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Hail Mary: Stories – A Culturally Layered Collection About Nine Nigerian Women Confronting Traditional Expectations
In this debut story collection, British-Nigerian arts and culture writer Funmi Fetto reveals the complexities of African diasporic womanhood, building worlds in which African women write and rewrite the narratives that shape their existence.
From a Nigerian migrant worker conned out of her earnings in London to a recently widowed housewife rediscovering her suppressed African heritage, a long-suffering wife who poisons her husband to a woman whose family secrets endanger her upcoming marriage, Hail Mary illuminates the private lives of Nigerian women in ten searing stories of longing and belonging, survival and triumph, death and rebirth each featuring a very different Nigerian woman at a crossroads.
From a Nigerian migrant worker conned out of her earnings in London to a recently widowed housewife rediscovering her suppressed African heritage, a long-suffering wife who poisons her husband to a woman whose family secrets endanger her upcoming marriage, Hail Mary illuminates the private lives of Nigerian women in ten searing stories of longing and belonging, survival and triumph, death and rebirth each featuring a very different Nigerian woman at a crossroads.
176 pages, Hardcover
Published April 8, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
May 1, 2025
Funmi Fetto’s debut story collection, Hail Mary – Stories, is a fierce, unflinching, and emotionally intelligent work that burrows into the depths of diasporic Nigerian womanhood. With ten emotionally charged, socially resonant stories, Fetto not only introduces us to richly imagined women at the edge of personal precipices but also carves out space for African women to reclaim the narratives too often flattened or ignored.
Much like the quote that opens the book—“Definitions belong to the definer, not the defined” by Toni Morrison—Fetto redefines who gets to tell the story, how it’s told, and what truth it holds. Her prose is exacting, confident, and suffused with emotional clarity. This is a collection that bruises and heals in equal measure.
Overview: Ten Stories, Ten Crossroads
Set across London, Lagos, and liminal emotional spaces, Hail Mary – Stories offers ten narratives that revolve around Nigerian women facing personal reckonings—sometimes subtle, sometimes seismic.
These stories confront themes of:
- Religious repression and spiritual rebellion
- Migration and displacement
- Love as survival versus love as liberation
- Motherhood, abandonment, and inherited trauma
- Sexual agency and emotional betrayal
While each piece can stand alone, they are best read together, like shards of a mirror that together reflect a fractured but vivid portrait of modern African womanhood.
Writing Style: Unapologetic and Atmospheric
Fetto writes with a journalist’s economy and a poet’s sensibility. Her prose is tactile and emotionally resonant, carrying the reader through each story with a voice that feels both ancient and urgent. In stories like 2 Samuel 6:14 and Unspoken, her tone sways between sorrow and satire. She crafts layered interior lives through voice, pacing, and vivid detail, allowing each protagonist to claim her space—even if only temporarily—in a world that often denies it.
There’s a maturity to Fetto’s narrative approach. She avoids didacticism, instead allowing emotional truths to emerge through accumulation rather than exposition. Her narrative restraint is powerful: what’s not said is often just as telling as what is.
Key Stories That Stand Out
1. 2 Samuel 6:14
A deeply layered exploration of faith, domestic abuse, and stolen autonomy. Ifeoma’s secret hope for escape, juxtaposed with her husband's pastoral tyranny, ends with poetic justice that redefines divine deliverance.
2. Unspoken
A masterclass in emotional withholding. The protagonist Amaka’s rejection of a marriage proposal is both quiet and cataclysmic. Fetto explores trauma's long reach, showing how unresolved histories haunt present choices.
3. Housegirl
A tale of class mobility that peels back layers of internalized prejudice. It critiques both Western elitism and diasporic self-erasure through a subversive domestic lens.
4. Dodo is Yoruba for Fried Plantain
This story wittily explores generational disconnects, unspoken cultural expectations, and the tenderness of food as identity. Fetto’s voice here is light yet incisive.
