Publication
Faber & Faber, c2023
Collection
Status
Available
Description
"A New York Times bestselling author, National Book Award finalist, and "one of our greatest living writers" (Shondaland) reimagines the love story in this fresh and seductive novel about a young woman seeking joy while healing from loss. Feyi Adekola wants to learn how to be alive again. It's been five years since the accident that killed the love of her life and she's almost a new person now-an artist with her own studio, and sharing a brownstone apartment with her ride-or-die best friend, Joy, who insists it's time for Feyi to ease back into the dating scene. Feyi isn't ready for anything serious, but a steamy encounter at a rooftop party cascades into a whirlwind summer she could have never imagined: a luxury trip to a tropical island, decadent meals in the glamorous home of a celebrity chef, and a major curator who wants to launch her art career. She's even started dating the perfect guy, but their new relationship might be sabotaged before it has a chance by the dangerous thrill Feyi feels every time she locks eyes with the one person in the house who is most definitely off-limits. This new life she asked for just got a lot more complicated, and Feyi must begin her search for real answers. Who is she ready to become? Can she release her past and honor her grief while still embracing her future? And, of course, there's the biggest question of all-how far is she willing to go for a second chance at love? Akwaeke Emezi's vivid and passionate writing takes us deep into a world of possibility and healing, and the constant bravery of choosing love against all odds"--… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member scottjpearson
Feyi is a twenty-something-year-old widow. Her husband died one year into their marriage from a car accident. Her inner life is marked with a deep grief that no one around her seems to understand fully. With the encouragement of her best friend Joy, she begins to see other men in her home New York
She begins to hang out with a friend Nasir. He is kind, but she has trouble moving from the friend zone into the boyfriend zone. Her heart never falls for him romantically presumably because he doesn’t understand the depths of her loss. But he keeps trying to woo her and brings her to St. Thomas, his youthful home, to show off her art. There, instead of falling for Nasir, she falls for the one man that she is most forbidden to fall for. The remainder of the story contains the outworking of that romantic attachment.
This story brings out many good traits. It confidently brings forth the triumph of true love over all sorts of maladies. Like any good love tale, the details of the romance are unique while the quality is timeless. The vivid writing evoked emotional involvement in me so that I became interested in the plot. I was not familiar with the characters’ cultures described in this book, so Emezi’s portrayal taught as well as entertained me.
However, at the risk of me sounding prudish, physical sexual attraction seemed to play too heavily a role in this book. Further, Emezi relied too heavily on curse words (specifically the f-word) in the text. Those two traits limited the book’s impact on me. Despite these shortcomings, I still was eager to discover the resolution and was surprised at how it came about.
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City.She begins to hang out with a friend Nasir. He is kind, but she has trouble moving from the friend zone into the boyfriend zone. Her heart never falls for him romantically presumably because he doesn’t understand the depths of her loss. But he keeps trying to woo her and brings her to St. Thomas, his youthful home, to show off her art. There, instead of falling for Nasir, she falls for the one man that she is most forbidden to fall for. The remainder of the story contains the outworking of that romantic attachment.
This story brings out many good traits. It confidently brings forth the triumph of true love over all sorts of maladies. Like any good love tale, the details of the romance are unique while the quality is timeless. The vivid writing evoked emotional involvement in me so that I became interested in the plot. I was not familiar with the characters’ cultures described in this book, so Emezi’s portrayal taught as well as entertained me.
However, at the risk of me sounding prudish, physical sexual attraction seemed to play too heavily a role in this book. Further, Emezi relied too heavily on curse words (specifically the f-word) in the text. Those two traits limited the book’s impact on me. Despite these shortcomings, I still was eager to discover the resolution and was surprised at how it came about.
Show Less
LibraryThing member WhiskeyintheJar
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
They would both live with their choices and be the ones accountable for them.
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty was a story of grief and consequences of
Feyi's an artist, one who likes to work with blood (pig's) as her medium in art and your enjoyment of this story is probably going to depend on if first, you go to art shows, and secondly, if you're the type to hold a glass of wine and discuss pieces using words like “liminal” and “oeuvre”; I fall somewhere between glass wine holding and “wtf”. Feyi was a moving character, her pain is felt and the realness of the friendship she has with her emotionally self-destructive friend Joy (Joy likes to get into relationships with women in marriages) added sincere layers to the story. However, as Joy states at one point, Feyi is messy in her journey.
