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Un lampo di fortuna
Ẹniọlá è un ragazzino buono e assennato, vive a Osogbo, una città della Nigeria, e sogna solamente di poter studiare e andare all’università per garantirsi una posizione e un futuro. Ma la situazione economica della sua famiglia è peggiorata da quando il padre ha perso il posto di lavoro ed è caduto in depressione. Per tirare avanti hanno dovuto vendere la macchina, lasciare la loro bella casa e trasferirsi in un piccolo appartamento di cui quasi non riescono a pagare l’affitto. Ma, soprattutto, faticano a saldare le rette della scuola privata, unica via d’accesso all’istruzione universitaria, per Ẹniọlá e la sua sorellina. Nonostante tutto Ẹniọlá non si arrende, è disposto a fare qualunque cosa per continuare ad andare a scuola e sognare un futuro migliore per sé stesso e la sua famiglia. Wúràọlá è una ragazza eccezionale, gentile, decisa e intraprendente; laureata in medicina, è impegnata in un duro tirocinio. Proviene da una famiglia facoltosa e importante ed è fidanzata con Kúnlé, figlio di un aspirante politico amico di famiglia. Nonostante Wúràọlá sia intelligente e indipendente non può non subire le pressioni della società e dei suoi il matrimonio con Kúnlé, malgrado lui non sia quello che sembra, le appare necessario per non scontentare le attese. Ẹniọlá e Wúràọlá vivono nella stessa città, ma in mondi diversissimi che solo casualmente si sfiorano, con conseguenze impensate e, talvolta, terribili. Ayobami Adebayo, una delle voci più potenti della letteratura africana e internazionale, racconta la storia di due ragazzi, e delle loro famiglie, che devono sopravvivere nella caotica situazione sociale e politica della Nigeria, una nazione in cui il divario tra chi ha e chi non ha è enorme. Un romanzo avvincente di segreti e legami familiari, speranze e illusioni, ambientato nella brutale realtà di una società piena di disuguaglianze e contraddizioni. “Un racconto affascinante della Nigeria moderna e di due famiglie intrappolate tra ricchezza, potere, ossessione romantica e corruzione politica. Dall’autrice di Resta con me, nel solco delle grandi opere di Chinua Achebe e Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.” The New York Times
Kindle Edition
First published February 7, 2023
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About the author
Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀
11 books2,270 followersAyobami Adebayo's stories have appeared in a number of magazines and anthologies, and one was highly commended in the 2009 Commonwealth short story competition. She holds BA and MA degrees in Literature in English from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife. She also has an MA in creative writing from the University of East Anglia where she was awarded an international bursary for Creative Writing. Ayobami has been the recipient of fellowships and residencies from Ledig House, Hedgebrook, Threads, Ebedi Hills and Ox-Bow.
STAY WITH ME- UK (Canongate, March 2017), Nigeria (Ouida Books, April 2017), US (Knopf, August 2017), KENYA (Kwani?, August 2017) is her debut novel.
STAY WITH ME- UK (Canongate, March 2017), Nigeria (Ouida Books, April 2017), US (Knopf, August 2017), KENYA (Kwani?, August 2017) is her debut novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,178 reviews
August 3, 2023
Longlisted for 2023 Booker Prize
This book starts with two perspectives: a poor boy who is transforming into a man and a rich woman who feels the pressure of becoming a wife and not just a successful doctor. Surprisingly, on top of this structure, Ayobami Adebayo also tries to write a generational novel, so the perspectives move to different family members. Their stories intertwine only in the end. While there are some shining moments here and there, this ambitious work doesn't deliver. It feels like Ayobami Adebayo was more interested in the "themes" and not the narrative or her characters, which is sacrilegious in a generational novel.