5. The Tail of a Small Lizard
A magical-realist tinged tale that ends the collection with both mysticism and metaphor. The lizard is more than a creature—it’s history, legacy, and the haunting embodiment of what is left unsaid.
Themes: Power, Performance, and Persistence
Fetto's stories interrogate systems of oppression—religious, cultural, patriarchal—with unflinching precision. But she never allows the women in her stories to become symbols or victims alone. Their contradictions, their compromises, their rage, and their small acts of rebellion are treated with reverence.
Major recurring themes include:
- Spiritual Authority vs. Personal Faith: Several characters grapple with religious institutions that were meant to protect but instead perpetuate harm.
- Sexual Reclamation: From Ifeoma's affair with a younger man to women seeking pleasure without apology, Fetto presents desire as both a political and personal act.
- The Quiet Violence of Respectability: Many of her women suffer under cultural expectations—to be good daughters, loyal wives, submissive Christians. Fetto’s critique here is razor-sharp.
- Diaspora Disillusionment: The dream of London as a sanctuary is repeatedly undercut by economic precarity, racial microaggressions, and bureaucratic cruelty.
Strengths: What Hail Mary Does Exceptionally Well
- Character Depth: Fetto’s protagonists are unforgettable. Even in stories spanning just 15–20 pages, the reader feels immersed in lifetimes of grief, resistance, and longing.
- Cultural Specificity: Yoruba, Igbo, and Nigerian English dialects are seamlessly woven into the text, grounding each narrative in time and place without over-explaining.
- Narrative Range: From dark comedy to quiet tragedy, Fetto’s tonal control is remarkable. She moves across emotional registers fluidly, often within the same paragraph.
- Political Subtext: Whether it's a critique of UK immigration policy or evangelical hypocrisy, Fetto embeds sociopolitical commentary without losing narrative intimacy.
Weaknesses and Critique: Where the Collection Stumbles
While Hail Mary is a striking debut, it isn’t without unevenness.
- Pacing Variance: A few stories (Trip, for example) take longer to settle into their emotional core. Their impact, while significant, isn’t as immediate.
- Repetitive Themes: At times, the recurrence of abusive male partners, secrets, and spiritual disillusionment can begin to feel thematically predictable across stories.
- Abrupt Endings: Some tales conclude in ways that feel too swift or unresolved, leaving readers grasping for a final emotional beat that never arrives.
Yet even these minor flaws speak to the ambition of the collection. Fetto is aiming wide—and when she hits, it’s powerful.
Final Verdict: A Compelling, Complicated Debut Worth Your Time
Hail Mary – Stories is a debut bursting with intelligence, vulnerability, and narrative courage. It is not an easy collection, nor is it meant to be. Its power lies in its refusal to soothe, to simplify, or to soften the realities it portrays. Instead, Funmi Fetto gifts us with a tapestry of Black womanhood that is messy, majestic, and deeply human.
This is not just a collection to read—it’s one to wrestle with. And that, perhaps, is its greatest triumph.
Much like the quote that opens the book—“Definitions belong to the definer, not the defined” by Toni Morrison—Fetto redefines who gets to tell the story, how it’s told, and what truth it holds. Her prose is exacting, confident, and suffused with emotional clarity. This is a collection that bruises and heals in equal measure.
Overview: Ten Stories, Ten Crossroads
Set across London, Lagos, and liminal emotional spaces, Hail Mary – Stories offers ten narratives that revolve around Nigerian women facing personal reckonings—sometimes subtle, sometimes seismic.
These stories confront themes of:
- Religious repression and spiritual rebellion
- Migration and displacement
- Love as survival versus love as liberation
- Motherhood, abandonment, and inherited trauma
- Sexual agency and emotional betrayal
While each piece can stand alone, they are best read together, like shards of a mirror that together reflect a fractured but vivid portrait of modern African womanhood.
Writing Style: Unapologetic and Atmospheric
Fetto writes with a journalist’s economy and a poet’s sensibility. Her prose is tactile and emotionally resonant, carrying the reader through each story with a voice that feels both ancient and urgent. In stories like 2 Samuel 6:14 and Unspoken, her tone sways between sorrow and satire. She crafts layered interior lives through voice, pacing, and vivid detail, allowing each protagonist to claim her space—even if only temporarily—in a world that often denies it.