The man Feyi made eye contact with the bar, ends up becoming a f-buddy and legitimate friend. Neither wants to deepen the relationship as they don't want to share their emotional baggage. In comes Nasir, one of the f-buddy's friends and he is taken with Feyi. This could have been the mess but, enjoyably, everyone handles it maturely and while Feyi likes Nasir and feels like there could be something there, she keeps telling him she wants to take it slow. Nasir lets her dictate everything and they have a friendship that involves kissing and touching. I felt like the danger on the horizon was Feyi not being able to decide if she wanted something deeper with Nasir, when he so clearly was feeling a soulmate vibe, I thought either Feyi would be pressured to fake it or she would lead him on indefinitely. Oh no, my friends, the danger on the horizon was Daddy.
Nasir invites Feyi to his home island, where they will stay at his father's house and through his father's connections, Feyi has been invited to show some of her artwork at a show coming up on the island. It's all pooh-poohing from Feyi that she's just going as Nasir's friend but the track they're on feels very romantic love, not friendship. At thirty percent Feyi meets Nasir's famous chef father Alim and she instantly feels sexual attraction/awaking towards him.
The rest of the story is Feyi getting horny over Alim and the circumstances of events that lead to a major blow-up around the 75% mark. Feyi and Alim's relationship and the giving in is where my question of art shows and your level of depth of enjoyment is going to come into play. Are you a rube or are you above such basic thinking regarding, somewhat, societal structured relationship rules? It's not quite as cut and dry as that but even with Feyi and Alim's shared pain of losing a significant other to a sudden tragic death and Alim's past of once giving up a love for his children, I couldn't help feeling there was simple selfishness to their actions, each is very aware how hurt Nasir is going to be. I thought the author did a wonderful job getting me to even question the morality of them coming together.
I'm not sure what Alim saw in Feyi beyond a gorgeous young woman that probably made him feel younger with her passion and art. Since the story is told through her eyes, I saw more reasons for why Alim attracted Feyi, but not all necessarily great reasons. He was a rich accomplished man, that was more stable and Feyi still finding her sea legs coming out of grief, this would naturally draw her. The big thing for me, though, was that Feyi starts to lie to Joy and if she truly didn't think she was doing anything wrong, she wouldn't have felt the need to lie to her bestfriend who she, previously, told everything. I also thought when Nasir acted out on his pain, in a way that was definitely not acceptable, instead of acknowledging his emotional pain, Feyi throws the death of her husband in his face as a defensive shield to any negativity towards her actions with his father.
This story will definitely get book clubs talking, Feyi herself, her grief, and the relationships she has, the handful of secondary characters that felt incredibly full and could support their own stories, and of course the discussion of what ethics or morality, if any, should be followed with acting on one's own feelings in pursuit of romantic love. Following it's tone of not cut or dry, the story leaves readers with a still stinging and hopeful happy for now.
They would both live with their choices and be the ones accountable for them.
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty was a story of grief and consequences of
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love. In the flavor of women's and literary fiction, readers are brought into Feyi's world as she is deciding to have sex for the first time in five years with a man she makes eye contact with at a bar. From there, introspection and memories from Feyi are weaved into her present thoughts and actions and we learn that Feyi lost her highschool sweetheart husband to a car accident, why she hasn't slept with anyone in five years. It's the start of her taking her first steps out of grief.Feyi's an artist, one who likes to work with blood (pig's) as her medium in art and your enjoyment of this story is probably going to depend on if first, you go to art shows, and secondly, if you're the type to hold a glass of wine and discuss pieces using words like “liminal” and “oeuvre”; I fall somewhere between glass wine holding and “wtf”. Feyi was a moving character, her pain is felt and the realness of the friendship she has with her emotionally self-destructive friend Joy (Joy likes to get into relationships with women in marriages) added sincere layers to the story. However, as Joy states at one point, Feyi is messy in her journey.