Don't get me wrong. All the themes are promising. Take the class tensions. It is such an important subject these days, but the novel simply forgets about it in the second half, and in the first half, it doesn't show us more than the obvious: poverty is awful. Again with the political corruption. Nothing that happens in this novel around this subject feels new. The tone is serious, but the parts about domestic violence aren't actually more nuanced than what Colleen Hoover did on this topic. (Sorry about this comparison.) And I can go on and on about all of them. I'm not surprised that this has been Booker longlisted, as it is a prize bait novel. Unfortunately, behind all the important and serious themes (think of them as all the makeup some actors use to try to win their awards), everything is kept unidimensional. I regret starting my Booker 2023 journey with this one.
This book starts with two perspectives: a poor boy who is transforming into a man and a rich woman who feels the pressure of becoming a wife and not just a successful doctor. Surprisingly, on top of this structure, Ayobami Adebayo also tries to write a generational novel, so the perspectives move to different family members. Their stories intertwine only in the end. While there are some shining moments here and there, this ambitious work doesn't deliver. It feels like Ayobami Adebayo was more interested in the "themes" and not the narrative or her characters, which is sacrilegious in a generational novel.
Don't get me wrong. All the themes are promising. Take the class tensions. It is such an important subject these days, but the novel simply forgets about it in the second half, and in the first half, it doesn't show us more than the obvious: poverty is awful. Again with the political corruption. Nothing that happens in this novel around this subject feels new. The tone is serious, but the parts about domestic violence aren't actually more nuanced than what Colleen Hoover did on this topic. (Sorry about this comparison.) And I can go on and on about all of them. I'm not surprised that this has been Booker longlisted, as it is a prize bait novel. Unfortunately, behind all the important and serious themes (think of them as all the makeup some actors use to try to win their awards), everything is kept unidimensional. I regret starting my Booker 2023 journey with this one.
October 10, 2023
A novel that holds your face and shows you the reality that some people live and does not let go of you till you are weeping….
We waited six years for the author to write her second book and trust me when I say, this did not disappoint. As with her first book, Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ tackles a subject matter that is current, real and with characters you cant help but to fight for.
In A Spell of Good Things we are taken to a city in Nigeria where we meet two families from different social and economic backgrounds. We meet Eniola’s family, who were lower middle class, things were going great for them, until his father was made redundant from his job. The family lost everything, their car, house, and access to education. His parents are behind on his school fees and each day that they don’t pay, he gets beaten by the school principal. The landlord is knocking at their door threatening to throw them out on the street. With Eniola’s father not doing anything, he decides he must make some very hard choices.
Wuraola comes from a wealthy family. She is a medical doctor currently doing her residency, always tired, suffering in the public hospital, paying her dues. Her childhood friend and boyfriend propose as a way to join the family together. She is unsure of the proposal but goes along with it because both families are happy. There are some red flags she ignores, in the hopes of not reaching thirty and being unmarried. Things begin to crumble when these red flags won’t let up.
Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ is a stellar writer there is no denying it. This is not your happy novel, she unflinchingly takes us to a town in Nigeria and shows us how the wealth gap lead to persons doing things they wouldn’t usually do. It is a hard novel to read but there is a sense of hopelessness but I think we need literature like this. The ones that makes us sit with difficult things.
The writing is beautiful and I cannot recommend this enough.
We waited six years for the author to write her second book and trust me when I say, this did not disappoint. As with her first book, Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ tackles a subject matter that is current, real and with characters you cant help but to fight for.
In A Spell of Good Things we are taken to a city in Nigeria where we meet two families from different social and economic backgrounds. We meet Eniola’s family, who were lower middle class, things were going great for them, until his father was made redundant from his job. The family lost everything, their car, house, and access to education. His parents are behind on his school fees and each day that they don’t pay, he gets beaten by the school principal. The landlord is knocking at their door threatening to throw them out on the street. With Eniola’s father not doing anything, he decides he must make some very hard choices.