There’s a maturity to Fetto’s narrative approach. She avoids didacticism, instead allowing emotional truths to emerge through accumulation rather than exposition. Her narrative restraint is powerful: what’s not said is often just as telling as what is.
Key Stories That Stand Out
1. 2 Samuel 6:14
A deeply layered exploration of faith, domestic abuse, and stolen autonomy. Ifeoma’s secret hope for escape, juxtaposed with her husband's pastoral tyranny, ends with poetic justice that redefines divine deliverance.
2. Unspoken
A masterclass in emotional withholding. The protagonist Amaka’s rejection of a marriage proposal is both quiet and cataclysmic. Fetto explores trauma's long reach, showing how unresolved histories haunt present choices.
3. Housegirl
A tale of class mobility that peels back layers of internalized prejudice. It critiques both Western elitism and diasporic self-erasure through a subversive domestic lens.
4. Dodo is Yoruba for Fried Plantain
This story wittily explores generational disconnects, unspoken cultural expectations, and the tenderness of food as identity. Fetto’s voice here is light yet incisive.
5. The Tail of a Small Lizard
A magical-realist tinged tale that ends the collection with both mysticism and metaphor. The lizard is more than a creature—it’s history, legacy, and the haunting embodiment of what is left unsaid.
Themes: Power, Performance, and Persistence
Fetto's stories interrogate systems of oppression—religious, cultural, patriarchal—with unflinching precision. But she never allows the women in her stories to become symbols or victims alone. Their contradictions, their compromises, their rage, and their small acts of rebellion are treated with reverence.
Major recurring themes include:
- Spiritual Authority vs. Personal Faith: Several characters grapple with religious institutions that were meant to protect but instead perpetuate harm.
- Sexual Reclamation: From Ifeoma's affair with a younger man to women seeking pleasure without apology, Fetto presents desire as both a political and personal act.
- The Quiet Violence of Respectability: Many of her women suffer under cultural expectations—to be good daughters, loyal wives, submissive Christians. Fetto’s critique here is razor-sharp.
- Diaspora Disillusionment: The dream of London as a sanctuary is repeatedly undercut by economic precarity, racial microaggressions, and bureaucratic cruelty.
Strengths: What Hail Mary Does Exceptionally Well
- Character Depth: Fetto’s protagonists are unforgettable. Even in stories spanning just 15–20 pages, the reader feels immersed in lifetimes of grief, resistance, and longing.
- Cultural Specificity: Yoruba, Igbo, and Nigerian English dialects are seamlessly woven into the text, grounding each narrative in time and place without over-explaining.
- Narrative Range: From dark comedy to quiet tragedy, Fetto’s tonal control is remarkable. She moves across emotional registers fluidly, often within the same paragraph.
- Political Subtext: Whether it's a critique of UK immigration policy or evangelical hypocrisy, Fetto embeds sociopolitical commentary without losing narrative intimacy.
Weaknesses and Critique: Where the Collection Stumbles
While Hail Mary is a striking debut, it isn’t without unevenness.
- Pacing Variance: A few stories (Trip, for example) take longer to settle into their emotional core. Their impact, while significant, isn’t as immediate.
- Repetitive Themes: At times, the recurrence of abusive male partners, secrets, and spiritual disillusionment can begin to feel thematically predictable across stories.
- Abrupt Endings: Some tales conclude in ways that feel too swift or unresolved, leaving readers grasping for a final emotional beat that never arrives.
Yet even these minor flaws speak to the ambition of the collection. Fetto is aiming wide—and when she hits, it’s powerful.
Final Verdict: A Compelling, Complicated Debut Worth Your Time
Hail Mary – Stories is a debut bursting with intelligence, vulnerability, and narrative courage. It is not an easy collection, nor is it meant to be. Its power lies in its refusal to soothe, to simplify, or to soften the realities it portrays. Instead, Funmi Fetto gifts us with a tapestry of Black womanhood that is messy, majestic, and deeply human.
