you made a fool of death with your beauty by akwaeke emezi

One must forgive Emezi for Feyi’s idealistic love story. And parts of this book do feel like a fairy tale: the insta-love between Feyi and her eventual love interest, the grandiose lifestyle that Feyi finds herself in. It's almost like a dream, a phrase Feyi repeats multiple times over the course of the story.

Emezi’s magical realist roots come through in their descriptions of the island, writing of “soaring birds of paradise,” “kaleidoscopes of butterflies,” and “monkeys peering between the leaves.” Emezi flexes their descriptive skills as the protagonist luxuriates in a Caribbean estate, eating food prepared by celebrity chefs and attending art-world parties. Their affection for the island is obvious: Pages are soaked with sensory imagery, grounding the reader in the naturalist landscape of the island. Since the bulk of Feyi’s character development and healing occurs later, it’s easy to want to skip over the first couple of chapters of the novel.īut, Emezi makes up for the slow start as soon as Feyi’s plane touches down in the Caribbean. Scenes in the first quarter of the novel feel like they are simply stalling until the “real” plot begins. The core of the story is the inconvenience of the central romance the romantic and narrative tension that arises between Feyi and her eventual love interest is what draws readers in. Nasir isn’t introduced as a character until a couple of chapters in, and their will-they, won’t-they romance feels superfluous.

The story lingers in New York for a moment too long as Emezi struggles with setting the course of Feyi’s journey. “You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty” is a novel that takes its time. But when Nasir invites her on a whirlwind trip to the Caribbean, Feyi finds herself falling for the one person that’s unequivocally hands off. It’s the kind of romance that’s perfect on paper: He’s patient, and charming, and they look good together. After an encounter at a rooftop party, Feyi finds herself drawn to the younger, impossibly handsome Nasir Blake.

It’s been five years since Feyi Adekola lost her husband in a harrowing car accident, and she’s ready to start dating again. Coming off the success of the critically acclaimed “Freshwater” and “The Death of Vivek Oji,” Nigerian author Akwaeke Emezi tackles the romance genre with their new novel, “You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty.” Ripe with paradisiacal imagery, “You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty,” is an elegant take on the modern love story, despite its slow start.

You made a fool of death with your beauty by akwaeke emezi