Wuraola comes from a wealthy family. She is a medical doctor currently doing her residency, always tired, suffering in the public hospital, paying her dues. Her childhood friend and boyfriend propose as a way to join the family together. She is unsure of the proposal but goes along with it because both families are happy. There are some red flags she ignores, in the hopes of not reaching thirty and being unmarried. Things begin to crumble when these red flags won’t let up.
Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ is a stellar writer there is no denying it. This is not your happy novel, she unflinchingly takes us to a town in Nigeria and shows us how the wealth gap lead to persons doing things they wouldn’t usually do. It is a hard novel to read but there is a sense of hopelessness but I think we need literature like this. The ones that makes us sit with difficult things.
The writing is beautiful and I cannot recommend this enough.
August 23, 2023
*Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2023*
3.5⭐️
“She had never been able to shake the sense that life was war, a series of battles with the occasional spell of good things.”
Set in modern-day Nigeria, the narrative of A Spell of Good Things by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ revolves around two characters from vastly different walks of life - Ẹniọlá, a teenager who belongs to a family struggling to make ends meet and Wúràọlá, a young doctor from an affluent family - and how their lives become intertwined through an episode of violence and tragedy.
Ẹniọlá dreams of pursuing his education in a good school as his father had once promised. But his father, a teacher by profession, loses his job, and the family is unable to fund his or his sister Bùsọ́lá’s education. Ẹniọlá works odd jobs in a tailoring shop, unable to pay for an apprenticeship but hoping to acquire some skills while also earning some money. He, along with others in similar situations, is regularly punished by school authorities for their inability to pay fees and face expulsion once the stipulated grace period is over. In a bid to better his family’s circumstances, he gets embroiled with a local politician – an association that will irrevocably change his life.
Wúràọlá is twenty-eight, and despite her academic accomplishments and hard work, she submits to social and family pressure to find a husband. She accepts her childhood friend/ boyfriend Kúnle’s proposal, though her heart is not completely in the relationship. Both her father and her future father-in-law are associated with local politics, and the marriage between the families is a coveted union. Her need to keep the families happy and keep up appearances overrides her doubts about her feelings, and she finds herself hiding her fiancé’s true nature.
I loved the premise of A Spell of Good Things by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀. The prose is superb, as is the character development. I enjoyed the vivid descriptions of the setting, culture and traditions of the community and the dynamics within the families. The story revolves around themes of socio-economic inequality, politicization and regulation of the school system, political corruption, depression, and domestic abuse, among others. I found Ẹniọlá’s storyline emotionally impactful, and though I could sympathize with Wúràọlá and her family toward the end of the novel, I thought that her story was lacking in depth. The pace is slow for a larger part of the novel and suffers from minor repetition. There are many characters to keep track of, and while I enjoyed reading about the large families and extended families, there were certain characters whose stories felt important but remained somewhat unexplored. The final segment is shocking and heartbreaking and will stay with you long after you have finished the book.
Though there is a lot to like about this novel, I was not completely engaged in the narrative for most of the novel. Having said that, I do hope to pick more of the author’s work. I did feel the need for a glossary/key/index for all the Nigerian words and phrases in the narrative, which would have made for a more fluid reading experience.
“Time was unforgiving, it didn’t stop, not even to give people a chance to scrape themselves off the floor if they’d been shattered.”
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3.5⭐️
“She had never been able to shake the sense that life was war, a series of battles with the occasional spell of good things.”
Set in modern-day Nigeria, the narrative of A Spell of Good Things by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ revolves around two characters from vastly different walks of life - Ẹniọlá, a teenager who belongs to a family struggling to make ends meet and Wúràọlá, a young doctor from an affluent family - and how their lives become intertwined through an episode of violence and tragedy.
Ẹniọlá dreams of pursuing his education in a good school as his father had once promised. But his father, a teacher by profession, loses his job, and the family is unable to fund his or his sister Bùsọ́lá’s education. Ẹniọlá works odd jobs in a tailoring shop, unable to pay for an apprenticeship but hoping to acquire some skills while also earning some money. He, along with others in similar situations, is regularly punished by school authorities for their inability to pay fees and face expulsion once the stipulated grace period is over. In a bid to better his family’s circumstances, he gets embroiled with a local politician – an association that will irrevocably change his life.