This is not just a collection to read—it’s one to wrestle with. And that, perhaps, is its greatest triumph.
September 15, 2025
A profoundly sad and reflective collection.
July 2, 2025
Oh what a wonderful collection of short stories!
As an aside, one of the characters in the stories, is named Morayo and it is pleasing to me and my homegirls.
At its core, it’s a story about the complexity of being a woman.
I enjoyed a lot of things about this book.
1. It was very Nigerian(complementary). The language used to describe things so innately Nigerian was so beautiful to read. I can’t explain it fully but I was very impressed. I’m under the impression that the author is based in the UK. I am not sure how long she’s spent in Nigeria but it did not read as a story from the diaspora.
Often times, it is glaringly obvious when a book is written by an author in the diaspora when the subject matter includes Nigerians in a Nigerian setting and having to do with anything Nigerian. I hope that makes sense
2. I learnt so many new words. I kept having to click on the words on my kindle to learn what they mean. I love learning new words. I read that she’s a columnist and writer for a number of publications and you can see it come through in her writing and command of language.
3. The women in these stories were GOING THROUGH IT. It wasn’t done in a way that focuses on the trauma, it was simply telling the story of these women as they were.
I loved all the stories. Some made me gasp more than others but what a solid collection.
I can’t wait to see what next the author writes.
Thank you to thecandidbookclub on instagram, that’s how I learnt about this book
As an aside, one of the characters in the stories, is named Morayo and it is pleasing to me and my homegirls.
At its core, it’s a story about the complexity of being a woman.
I enjoyed a lot of things about this book.
1. It was very Nigerian(complementary). The language used to describe things so innately Nigerian was so beautiful to read. I can’t explain it fully but I was very impressed. I’m under the impression that the author is based in the UK. I am not sure how long she’s spent in Nigeria but it did not read as a story from the diaspora.
Often times, it is glaringly obvious when a book is written by an author in the diaspora when the subject matter includes Nigerians in a Nigerian setting and having to do with anything Nigerian. I hope that makes sense
2. I learnt so many new words. I kept having to click on the words on my kindle to learn what they mean. I love learning new words. I read that she’s a columnist and writer for a number of publications and you can see it come through in her writing and command of language.
3. The women in these stories were GOING THROUGH IT. It wasn’t done in a way that focuses on the trauma, it was simply telling the story of these women as they were.
I loved all the stories. Some made me gasp more than others but what a solid collection.
I can’t wait to see what next the author writes.
Thank you to thecandidbookclub on instagram, that’s how I learnt about this book
November 17, 2025
4.5 ⭐️
Honestly, I went into this book with no expectations but I think it has pulled me out of a mini reading slump. I enjoyed all of the stories and it felt authentically Nigerian. I gave this book an increased rating because I really appreciate the author narrating the audiobook. She was able to pronounce the Yoruba words with a good Nigerian accent. I can see how this may not be for everybody, it is a sad book. I definitely recommend it to Nigerians and those that are familiar with some of Nigerian culture. If you enjoyed A broken people’s playlist by Chimeka Garricks, you should enjoy this too. I would totally want to see more from this author, I just placed an order for the physical book from Book outlet.
Honestly, I went into this book with no expectations but I think it has pulled me out of a mini reading slump. I enjoyed all of the stories and it felt authentically Nigerian. I gave this book an increased rating because I really appreciate the author narrating the audiobook. She was able to pronounce the Yoruba words with a good Nigerian accent. I can see how this may not be for everybody, it is a sad book. I definitely recommend it to Nigerians and those that are familiar with some of Nigerian culture. If you enjoyed A broken people’s playlist by Chimeka Garricks, you should enjoy this too. I would totally want to see more from this author, I just placed an order for the physical book from Book outlet.
