Kingston LGBTQ+ Forum

QUEER FICTION BOOK CLUB!

Our next read will be ‘The Death of Vivek Oji: Akwaeke Emezi ‘

Synopsis:

Book Description

The astonishing new novel from the author of Freshwater - Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction and the Wellcome Book Prize

Vivek Oji: utterly captivating, complex, mercurial and profoundly connected to those who come to understand him. This novel unpicks Vivek's tale. It begins with his end, his body shrouded on his mother's doorstep, and moves backwards through time to tell us the story of Vivek's life and the mystery surrounding his death. Many will see The Death of Vivek Oji as a departure from Freshwater in that this is a deeply accessible novel suffused with family life and a tragedy sits squarely at its heart, but it speaks to Akwaeke's earlier work in its call to gender fluidity and the pain of adolescence lived beyond binary constructions of sexuality. As compulsively readable as it is tender and potent, this is a fresh, engaging novel about the innocence of youth and how it clashes with culture and expectation. THE DEATH OF VIVEK OJI tells the story of a Nigerian childhood quite different from the one we might expect - Akwaeke's writing speaks to the truth of realities other than those that have already been seen.

About the Author

Akwaeke Emezi (they/them) is the author of the memoir Dear Senthuran; New York Times bestseller The Death of Vivek Oji, which was longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize; Pet, a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature; and Freshwater, which was named a New York Times Notable Book, longlisted for both the Wellcome Book Prize and the Women's Prize for Fiction and shortlisted for the PEN/Hemingway Award, the New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award, the Lambda Literary Award, and the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize. Selected as a 5 Under 35 honoree by the National Book Foundation, they are based in liminal spaces.

Purchase the book here:

See you on Zoom for our virtual pub quiz. There will be general knowledge questions, picture rounds, music rounds, mystery voices, and spot questions. No prizes, it's just for fun.

You must have a working microphone to take part.

If you would like to join, please be ready by 8pm. Once the quiz is started, the room will be locked and you may not be allowed in.

If you would like to come and meet up with some LGBTQ+ Women who enjoy a get together then do come along to our LGBTQ+ Women's Social Night.

While this is a Women’s social, we don’t want to be too prescriptive for these events as some people who are, for example, non-binary, gender-fluid or questioning may wish to come along. If this event is something you fancy, we’d love to see you there.

Don't worry if you haven't been along before this is a warm & friendly group and we all enjoy getting to know each other.

We know it can be a bit unnerving coming to an event for the first time, especially if the bar is busy, so we will always make sure the bar staff know where we are.

If you would like some introductions, ask for either Lianne or Emma and say hello.

We're looking forward to seeing you there.

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Join us for a free 5km timed run, walk or jog around Bushy Park. The event starts at 9:00 am sharp, so meet and Lewis and Chris near the coffee shop by the Diana car park in Bushy Park for 8:45 am (by the gate from the nearby car park), then we will walk over to the starting line together. Afterwards, we'll head to the Pheasantry for a coffee and some well-deserved breakfast.