Wúràọlá is twenty-eight, and despite her academic accomplishments and hard work, she submits to social and family pressure to find a husband. She accepts her childhood friend/ boyfriend Kúnle’s proposal, though her heart is not completely in the relationship. Both her father and her future father-in-law are associated with local politics, and the marriage between the families is a coveted union. Her need to keep the families happy and keep up appearances overrides her doubts about her feelings, and she finds herself hiding her fiancé’s true nature.
I loved the premise of A Spell of Good Things by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀. The prose is superb, as is the character development. I enjoyed the vivid descriptions of the setting, culture and traditions of the community and the dynamics within the families. The story revolves around themes of socio-economic inequality, politicization and regulation of the school system, political corruption, depression, and domestic abuse, among others. I found Ẹniọlá’s storyline emotionally impactful, and though I could sympathize with Wúràọlá and her family toward the end of the novel, I thought that her story was lacking in depth. The pace is slow for a larger part of the novel and suffers from minor repetition. There are many characters to keep track of, and while I enjoyed reading about the large families and extended families, there were certain characters whose stories felt important but remained somewhat unexplored. The final segment is shocking and heartbreaking and will stay with you long after you have finished the book.
Though there is a lot to like about this novel, I was not completely engaged in the narrative for most of the novel. Having said that, I do hope to pick more of the author’s work. I did feel the need for a glossary/key/index for all the Nigerian words and phrases in the narrative, which would have made for a more fluid reading experience.
“Time was unforgiving, it didn’t stop, not even to give people a chance to scrape themselves off the floor if they’d been shattered.”
Connect with me! ✏ Instagram ✏ My Blog ✏ The StoryGraph
August 21, 2023
Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2023
Listen, two stars is maybe a little harsh, but this is the type of tame literature that doesn't hurt no one: It unfolds exactly as to be expected, the characters are well-known clichés, and readers can nod their heads and feel like they are on the right side of things as they bemoan the social ills depicted here without any nuance and without elements that counter-act or disturb basic convictions. It's convenient literature, intellectually lazy, drawn out, aesthetically conservative. God knows why this gets a Booker nod.
The plot follows two families: Wúràolá is a doctor, but thanks to patriarchy, she is also expected to be an obedient wife and mother - she marries an old family friend who abuses her. In the second narrative strand, 16-year-old Eniolá has to beg in the streets in order to pay his school fees after his father loses his job, which in the long run makes him vulnerable to become complicit in the very structures that work to his detriment, because he has to survive. Of course, the ways if these two characters cross.
So we have two people striving for an education, a man and a woman, one wealthy, one poor, and these societal and familial positions are juxtaposed plus the connections are shown, especially in the political realm: Wúràolá's father-in-law runs for governorship, and Eniolá also gets caught up in politics. The novel clearly tells us what to think about the situations presented, which is pretty annoying, as the moral is so obvious in the plot itself. Actually, it would be more fun if this was crafted as outrage literature, but for that, it would have to be more angry, more, well, outrageous, unruly, powerful. All that it is not.
This is a novel that sticks to the well known rules of conventional storytelling while criticizing the unjust rules of Nigerian society. I wish the book would take more risks and go for a harder impact to bring its (very worthwile!) points across.
Listen, two stars is maybe a little harsh, but this is the type of tame literature that doesn't hurt no one: It unfolds exactly as to be expected, the characters are well-known clichés, and readers can nod their heads and feel like they are on the right side of things as they bemoan the social ills depicted here without any nuance and without elements that counter-act or disturb basic convictions. It's convenient literature, intellectually lazy, drawn out, aesthetically conservative. God knows why this gets a Booker nod.