April 27, 2025
each story within this book was good and really seemed to hit you right in the heart or make you stop and just think about life for a moment. i do feel like some of the pacing within the stories were a bit off, but ultimately a great short story book!
ps. won this in a goodreads giveaway!
ps. won this in a goodreads giveaway!
January 16, 2025
This is a strong debut by the style editor at British Vogue. Her women are complex but relatable as they combat a traditional misogynistic patriarchy and loss of place. The short story format suits Fetto well. Many thanks to Harper for the ARC. Am recommending this for sure.
January 7, 2025
Nigerian women's issues and experiences which women around the world will understand. Joy and heartbreak and trying to survive (much less thrive).
April 29, 2025
Hail Mary is the stunning debut short story collection from British-Nigerian journalist Funmi Fetto, and it packs a whopping punch on the emotional front. The nine stories are set in Nigeria and Britain, and offer compelling vignettes on the lives of nine very different black women - most are standalones, but some are also linked, which I was delighted to discover.
For a debut fiction writer, Fetto does an incredible job exploring a wealth of themes in this collection, particularly when it comes to race, identity, prejudice, religion, expectation, love, images of beauty, and legacy. And, my goodness, does she have the ability to make you feel every ounce of the complex emotions that these stories elicit, through the trials, tribulations, triumphs, and tragedies of her sharply observed characters.
Some of these tales filled me with despair, especially the haunting House Girl about the abuses vulnerable Nkechi suffers at the hands of her callous employers. Others thrum with sentiments of hope as new light dawns for women forced to hide their real selves in order to survive. My absolute favourite was Dodo is Yoruba for Fried Plantain, about Morayo's reawakening as feels her way back to her long-suppressed cultural roots through her rediscovery of Nigerian food after the death of her white, middle-class husband... closely followed by the deliciously dark, 2 Samuel 6:14, about Ifeoma's plans to rid herself of her controlling husband. All are wonderfully immersive, despite their brevity.
I absolutely loved this bold and beautiful collection, revelling in the way it sent me spiralling down a myriad of thought provoking paths about the complicated cultural, spiritual, and societal issues that shaped the lives of these women - their strength, spirit, humour, and resilience will linger long in my heart. What a debut!
For a debut fiction writer, Fetto does an incredible job exploring a wealth of themes in this collection, particularly when it comes to race, identity, prejudice, religion, expectation, love, images of beauty, and legacy. And, my goodness, does she have the ability to make you feel every ounce of the complex emotions that these stories elicit, through the trials, tribulations, triumphs, and tragedies of her sharply observed characters.
Some of these tales filled me with despair, especially the haunting House Girl about the abuses vulnerable Nkechi suffers at the hands of her callous employers. Others thrum with sentiments of hope as new light dawns for women forced to hide their real selves in order to survive. My absolute favourite was Dodo is Yoruba for Fried Plantain, about Morayo's reawakening as feels her way back to her long-suppressed cultural roots through her rediscovery of Nigerian food after the death of her white, middle-class husband... closely followed by the deliciously dark, 2 Samuel 6:14, about Ifeoma's plans to rid herself of her controlling husband. All are wonderfully immersive, despite their brevity.
I absolutely loved this bold and beautiful collection, revelling in the way it sent me spiralling down a myriad of thought provoking paths about the complicated cultural, spiritual, and societal issues that shaped the lives of these women - their strength, spirit, humour, and resilience will linger long in my heart. What a debut!
March 18, 2025
Hail Mary by Funmi Fetto
Thank you, Harper (Harper Collins Publishers), for the gifted Advanced Readers Copy.
Funmi Fetto has crafted nine soul provoking short stories featuring Nigerian women in pursuit of reincarnating their lives. Problems develop when each woman has been cruelly dismissed or trivialized. The characters chronicle oppressive situations that require feminine ingenuity to overcome crippling cultural norms. Some improve their circumstance; others are not so lucky. I appreciated Fetto’s nod to reality by shunning cliched story endings.
