You Made A Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi Review

 Hi Foreverbookers,

How are you all? I hope you’re well!

I’ve just finished reading “You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty” by Akwaeke Emezi and I quite enjoyed it. I thought it started off really slowly but certainly by the 100 page mark I was invested. The book tells the story of Feyi, a young girl who we first see on a night out at a party with her best friend, Joy. I liked Joy. I thought she ways entertaining to read about. Joy is a lesbian who we see glimpses of throughout. She’s often either on the page or a phone call away giving Feyi advice. The novel doesn’t focus on her, though. On this night out Feyi has sex in a bathroom with Milan, a guy she just hooks up with. That’s basically the first scene in the book. From there, we see her meet Milan’s best friend, Nasir. Nasir and Feyi start a relationship with a ‘friendship.’ Where does this go? You’ll need to read to find out. 

“You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty” is more character led than a plot led. Not much happens in the plot because it’s contemporary fiction. The characters are really what develop the story. One thing that I don’t understand is what the title has to do with the overall plot. When I bought the book last year, I bought it because of the blurb, not the title. After all, it isn’t about being beautiful, to me anyway.

I read “You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty” for one readathon, which was Reading Rivalry. In July the theme was Barbie, because of the new movie that’s just released. The prompt I read “You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty” for was Pink Cover, because my exclusive, signed Waterstones hardcover has mainly a pink cover.

TRIGGER WARNINGS for sex, swearing and trauma. There are a few sex scenes sprinkled throughout. The F-bomb is used soooooooo much, like over 200 times and trauma is a theme that runs throughout the story.

Spoilers Below

“Milan was the first person Feyi had fucked since the accident.

They hooked up in a bathroom at a Memorial Day house party in Bushwick, with Feyi’s glass of prosecco spilling into the sink and Milan’s large hands sliding behind her things as he lifted her onto the bathroom counter.”

The “accident” was a car accident, where Feyi’s husband, Jonah died. This accident is referenced a lot in the story. I don’t think it needed to be referenced as much as it was to be honest. The book could have been quite a bit shorter if some of the references of it were removed. “You Made A Fool of Death with Your Beauty” focuses on trauma and getting over or working through it, so I can see why it was needed, it was just a little too much, I thought. Feyi and Milan have sex as I said above. The novel doesn’t shy away from sex or swearing. There were SOOOO many uses of the F-bomb, like over 200 as I referenced above. I’ve never read another book that uses it so much and I’ve read A LOT of books!!! Feyi and/or her friends, and characters in the book used it every other page it felt like!

“Nasir slid next to her. “Milan says you’re an artist?” His cologne was a faint musk, slithering notes of spice.

“Yeah,” she replied. It still felt weird to call that her job, even though it had been years now. “I make things.”

“That’s a great way to put it.” Nasir angled his head toward her and smiled. “I’m a bit of a collector myself. Just starting out, but I’d love to see your work if you’re open. You got any shows coming up?”

His hair shone in tight black curls, and Feyi tried not to notice how his shirt stretched over his chest.

“Not at the moment. I’ve done a few group shows, and I had my first solo show in Boston last year.”

“Oh, you from there?”

Feyi made a face. “Not really. My parents teach in Cambridge.”

“Well.” Nasir reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. “Maybe we should set up a studio visit sometime?” He handed her a business card, and Feyi took it gingerly, surprised at the weight of the embossed black paper. It had only his name and phone number on it.

“Oh, you’re serious, huh?” she said.

He laughed. “I’m always serious.”

Damn, she thought, even his laugh was sexy. His eyes crinkled up at the corners, and as he stared at her, Feyi reminded herself that she was there with Milan, not to check out his homeboys.”

After meeting Milan, when they go out again, they meet his friend Nasir in a club. This is where the true story starts. Nasir wants to know what Feyi does as a job. She tells him she’s an artist and he tells her he’d like to see her studio. Feyi needs to remind herself that she’s SUPPOSED to be at the club with Milan, not to flirt with his friends! It turns out that Milan doesn’t care about her flirting, though. That’s when Nasir and Feyi start ‘dating.’ They don’t actually ‘date’ but I believe that’s what you’re meant to think will happen. Feyi takes Nasir to her studio, as a date, and he’s interested in what she creates. 