The plot follows two families: Wúràolá is a doctor, but thanks to patriarchy, she is also expected to be an obedient wife and mother - she marries an old family friend who abuses her. In the second narrative strand, 16-year-old Eniolá has to beg in the streets in order to pay his school fees after his father loses his job, which in the long run makes him vulnerable to become complicit in the very structures that work to his detriment, because he has to survive. Of course, the ways if these two characters cross.
So we have two people striving for an education, a man and a woman, one wealthy, one poor, and these societal and familial positions are juxtaposed plus the connections are shown, especially in the political realm: Wúràolá's father-in-law runs for governorship, and Eniolá also gets caught up in politics. The novel clearly tells us what to think about the situations presented, which is pretty annoying, as the moral is so obvious in the plot itself. Actually, it would be more fun if this was crafted as outrage literature, but for that, it would have to be more angry, more, well, outrageous, unruly, powerful. All that it is not.
This is a novel that sticks to the well known rules of conventional storytelling while criticizing the unjust rules of Nigerian society. I wish the book would take more risks and go for a harder impact to bring its (very worthwile!) points across.
July 17, 2023
TW: Abuse
Actual Rating 3.5
Eniola wants to be better at school than he is, and finds his time divided between school and working odd jobs to provide for his family since his father lost his job. Wuraola is a doctor, exhausted by her job and studies, as well as her family’s insistence that she marry Kunle, the son of a local politician. Both of these people know they want more from their lives than they currently have but are unsure what actions to take. As their attempts at satisfying their wants cause their paths to collide, unforeseen consequences will occur for them both.
This story is set in modern Nigeria and is character focused. The primary plot and action is often interrupted by the character remembering something that is relevant to the current event or relationship of those in the scene. While I thought this would cause me to dislike this book, I mostly enjoyed it. It allowed the story to move at a slow pace rather than forcing the action all at once and fleshed out the characters well. It provided excellent insight into their motivations and beliefs and helped to make the setting really come alive. However, the last 20% or so was certainly the strongest portion of the book and it isn’t until the first 40% that the action of the story begins to move forward at a steadier pace.
The work focuses on people from very different walks of life, from Eniola’s poverty-stricken family to Wuraola’s relatively comfortable one. The juxtaposition of these two characters was excellent, especially as the author highlighted how similar their feelings and struggles were despite their varying circumstances. I also enjoyed that despite how many characters were present in this book, it was easy to keep track of them due to the author’s skill at characterization. They each had unique personalities and were fleshed out in a way that made them all memorable during the read.
This character-focused work was a difficult (emotionally) but enjoyable read that I recommend checking out. My thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Publishing for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Actual Rating 3.5
Eniola wants to be better at school than he is, and finds his time divided between school and working odd jobs to provide for his family since his father lost his job. Wuraola is a doctor, exhausted by her job and studies, as well as her family’s insistence that she marry Kunle, the son of a local politician. Both of these people know they want more from their lives than they currently have but are unsure what actions to take. As their attempts at satisfying their wants cause their paths to collide, unforeseen consequences will occur for them both.
This story is set in modern Nigeria and is character focused. The primary plot and action is often interrupted by the character remembering something that is relevant to the current event or relationship of those in the scene. While I thought this would cause me to dislike this book, I mostly enjoyed it. It allowed the story to move at a slow pace rather than forcing the action all at once and fleshed out the characters well. It provided excellent insight into their motivations and beliefs and helped to make the setting really come alive. However, the last 20% or so was certainly the strongest portion of the book and it isn’t until the first 40% that the action of the story begins to move forward at a steadier pace.
The work focuses on people from very different walks of life, from Eniola’s poverty-stricken family to Wuraola’s relatively comfortable one. The juxtaposition of these two characters was excellent, especially as the author highlighted how similar their feelings and struggles were despite their varying circumstances. I also enjoyed that despite how many characters were present in this book, it was easy to keep track of them due to the author’s skill at characterization. They each had unique personalities and were fleshed out in a way that made them all memorable during the read.