These sharply written narratives of African women’s diaspora are sewn together by themes of religious hypocrisy, domestic abuse, identity, classism, and patriarchal double standards. The culmination of these haunting stories divulge intimate minutia that defines feminine connection to nature, their communities, and themselves.
Hail Mary is an emotional, reflective journey into the deepest desires of women searching to realize unmet dreams and search for kindness everyone deserves, regardless of sex, class or religion. These stories represent explorations into the internal psyche of women who sacrifice, hope, dream and love. This is Funmi Fetto’s first work of fiction. I look forward to her next.
Thank you, Harper (Harper Collins Publishers), for the gifted Advanced Readers Copy.
Funmi Fetto has crafted nine soul provoking short stories featuring Nigerian women in pursuit of reincarnating their lives. Problems develop when each woman has been cruelly dismissed or trivialized. The characters chronicle oppressive situations that require feminine ingenuity to overcome crippling cultural norms. Some improve their circumstance; others are not so lucky. I appreciated Fetto’s nod to reality by shunning cliched story endings.
These sharply written narratives of African women’s diaspora are sewn together by themes of religious hypocrisy, domestic abuse, identity, classism, and patriarchal double standards. The culmination of these haunting stories divulge intimate minutia that defines feminine connection to nature, their communities, and themselves.
Hail Mary is an emotional, reflective journey into the deepest desires of women searching to realize unmet dreams and search for kindness everyone deserves, regardless of sex, class or religion. These stories represent explorations into the internal psyche of women who sacrifice, hope, dream and love. This is Funmi Fetto’s first work of fiction. I look forward to her next.
April 5, 2025
Short story collections are so hit and miss for me but this one right here was a hit! 📚💐
Hail Mary is a collection of short stories about nine Nigerian women, in Nigeria and in the diaspora and I can genuinely say that I enjoyed each story, a rarity!
I think I enjoyed this collection so much because the books felt familiar. It is evident that the author has been inspired by Nigerian classics because the themes that dominate Nigerian literature appear in this collection. And although I can imagine some readers saying that the stories are stereotypical and we need to see a different type of Nigerian story, if these topics are still the reality of many people, then I believe that they should still be written about.
Although this book focuses on Nigerian women, I believe women from varied communities and cultures will enjoy this collection because the topics raised are so relatable.
Albeit I liked every story, my favourites were Hail Mary, House Girl, Dodo is Yoruba for Fried Plantain and 2 Samuel 6:14.
Hail Mary is a collection of short stories about nine Nigerian women, in Nigeria and in the diaspora and I can genuinely say that I enjoyed each story, a rarity!
I think I enjoyed this collection so much because the books felt familiar. It is evident that the author has been inspired by Nigerian classics because the themes that dominate Nigerian literature appear in this collection. And although I can imagine some readers saying that the stories are stereotypical and we need to see a different type of Nigerian story, if these topics are still the reality of many people, then I believe that they should still be written about.
Although this book focuses on Nigerian women, I believe women from varied communities and cultures will enjoy this collection because the topics raised are so relatable.
Albeit I liked every story, my favourites were Hail Mary, House Girl, Dodo is Yoruba for Fried Plantain and 2 Samuel 6:14.
June 1, 2025
This is an interesting and enjoyable debut short story collection. Written by a London-based Nigerian journalist, I liked how each story showcased a unique aspect of Nigerian womanhood and the diversity of what it means to be a Nigerian woman.
Overall, I’d say this book was good but not great. The author’s line writing and plot premises show promise, but the stories weren’t all executed to their highest potential.
I’m giving it four stars because it engaged me during a reading slump. And although I don’t think this is a collection that will stay with me, it’s easy to read and I’d recommend it.
Thank you to Magpie Books / One World for my #gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.
Read my full review on my blog
aminasbookshelf.com and check out IG/Tiktok @aminasbookshelf
for more book reviews and recommendations
Overall, I’d say this book was good but not great. The author’s line writing and plot premises show promise, but the stories weren’t all executed to their highest potential.
I’m giving it four stars because it engaged me during a reading slump. And although I don’t think this is a collection that will stay with me, it’s easy to read and I’d recommend it.