The man Feyi made eye contact with the bar, ends up becoming a f-buddy and legitimate friend. Neither wants to deepen the relationship as they don't want to share their emotional baggage. In comes Nasir, one of the f-buddy's friends and he is taken with Feyi. This could have been the mess but, enjoyably, everyone handles it maturely and while Feyi likes Nasir and feels like there could be something there, she keeps telling him she wants to take it slow. Nasir lets her dictate everything and they have a friendship that involves kissing and touching. I felt like the danger on the horizon was Feyi not being able to decide if she wanted something deeper with Nasir, when he so clearly was feeling a soulmate vibe, I thought either Feyi would be pressured to fake it or she would lead him on indefinitely. Oh no, my friends, the danger on the horizon was Daddy.
Nasir invites Feyi to his home island, where they will stay at his father's house and through his father's connections, Feyi has been invited to show some of her artwork at a show coming up on the island. It's all pooh-poohing from Feyi that she's just going as Nasir's friend but the track they're on feels very romantic love, not friendship. At thirty percent Feyi meets Nasir's famous chef father Alim and she instantly feels sexual attraction/awaking towards him.
The rest of the story is Feyi getting horny over Alim and the circumstances of events that lead to a major blow-up around the 75% mark. Feyi and Alim's relationship and the giving in is where my question of art shows and your level of depth of enjoyment is going to come into play. Are you a rube or are you above such basic thinking regarding, somewhat, societal structured relationship rules? It's not quite as cut and dry as that but even with Feyi and Alim's shared pain of losing a significant other to a sudden tragic death and Alim's past of once giving up a love for his children, I couldn't help feeling there was simple selfishness to their actions, each is very aware how hurt Nasir is going to be. I thought the author did a wonderful job getting me to even question the morality of them coming together.
I'm not sure what Alim saw in Feyi beyond a gorgeous young woman that probably made him feel younger with her passion and art. Since the story is told through her eyes, I saw more reasons for why Alim attracted Feyi, but not all necessarily great reasons. He was a rich accomplished man, that was more stable and Feyi still finding her sea legs coming out of grief, this would naturally draw her. The big thing for me, though, was that Feyi starts to lie to Joy and if she truly didn't think she was doing anything wrong, she wouldn't have felt the need to lie to her bestfriend who she, previously, told everything. I also thought when Nasir acted out on his pain, in a way that was definitely not acceptable, instead of acknowledging his emotional pain, Feyi throws the death of her husband in his face as a defensive shield to any negativity towards her actions with his father.
This story will definitely get book clubs talking, Feyi herself, her grief, and the relationships she has, the handful of secondary characters that felt incredibly full and could support their own stories, and of course the discussion of what ethics or morality, if any, should be followed with acting on one's own feelings in pursuit of romantic love. Following it's tone of not cut or dry, the story leaves readers with a still stinging and hopeful happy for now.
Show Less
LibraryThing member rmarcin
Feyi lost her husband and best friend, Jonah, in a car accident 5 years ago. Since then, she has closed herself off to relationships, except for her best friend Joy. One night she meets an attractive man, Milan, and they immediately come together. Later, she sees his friend, Nasir, and begins
My initial thought was that this woman was deprived of love for so long that she fell for any man who was attractive. It was reckless and foolish. However, her relationship with Alim was more - but difficult, since she had dated his son. This novel reviews the difficulty that people who have lost a loved one face, and how their family accepts, or doesn't accept, the new relationship, and what the participants must do in face of animosity.
Good but not as great as The Death of Vivek Oji.
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dating him. When Nasir offers her a chance to show her art in an exhibition where his father lives, she jumps at the chance. What she didn't expect was that she would immediately be attracted to Alim. My initial thought was that this woman was deprived of love for so long that she fell for any man who was attractive. It was reckless and foolish. However, her relationship with Alim was more - but difficult, since she had dated his son. This novel reviews the difficulty that people who have lost a loved one face, and how their family accepts, or doesn't accept, the new relationship, and what the participants must do in face of animosity.
Good but not as great as The Death of Vivek Oji.