This character-focused work was a difficult (emotionally) but enjoyable read that I recommend checking out. My thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Publishing for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.
August 20, 2023
[Longlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize]
Ayobami Adebayo's sophomore novel explores politics, corruption, poverty and gender dynamics in Nigeria through the intertwining lives of two main characters.
Eniola is a 16 year old boy whose family has fallen into poverty after his father, a professor, has lost his job due to governmental budget cuts. They struggle to make ends meet, including paying Eniola's school fees. He is apprenticed to a local seamstress and does his best to take matters into his own hands with his father suffering from depression and his mother more focused on Eniola's little sister.
Wuraola is the golden child of her family. The middle of three children, she is in her first year of residency as a doctor in emergency medicine and has a steady boyfriend from a good, respected and similarly wealthy family. As she experiences her country through the impoverished and ill people she encounters at work everyday, she starts to come to question what she believes and who she considers respectable and honorable.
The story, at times, almost reads like a thriller. I say that loosely because I don't think that is its intentions by any means and others might disagree with me, but the way that Adebayo crafts the tension between characters and this looming sense of *something* coming that will fundamentally shift their worlds kept me turning the pages.
But at its core, this is a character story. I loved this book because I was fascinated by, empathized with, and just generally enjoyed reading about Eniola and Wuraola, as well as the characters that come in and out of their lives. Even the glimpses we get into other characters, however brief, add context and depth to the story.
For me, this was leaps and bounds better than the author's debut novel, Stay With Me, which I enjoyed but didn't love. Something about this book just clicked for me. I had been interested in reading it, but wasn't pushed to pick it up until it was longlisted for the Booker this year. So glad it was, and definitely one of my favorites from the list so far!
Ayobami Adebayo's sophomore novel explores politics, corruption, poverty and gender dynamics in Nigeria through the intertwining lives of two main characters.
Eniola is a 16 year old boy whose family has fallen into poverty after his father, a professor, has lost his job due to governmental budget cuts. They struggle to make ends meet, including paying Eniola's school fees. He is apprenticed to a local seamstress and does his best to take matters into his own hands with his father suffering from depression and his mother more focused on Eniola's little sister.
Wuraola is the golden child of her family. The middle of three children, she is in her first year of residency as a doctor in emergency medicine and has a steady boyfriend from a good, respected and similarly wealthy family. As she experiences her country through the impoverished and ill people she encounters at work everyday, she starts to come to question what she believes and who she considers respectable and honorable.
The story, at times, almost reads like a thriller. I say that loosely because I don't think that is its intentions by any means and others might disagree with me, but the way that Adebayo crafts the tension between characters and this looming sense of *something* coming that will fundamentally shift their worlds kept me turning the pages.
But at its core, this is a character story. I loved this book because I was fascinated by, empathized with, and just generally enjoyed reading about Eniola and Wuraola, as well as the characters that come in and out of their lives. Even the glimpses we get into other characters, however brief, add context and depth to the story.
For me, this was leaps and bounds better than the author's debut novel, Stay With Me, which I enjoyed but didn't love. Something about this book just clicked for me. I had been interested in reading it, but wasn't pushed to pick it up until it was longlisted for the Booker this year. So glad it was, and definitely one of my favorites from the list so far!
February 12, 2023
Ayobami Adebayo burst onto the literary scene back in 2017 with the critically acclaimed Stay with Me, so to say her follow-up was eagerly anticipated is an understatement. This one is also set in her native Nigeria and focuses primarily on two characters from vastly different backgrounds. Eniola is a teenage boy who comes from a struggling family. His father has recently lost his job and can't afford to pay his son's school fees. Eniola is even forced to beg on the street outside church, and when an offer of free food plus easy money comes his way he jumps at it, but of course there's a catch. Meanwhile Wuraola, a 28-year-old doctor, comes from wealth. On the surface things are going well for her. She has an exciting career and is set to marry her partner, Kunle. However, there are problems in that relationship which she can't bring herself to admit. Even though they come from opposite sides of the track, Eniola and Wuraola's lives are about to collide in an unexpected way.