Thank you to Magpie Books / One World for my #gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.
Read my full review on my blog
aminasbookshelf.com and check out IG/Tiktok @aminasbookshelf
for more book reviews and recommendations
April 28, 2025
I must confess I often find short stories a little bit hit and miss, but I very much enjoyed Hail Mary.
It is a collection of nine stories moving between Nigeria and England featuring nine very different Nigerian women. Each of them face their own challenges as they battle societal norms and cultural expectations - with differing levels of success.
What Fetto does very well is to instantly draw you into the lives of each woman. They all come to life as they navigate a variety of issues, from race to religion, sexuality to misogyny and so much more - and whilst embedded in Nigerian culture, there is so much that is relatable in terms of challenges faced by women global and the fear holding them back. It is thought provoking and engaging - and the best kind of short stories.
It is a collection of nine stories moving between Nigeria and England featuring nine very different Nigerian women. Each of them face their own challenges as they battle societal norms and cultural expectations - with differing levels of success.
What Fetto does very well is to instantly draw you into the lives of each woman. They all come to life as they navigate a variety of issues, from race to religion, sexuality to misogyny and so much more - and whilst embedded in Nigerian culture, there is so much that is relatable in terms of challenges faced by women global and the fear holding them back. It is thought provoking and engaging - and the best kind of short stories.
January 31, 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I read Hail Mary in one day. The stories are just that good. They’re heavy and rich, but also light and funny in a very natural way.
I loved how the stories end — unresolved, a bit open-ended. That always makes short stories more satisfying for me because they stay with you longer. You keep thinking about the characters even after you’re done.
Every story worked, but House Girl really hurt. The way that young girl is abused is so sad, especially because it’s quiet and normalized. That one stayed with me. I also really liked the first story — even though the woman is treated badly, I loved that she still finds a way to take back her agency.
For a debut, this collection is excellent. I honestly just wanted more stories when it ended.
I read Hail Mary in one day. The stories are just that good. They’re heavy and rich, but also light and funny in a very natural way.
I loved how the stories end — unresolved, a bit open-ended. That always makes short stories more satisfying for me because they stay with you longer. You keep thinking about the characters even after you’re done.
Every story worked, but House Girl really hurt. The way that young girl is abused is so sad, especially because it’s quiet and normalized. That one stayed with me. I also really liked the first story — even though the woman is treated badly, I loved that she still finds a way to take back her agency.
For a debut, this collection is excellent. I honestly just wanted more stories when it ended.
June 3, 2025
A small book with life stories; beautifully written character studies. A wife murders her husband, a john murders some childrens' mother, a migrant left penniless, a migrant coming home. A suicide. A girl whose teacher impresses upon her that Cinderella is a FAIRY TALE - I liked that little remembrance. The descriptions of marketplaces, clothing, and Nigerian cooking were exceptional. "Come, darling, we have meat for your pepper soup." Probably the story that affected me most was the last, "Tail of a small lizard", an outstanding description of jealousy and hatred in the young.
Read
July 4, 2025Nine short stories. A unforgettable debut capturing the flip side of humanity. Tales of anguish, sorrow, horrors, suffering. It exposes the nuances of society-the differences in behaviours, beliefs and values that exist between rich/poor, female/male, rural/urban, religious/atheist, sexual orientations and communities.
Set in Nigeria and the UK, each story captures the reality of Nigerian women and what they are forced to live with. It is the reality of women everywhere.
I wish the stories were longer and I would love to read more of the author’s works
Set in Nigeria and the UK, each story captures the reality of Nigerian women and what they are forced to live with. It is the reality of women everywhere.
I wish the stories were longer and I would love to read more of the author’s works
January 2, 2026
Absolutely gorgeous.
This is a good story collection! Religion, culture, and the environment do shape how we move through life. This book is a hilarious and sad account of women who have walked through life, told in a way that makes you feel like you know them or that you are them. The writing is beautiful as well as easy to follow. The drama and unpredictability of the stories make everything even more compelling. Should we talk about the title and the book cover? Absolutely gorgeous.
