much later, that he'd told Vivek the truth then, that he was so beautiful he made the air around him dull.’
Akwaeke Emezi has an undeniable gift for prose and storytelling. Their language is so fluid and remarkable, like the best of poetry, and is endlessly inviting. This is a book that can be dissected and give way to voluminous discourse while still being accessible and understood by any reader, a trait the most lauded of popular American classics tend to share. This is a book that is difficult to set down once opened and one that is brave and bold by pointedly addressing exactly what it sets out to say in the most beautiful ways possible.
The story rotates between a third-person narrative to first person chapters from the perspective of Vivek and the cousin Osita, while also moving back and forth across the timeline. Emezi has a finely tuned instrument of storytelling here, moving the narrative like a champion chess player positions their pieces on a board to construct the perfect checkmate. Vivek’s death is not a spoiler, it is on the cover and is mentioned in the opening line of the novel, but the picture of it is incomplete and slowly washes into view towards a total completion by the end of the novel. This is a very visual and visceral novel and it would be no surprise if readers recall moments more like a scene from a film than words on a page. The second chapter begins with the line ‘If this story was a stack of photographs,’ establishing the visual sense that will permeate this novel, as well as foreshadowing the importance of photographs that will become a crux in the narrative. Photographs, it would seem, are the Chekov’s gun of this story.
Returning to the language and perfect prose for a moment, it should be noted that this is not an American novel, nor is it meant to be. Emezi retains a strong inclusion of Igbo culture through the words and syntax in the character's speech. Without hindering understanding, this reminds readers that they are observers, this is for them to watch and appreciate but as an outsider. This is a good thing, and it really works here. There are obvious parallels that can be connected and a surging empathy to these characters, but the distance reminds the reader that they can accept/embrace/support others as separate from themselves and stand in unity without being part of it. It builds empathy by caring about something outside of yourself and not colonizing every narrative to be about you, while still giving all the fulfilling experiences a reader has when finding themselves in a novel. I found this to be one of the aspects I respected most in this novel, the way it created a space for itself and established healthy boundaries for it while still welcoming the reader in.
‘“You’re safe,” he murmured. “It’s just me. It’s just you and me.”’
I predict this will be a staple of book clubs for years to come, particularly as it highlights very urgent and important themes of sexuality, gender identity and the way resistance to progress is exponentially harmful. Here in the United States, the murder of trans folk is a major issue, and 91% of those murdered are Black trans women. This is the sort of violence normalized in society that the books speaks against. The main story is inseparable from the historical and context in which it is set, which reveals a lot through their juxtaposition. Set in 1998, Vivek is brought home from University for unmentioned reasons--likely related to a perceived mental health issue--on the day that Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha died. ‘It’s a new day for Nigeria,’ Chika, Vivek’s father says, ‘A new day...for all of us.’ There is a striking parallel between Vivek’s feeling of freedom to embody their identity that grows with the acceptance of close friends and the hopes for freedom as Nigeria would hold their first democratic election after 16 years of military dictatorship. In the peripheries of the novel are social issues, such as violence against gay of ‘non-masculine’ men, riots occuring in the marketplace, and--as examined by a brief dispute between two side-characters--a tension between Nigerian Christians and Muslims, particularly over a fear of Muslim refugees that have settled in the North.
The political landscape becomes a minefield for Emezi’s characters to navigate as they embrace who they are in an ever changing world. The characters are all part of a community family unit, the children of the Nigerwives: women from outside Nigeria who have married Nigerian men. Vivek’s own mother is from India, for example. Girls who are not fully Nigerian are made to cut their hair short in primary school, and hair and hair length becomes a critical motif in this novel, particularly for Vivek who has grown their hair down to their waist. Emezi depicts a strong, obdurate patriarchal society where men openly have affairs or have a second family in hopes of having a male heir. Amidst these conditions, the youth are growing into their own and adopting far more inclusive and progressive lifestyles than their parents. There is a stark contrast between the outdated beliefs of the parents that view any perceived aberration as a sign of failing mental health--or demonic possession as evinced by a particularly horrific moment when Vivek’s aunt brings him to church to have him physically assaulted by the preacher in order to ‘drive the demon’s out of him’--and the youth who are far more accepting. Vivek is immediately embraced by the girls he grew up with in childhood and stays in their homes because his own family cannot accept his identity.
They were girlfriends, yes, but who could they even go and say that to? And if you didn’t tell other people, was it real or was it just something the two of you were telling yourselves?
The youth reject the established norm of heterosexuality as the only option and are quick to embrace fluidity of pronouns. They see the way their parents way of thinking is not only erasing their identities, but also causing them grief and existential pain. If they cannot be accepted and would be cast aside like trash, be it for their sexuality or simply for being a daughter in a patriarchy that emphasizes value on sons, how can they come to terms with themselves and exist? ‘You’re keeping me in a cage,’ Vivek shouts at their father, an outcry specific to being kept indoors lest they bring shame upon the family but also a cry for their entire generation restricted by outdated principals. Despite the violence and sadness that overtakes the narrative in an impending death you know if coming, there is hope in the youth for a brighter, more humane future.
The Death of Vivek Oji is a marvelous achievement and one that, along with their astonishingly good first novel Freshwater, should make Emezi a widespread name. For a novel coming in just under 250 pages, this delivers an intricately plotted and nuanced story with a depth that will keep your mind abuzz long after you finish. It has all the hallmarks of greatness that deserves to keep it circulating for many years to come and an intoxicating bittersweetness that will keep it in your heart just as long.
s.penkevich
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