In the Margins: You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty

The second book of the semester is You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi.

A young widow starts dating the perfect guy, but their new relationship might be sabotaged before it has a chance by the overwhelming desire Feyi feels every time she locks eyes with the one person who is most definitely off-limits—his father. Can she release her past and honor her grief while still embracing her future? And, of course, there’s the biggest question of all—how far is she willing to go for a second chance at love?

More about Akwaeke Emezi:

Akwaeke Emezi is a storyteller and artist centering indigenous Black realities and radical possibilities with the philosophy that re-indigenization is essential for liberation. Their work is deeply rooted in the metaphysics of Black spirit, utilizing indigenous ontologies as a lens to focus on embodiment, ritual, and rememory. They are based in liminal spaces.

A National Book Foundation '5 Under 35' honoree, Emezi was born in Umuahia and raised in Aba, Nigeria. They were named one of The New Hollywood Guard: Writers by Vanity Fair and their debut romance novel YOU MADE A FOOL OF DEATH WITH YOUR BEAUTY (Atria Books) was a 2023 NAACP Image Award nominee. The book rights were sold in a seven-figure deal to Amazon Studios, with Emezi executive producing alongside Michael B. Jordan's Outlier Society. FOOL OF DEATH was also a Good Morning America Buzz Pick, a Sunday Times Top Five bestseller in the UK, shortlisted for Foyles Book of the Year, and named a Best Romance of 2022 by the New York Times and Washington Post. Emezi's debut poetry collection CONTENT WARNING: EVERYTHING was published by Copper Canyon Press in April 2022 and their sophomore YA novel BITTER was published in February 2022 by Knopf Books. Their debut memoir DEAR SENTHURAN (Riverhead Books) was awarded the 2022 Stonewall Book Award for Nonfiction.

More about You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty:

Feyi Adekola wants to learn how to be alive again.
It’s been five years since the accident that killed the love of her life and she’s almost a new person now—an artist with her own studio, and sharing a brownstone apartment with her ride-or-die best friend, Joy, who insists it’s time for Feyi to ease back into the dating scene. Feyi isn’t ready for anything serious, but a steamy encounter at a rooftop party cascades into a whirlwind summer she could have never imagined: a luxury trip to a tropical island, decadent meals in the glamorous home of a celebrity chef, and a major curator who wants to launch her art career.
She’s even started dating the perfect guy, but their new relationship might be sabotaged before it has a chance by the dangerous thrill Feyi feels every time she locks eyes with the one person in the house who is most definitely off-limits. This new life she asked for just got a lot more complicated, and Feyi must begin her search for real answers. Who is she ready to become? Can she release her past and honor her grief while still embracing her future? And, of course, there’s the biggest question of all—how far is she willing to go for a second chance at love? ​
Akwaeke Emezi’s vivid and passionate writing takes us deep into a world of possibility and healing, and the constant bravery of choosing love against all odds.

“A love story like no other, and this one…will have you gripped from page one.” —Vogue
“An unabashed ode to living with, and despite, pain and mortality.” —The New York Times Book Review
A New York Times bestselling author, National Book Award finalist, and “one of our greatest living writers” (Shondaland) reimagines the love story in this “riveting and emotional exploration of grief and taking a second chance on love” (PopSugar).

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher Boston University Howard Thurman Center