This is a good story collection! Religion, culture, and the environment do shape how we move through life. This book is a hilarious and sad account of women who have walked through life, told in a way that makes you feel like you know them or that you are them. The writing is beautiful as well as easy to follow. The drama and unpredictability of the stories make everything even more compelling. Should we talk about the title and the book cover? Absolutely gorgeous.
March 11, 2025
I quite enjoyed this collection of stories.
It is a reminder that life is messy, life is unpredictable and life is hard. (And I mean none of this negatively!)
My favorite of the nine stories is Wait. The quote I most resonated with is: I don’t want to wait in the way I was taught to wait. I don’t want to wait for what I was conditioned to wait for. I just want to wait for love. Whatever that is.
I would have liked to see the stories intertwine more.
It is a reminder that life is messy, life is unpredictable and life is hard. (And I mean none of this negatively!)
My favorite of the nine stories is Wait. The quote I most resonated with is: I don’t want to wait in the way I was taught to wait. I don’t want to wait for what I was conditioned to wait for. I just want to wait for love. Whatever that is.
I would have liked to see the stories intertwine more.
May 11, 2025
Exceptional work in storytelling. Nine stories, all different, but a theme of hardship, emotion, heartbreak, joy at times, and overall struggle. The telling of Nigerian women and their complicated, societal issues and problems, their strength and the resilience to survive. So thankful to have won an ARC in a Goodreads giveaway. Really enjoyed this one!
May 31, 2025
A real mix of interesting stories told by Nigerian women going through different stages and life dienma. I loved some, wasn't keen on others but overall it left a good taste..not sure about the last story and wanted more from the Dodo, plantain story besides shopping but others like Ifeoma and her US trip, the house girl or Hail Mary delivered.
June 25, 2025
I really enjoy short story collections. This one was wonderful. The weight and confinement of cultural expectations were fully felt. All executed with such restraint that it was not traumatizing. Reminding us that women surely do suffer so much in this world in the name of obligation. I hope there will be more fiction from this author.
January 5, 2026
The stories are interesting, but they end too abruptly and the storylines are often unresolved. The writing style is disorganized and verbose. It seems like the author tried to subtly link some of the stories together, but forgot she was doing it midway. Good plot, shaky execution. A frustrating but mildly intriguing read.
May 18, 2025
The bright cover almost fooled me into believing in happy endings. No, the women in these stories all needed a saving grace. Many of the stories followed a pattern in which hopeful developments were promptly shattered. Thankfully, there were one or two stories with open endings that hinted at a chance for good things to come. Despite the heavy situations, I was interested in the women’s lives and they felt fully-realized with various backgrounds. It may be a silly comment, but while I love reading about food in books, it’s even better when it’s folded in naturally, like it is here, instead of a highlight reel of proof that one has traveled or knows a place/culture. Loved: Hail Mary, Underneath the Mango Tree, Wait; Liked: 2 Samuel 6:14, Unspoken, Housegirl, Dodo Is Yoruba for Fried Plantain; Meh: Trip; Need to Reread: N/A.
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March 19, 2025Loved all these little stories...It was a good read
April 1, 2025
My wife loved this book.
April 8, 2025
Searing, immersive short stories.
May 27, 2025
Nigeria
Great writing, kept my interest. I like learning about other cultures and the focus on the role women play in them.
Great writing, kept my interest. I like learning about other cultures and the focus on the role women play in them.
June 19, 2025
I really wanted to like the stories in this book but it was hard to for so many complicated reasons.
July 8, 2025
Whew chile some of these stories were depressing! But the writing was gorgeous- almost Chimamanda-like.
July 27, 2025
10 real stories
10 amplified stories
I resonated with the characters, I walked in their shoes and I understood their dilemmas.
I recommend💯
10 amplified stories
I resonated with the characters, I walked in their shoes and I understood their dilemmas.
I recommend💯
October 4, 2025
I enjoyed these short stories
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