Adebayo uses her story to examine several different themes, such as the crushing effects of poverty and the very different pressures of operating in more affluent circles. She addresses family and social issues in a thoughtful way, and I was impressed at how she explored the difficulty in escaping an abusive relationship. The best part of the book for me was the ending - a powerful and shocking finale that left me reeling. However, I thought it took much too long to get to that point. I don't think the story needed to go so deep on some of the secondary characters, e.g. the families of the two protagonists and the tailor that Eniola works for. However I would still recommend A Spell of Good Things - it's a tragic, memorable tale that shows Adebayo's impressive debut was no flash in the pan.
Adebayo uses her story to examine several different themes, such as the crushing effects of poverty and the very different pressures of operating in more affluent circles. She addresses family and social issues in a thoughtful way, and I was impressed at how she explored the difficulty in escaping an abusive relationship. The best part of the book for me was the ending - a powerful and shocking finale that left me reeling. However, I thought it took much too long to get to that point. I don't think the story needed to go so deep on some of the secondary characters, e.g. the families of the two protagonists and the tailor that Eniola works for. However I would still recommend A Spell of Good Things - it's a tragic, memorable tale that shows Adebayo's impressive debut was no flash in the pan.
January 17, 2023
A novel about class, privilege set in Nigeria. Eniola runs errands for the local tailor and tries to raise money in order to pay his and his sister's school fees. Wuraola is a young doctor from a wealthy family, engaged to the son of a politician. Their lives collide briefly with a momentous impact.
What I liked?
The vivid scenes completely captured my heart. The dinner party. Mother Yeye having thoughts while thinking about earrings. Wuraola's sister who confronts the family at a family dinner. And Wuraola's denial at the same party. Eniola's dream to attend a big school. His shock when his parents cook his favorite meal with no reason and then hint at their plans for him. The beating students who do not pay the fees endure at school. The difference in reaction to the above punishment by Eniola and his sister. The shame Eniola feels when he is forced to beg. The helplessness he feels when he is hungry and sees peanuts being fried. When Eniola lies about stealing a phone to clear an interview (and also get food)—one of my fav scenes.
If I could read each scene as a short story, this would be an incredible book. Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ proves once again that she has an excellent command over characters and their lives. Her writing touches your heart. My heart certainly went out to Eniola who is pushed into the nefarious plan of a local politician. I could feel the suffocation suffered by Wuraola. Why does she suffer so?
The villains are ruthless, manipulative and take advantage. I loved how every character had a well rounded personality.
Cons:
The story does not pick up until 40% of the book. This was an incredibly long wait and I continued with the book because I love Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀'s writing. I wasn't disappointed though. It was an engaging and heartfelt read after that. I only wish the first half of the book was tighter with a purpose because I imagine many readers might give up before the 40% mark. The first half wasn't bad by any means, just that you expect more from such a fine writer.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. And Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ remains one of my favorite writers.
3.5 stars
PS: Ignore reviews that say the book has 'too many characters'. Large number of characters is a norm in non-white writing, and communities. Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ has introduced her cast very well and given every single character a well-fleshed personality. No two are alike. The cast of characters isn't confusing at all. I hope white readers would do the bare minimum of understanding how other communities exist.
What I liked?
The vivid scenes completely captured my heart. The dinner party. Mother Yeye having thoughts while thinking about earrings. Wuraola's sister who confronts the family at a family dinner. And Wuraola's denial at the same party. Eniola's dream to attend a big school. His shock when his parents cook his favorite meal with no reason and then hint at their plans for him. The beating students who do not pay the fees endure at school. The difference in reaction to the above punishment by Eniola and his sister. The shame Eniola feels when he is forced to beg. The helplessness he feels when he is hungry and sees peanuts being fried. When Eniola lies about stealing a phone to clear an interview (and also get food)—one of my fav scenes.
