The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi, read by Yetide Badaki and Chukwudi Iwuji
An Impressive Production of an Unforgettable Audiobook
Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens.
Nigerian author Akwaeke Emezi’s lyrical and heartbreaking third novel, The Death of Vivek Oji, is brought to life by the extraordinarily gifted pairing of narrators Yetide Badaki and Chukwudi Iwuji. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss how Emezi’s prose comes to life in this audiobook centered around Vivek’s life and death in 1990s Nigeria. It’s an audiobook that explores grief, family, transgender identity, and societal expectations, with a vibrant third-person narration by Badaki and revelatory and powerful first-person narration by Iwuji as he portrays Vivek and his cousin, Osita. An impressive production of an unforgettable audiobook.
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