(Reviewed by JD Jung)
#CommissionsEarned
I must admit that I’m not a romantic, and I very seldom read romance novels. That said, You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Nigerian author Akwaeke Emezi takes this genre to a very real place, which I appreciate.
Twenty-nine-year-old artist Feyi Adekola relishes in the anonymity of living in Brooklyn. Widowed five years earlier, her art expresses the pain she still feels from losing her husband. She’s not ready for a relationship, let alone how to navigate her life.
She meets a young man, Nasir, originally from the Islands. Though she doesn’t reciprocate his feelings for her, she agrees to travel with him to his home to promote her art. What he doesn’t tell her is that his father is none other than the well-known two-star Michelin chef, Alim Blake. The starstruck Feyi falls for Nasir’s relatively young father, and you’ll have to guess what happens and the conflicting emotions that arise.
The descriptions are vivid, from the lushness of the landscape and food to the painful components of her art pieces. I particularly enjoyed the supporting characters like her roommate Joy. She is a lesbian who falls for married women, that is, women married to men. I wanted to know more about her and her choices. There’s a tease near the end in which I thought we may learn more about her, but we don’t. Maybe in a sequel?
Since I can’t speak for fans of the romance genre, I will just say that You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty is an intriguing novel that explores love, grief, and figuring out one’s next stage in life.
