A Real Contender for Best Book of the 21st Century
The New York Times had their fun with their top books of the 21st century, but oddly enough, they never asked me to submit my ballot. Wild, I know! I’m sure they just lost my number. But because I didn’t want to miss out on the fun, I put together a list of my own top books of the 21st century. Because a book recommendation isn’t fun unless you tell everyone about it, now I’m going to share my picks with you.
Believe it or not, I have already shared some of my favorite books of the 21st century with you, including The Last House on Needless Street and Transcendent Kingdom. Others have already been mentioned by other really smart readers, including White Smoke, Such a Fun Age, and The Time Traveler’s Wife. But that leaves five more from my top ten that y’all might not even know about yet, and I can’t live with that on my conscience.
Sure, you could have gone to the list makers at the Times, but you came here instead. So I’m going to deliver. Here’s part one (of five) of my favorite books of the 21st century.
The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi
I feel like I say this all the time, so if you’ve ever listened to me talk, you might have heard me say this before. But I’m going to say it anyway. I’m so enamored with author Akwaeke Emezi’s range. Every book I’ve read of theirs has been so different in terms of genre, themes, and subject matter. Still, no matter what direction Emezi goes with, they absolutely nail it every time. The Death of Vivek Oji, however, will always be my favorite, and it’s also one of my favorite books of the 21st century. This story was so heartbreaking and so compelling. Back in 2020 (phew, that was ages ago), I named this my favorite book of the year. Now here we are in 2024, and I can’t stop thinking about it.
The Death of Vivek Oji begins with tragedy. From the start, I knew this book would break me, but I could not put it down. In a small town in southeastern Nigeria, a mother opens her door to a horrifying surprise on her doorstep: the dead body of her son Vivek Oji wrapped in colorful fabric. As Vivek’s mother tries to unravel the events that led to this moment, we get accounts from the people who loved Vivek and were the closest to him. As we look back at his life and try to make sense of his heartbreaking death, we see how everyone understood Vivek—and misunderstood him—in different ways.
The Death of Vivek Oji is a beautiful story of family, friendship, and loss. Yes, throughout the story, we are looking into the events that lead to this character’s untimely death. But if you come into this story hoping for a murder mystery—or if you’re coming into this story hoping for easy answers—you might need to readjust your expectations. There are mysteries revealed and twists and surprises uncovered, but not in the way you might expect. This is definitely more of a literary fiction, character-driven type of story. Even so, this is the type of novel I couldn’t imagine not loving. Even if you’re not normally a lit fic kinda person, give this one a try.
This book is an easy pick for my favorites of the century. I know a lot of you are probably also out right now writing up your ballots for your favorite books from this century so far. But I beg you! Before you finalize that all-important list, make sure you read this book!
And, hey, if you do want to share your lists with me, my inbox is open.
Happy weekend reading, bibliophiles! Feel free to follow me on Instagram @emandhercat, and check out my other newsletters, The Fright Stuff and Book Radar!
