"They burned down the market on the day Vivek Oji died".. and so starts the story of Vivek, of his death, of the troubles his mother go through, to find out how he died after his body was thrown out outside her house. And you would want to turn the pages hurriedly too if only to know who Vivek was and why his death matters. After all, this story is not about his death but rather about his life -- the kind of life he lived and the impact he left behind on the people in his life.

Vivek's lifeless body arrives at his mother's, Kavita, doorstep unaccompanied - without any note or anyone - covered only with an Akwete cloth. His family wasn't prepared for that. His mother goes into hysterical searches - from asking everyone from family to his friends - in her quest to find the truth of Vivek's death. But eventually, it leads to other truths about her son's identity which she willfully ignored throughout his life when all the signs were there!

At the core, Vivek's story is a mystery of his death, but Emezi has woven a story around human grief and loss, while tactfully layering other themes of identity, sexuality, love, friendship, loyalty and reincarnation(!). These themes are carried around by the different techniques of narration that are, quite frankly, powerful.

Emezi gives us not one but multiple povs - the point of view of different people in Vivek's life - along with the pov of Vivek. Vivek is dead but through his narration, Emezi presents him as a resurrecting ghost that came back from the dead into the readers' minds and who is always lurking around his family and friends watching their grief and giving his two cents while foreshadowing the events leading up to his death. It is quite a clever technique used by Emezi, I must say, using first and third-person narratives to give readers the illusion that Vivek is always there with us, listening to us.

The personal bond between Vivek and Osita, Vivek’s cousin, was perfectly captured in the prose. Osita's friendship, their separation and his despair over Vivek's death, all were some heartbreaking things to see, and so were the moments of Vivek's life with Juju and Elizabeth, his friends. These relations give a well-rounded picture of the tragedy that hit them because this was a family Vivek built out of trust and companionship, not blood. They were Vivek's safe space, always there to protect him, to provide him with the space he needed to explore his sexuality and identity.

Then there was Vivek's constant struggle to break the mould that society and his family wanted to fit him in. From the way he looked to the dizzy spells that he got, to his behaviour, everything was seen against him. Yet Vivek was the prettiest, most precious thing who was at times tender and fragile but fierce too.

This is a coming-of-age story, for sure, but it is also a narration of the community of once immigrants, now Half-caste, Nigerwives, and their struggle to belong. it is the struggle between two clans and increasing tensions. This story will leave you with tender hope and an aching heart, but a lasting impression.

I entered into the brilliant world of Akwaeke Emezi's writing through The Death of Vivek Oji and it is a world that I want to get myself immersed into.