“I like you,” he said. “But don’t think I didn’t notice you avoiding the question about your work.”

“Technically, you didn’t ask a question about my work.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Touché. What do you make? Painting, sculpture, collage?”

“Eh.” Feyi cut into her duck, and a caper rolled to the edge of her plate, small and dark and green. It felt odd to be talking about her work on a date. She was used to keeping it in a whole separate world. “Little bit of everything.”

A stiff shirt splashed in dry brown, the jagged tears. A gold ring spinning. Another, then another, then another. It was better if it all stayed in that other world.

“You’ll see it one day,” she lied. “It was always better to see the work than hear about it.”

“Can’t wait,” he replied. “I’m still down to do that studio visit if you’re up for it.”

Feyi paused, startled. He wasn’t supposed to do that, keep following up like he meant it.

“How about next week?” he continued. “Where’s your studio?”

“Brooklyn,” she replied automatically. “Not far from my place.”

Nasir smiled. “It’s a date.”

Feyi uses blood in her art as a symbol of life and death because of what happened to Jonah. Nasir is very forward as a character. This was one of the many things I didn’t like about him. He always wanted everything to be about him and him alone. There was no space for anyone else. 

“If Nasir was hurting her, then he was patient and he was very good at it. Feyi had stayed lost for a very long time, though. She had no intention of being found.”

Feyi doesn’t want to be found. She’s used to being lost. Does this change by the end of the novel? You’ll need to read to find out!

The part that enjoyed the most about the novel was when Feyi and Nasir took a trip to the fictional Caribbean island where the majority of “You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty” is set. I enjoyed reading about the island setting. This is where Feyi meets Alim, Nasir’s father and a famous chef. Alim is in his forties and Feyi is in her twenties. Their first meeting alone is in a midnight garden. Here, they discuss loss and grief. Alim lost his wife, Marisol, Nasir and his sister Lorraine’s mother, years ago, and of course, Feyi lost her husband so they first bond over this. From there, the bond grows and they are attracted to each other more and more. I found Lorraine to be very unaccepting of Feyi. When she finds out that Feyi and Alim are in a relationship, she doesn’t welcome the news! She’s very much against it.

When Feyi gets contracted to do an art piece for Pooja, a friend of Alim’s, she’s more than happy to create it. Especially when she learns that Pooja also went through something similar to her and traumatic in losing her daughter, like she lost Jonah. Nasir has to leave to go and do some work, so Feyi stays with Alim alone. Of course, this was my favourite, favourite part of the novel. I love forbidden romance especially with an age gap and a family drama! I loved the parts where Feyi and Alim were alone together. I thought the author really captured the feelings of both characters. The longing between them was fantastic to read!

“Alim raised his head and looked at her, his pupils dilated, ink filling his gray eyes into black, widening with a hunger that both terrified and elated Feyi, rippling up the fine hairs of her arm and the back of her neck.

There is was, open and exposed, finally.

Desire as deep as midnight, greedy as the ocean, changing his face, changing everything. Feyi released his hand, scraps of foam clinging to his damp fingers, and Buika kept singing as if nothing had happened.

Feyi wasn’t sure how she was expecting Alim to react, but it took her wholly by surprise when he lifted his fingers to his mouth and tasted the rest of the foam, never taking his eyes off her. Blood rushed to her face, and she reached for her ginger drink, dropping her gaze. Had he done that on purpose, to be suggestive? He was turning back to the stove to causally, and Feyi took the time to stare at the back of his neck, the tapered cut of salt-and-pepper hair fading into his skin. She wanted to press her lips to it, and being on the other side of the table suddenly felt very lonely, like it was a canyon between them, a lifetime.

You always fall for the impossible, Jonah used to tell her.”

This is the moment that Feyi and Alim truly connect on a sexual level. They first connected emotionally when they met in their midnight garden. They don’t have sex here, that comes later but boy, when it happens it was perfect to read! I LOVED it!!!

Overall then, in my opinion “You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty” is a great book. In my opinion it’s a little slow to begin with but when Feyi and Nasir get to the island, I really did not want to put the book down, especially after the longing moments between Feyi and Alim, which were written perfectly. That’s why I’m giving “You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty” 4 stars.

Stand by for my next review, coming soon!