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LibraryThing member quondame
Feyi, beautiful, talented, and for now financially secure is ready to engage in life five years after the accident which killed her young husband. Visiting the island home of the second young man who catches her attention she is overwhelmed with attraction for his father. Credit is due for
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employing a substantial reason for keeping two people who are hot for each other apart and for solid basis for their compatibility. But the safely in the past same-sex relationships of the main pair, and the ever so perfect setting and the unbelievable amount of available time they have remove this tale as far from reality as Bridgerton. The explorations of grief and love and doing what is right for you don't come off as shallow, but the perfectness of the setting and cast in which they are explored does. Show Less
LibraryThing member arlenadean
Title: You Made a Fool of Death with your Beauty
Author: Akwaeke Emezi
Publisher: Atria Books
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:
"You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty" by Akwaeke Emezi
My Sentiments:
'You Made A Fool of Death With Your Beauty' was quite a read that featured Feyi, who had
Since these two Feyi and Nasir were just friends...he wanted more, but would that be as the story continues? So the story will end up being a 'love story within a love story,' Will Feyi find love after losing her husband? And who will it be with, Nasir or his ...?
You, the reader, must pick up this good read to see how this author brings out this romance. Be prepared for 'twists, turns, death, family, grief, shock, pain, healing, growth, courage, love, and drama' that will leave one shaking their head and saying, wow!
Author: Akwaeke Emezi
Publisher: Atria Books
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:
"You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty" by Akwaeke Emezi
My Sentiments:
'You Made A Fool of Death With Your Beauty' was quite a read that featured Feyi, who had
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lost her husband in a car accident and, after five years, is trying to get back into the swing of things [dating] with the help of her best friend, Joy. But will this be a good thing for Feyi as she starts going out with Milan, and after that doesn't work out, she gets involved as friends with Nasir, who happens to be friends with Milan? Everything was going well as Feyi and Nasir were just friends, and he offered her a trip that dealt with her being an artist and staying at his father's place. Milan Blake was an art collector and famous Michelin star chef place, who lived out of the country...on an island.Since these two Feyi and Nasir were just friends...he wanted more, but would that be as the story continues? So the story will end up being a 'love story within a love story,' Will Feyi find love after losing her husband? And who will it be with, Nasir or his ...?
You, the reader, must pick up this good read to see how this author brings out this romance. Be prepared for 'twists, turns, death, family, grief, shock, pain, healing, growth, courage, love, and drama' that will leave one shaking their head and saying, wow!
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LibraryThing member KallieGrace
This should not have worked for me, I hate the premise of falling for the boyfriend's dad, but Emezi made it work. Loving again after loss, grief, and complex family relationships are all treated carefully in the beautiful prose of this book.
LibraryThing member Okies
I don't know what to make of this. I'm only 10% into the audiobook and I'm not sure why I'm not falling in love with this exuberant romance or with this renowned author, whom I haven't read before.
Is it the contrast between the alluring Feyi and the surrounding characters - flatmate Joy doesn't
Bahni Turpin is the narrator and although her reading is expert, it doesn't seem to match to me, but I think it might be too early for this comment to carry weight.
The author also puts a certain blunt, uncouth language in the mouths of the characters, that prevents me feeling any attachment to them. Obviously ..
....I can't quite describe why this didn't appeal to me, only to say that it didn't appeal to me.
I probably won't continue.
Is it the contrast between the alluring Feyi and the surrounding characters - flatmate Joy doesn't
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appeal to me at all, and the boyfriends I've met so far - Milan, Nasir - are not allowed to shine. Bahni Turpin is the narrator and although her reading is expert, it doesn't seem to match to me, but I think it might be too early for this comment to carry weight.
The author also puts a certain blunt, uncouth language in the mouths of the characters, that prevents me feeling any attachment to them. Obviously ..
....I can't quite describe why this didn't appeal to me, only to say that it didn't appeal to me.
I probably won't continue.
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LibraryThing member bookwyrmm
Emotional roller-coaster of a character-driven novel about finding love after profound grief.
Language
Original language
English
ISBN
9780571372685
Original publication date
2022