If I could read each scene as a short story, this would be an incredible book. Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ proves once again that she has an excellent command over characters and their lives. Her writing touches your heart. My heart certainly went out to Eniola who is pushed into the nefarious plan of a local politician. I could feel the suffocation suffered by Wuraola. Why does she suffer so?
The villains are ruthless, manipulative and take advantage. I loved how every character had a well rounded personality.
Cons:
The story does not pick up until 40% of the book. This was an incredibly long wait and I continued with the book because I love Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀'s writing. I wasn't disappointed though. It was an engaging and heartfelt read after that. I only wish the first half of the book was tighter with a purpose because I imagine many readers might give up before the 40% mark. The first half wasn't bad by any means, just that you expect more from such a fine writer.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. And Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ remains one of my favorite writers.
3.5 stars
PS: Ignore reviews that say the book has 'too many characters'. Large number of characters is a norm in non-white writing, and communities. Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ has introduced her cast very well and given every single character a well-fleshed personality. No two are alike. The cast of characters isn't confusing at all. I hope white readers would do the bare minimum of understanding how other communities exist.
August 28, 2023
I the spirit of honest reviews, I found it quite difficult to invest in, or connect to this novel, and it took me a long time to find any rhythm in reading it. It’s a competent piece of modern African fiction, and does many of the things we’d expect from this kind of writing, and even does some of them well. For this reader though, the inconsistent pacing made it difficult for me to really ‘get into the story’. In a story littered with misfortune, struggle, and trauma, only one of the central characters really sparked my empathy. Ultimately I felt this was a story that was doing many things I’d read before, but perhaps not quite as well? It as was saved (ish) by the blockbuster vibes of the final section, but even this felt a little to convenient as a ‘bringing things together’ for me.
July 10, 2023
Set in contemporary Nigeria, this book is written in the alternating points of view of two characters. Eniola is a schoolboy with an unemployed father. There is no money to pay for his education. Wuraola is a young doctor from a wealthy family. She is engaged to the son of a politician. The families do not converge until late in the book.
I enjoyed the author’s first book, but this one was a disappointment. It was really slow and boring and I wound up skimming. Only the last 20% of the book interested me. The ending was tragic, but felt incomplete. Before that ending the story was meandering. The contrast between Eniola’s impoverished situation and Wuraola’s privileged one didn’t reveal anything that we don’t already know. We also already know that politicians are corrupt in all countries. Eniola’s story was certainly the more compelling one as he struggled to pay for his education and was forced to beg with his family. The story of Wuraola and her abusive boyfriend was not very interesting to me.
I listened to the audiobook and I sometimes found the male narrator difficult to understand. I also had the ebook, and that made things slightly clearer, but there were some untranslated Nigerian words used. However, I am glad that I listened to the audiobook because I never would have figured out how to pronounce some of the names.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
I enjoyed the author’s first book, but this one was a disappointment. It was really slow and boring and I wound up skimming. Only the last 20% of the book interested me. The ending was tragic, but felt incomplete. Before that ending the story was meandering. The contrast between Eniola’s impoverished situation and Wuraola’s privileged one didn’t reveal anything that we don’t already know. We also already know that politicians are corrupt in all countries. Eniola’s story was certainly the more compelling one as he struggled to pay for his education and was forced to beg with his family. The story of Wuraola and her abusive boyfriend was not very interesting to me.
I listened to the audiobook and I sometimes found the male narrator difficult to understand. I also had the ebook, and that made things slightly clearer, but there were some untranslated Nigerian words used. However, I am glad that I listened to the audiobook because I never would have figured out how to pronounce some of the names.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
August 15, 2023
I found myself in the doldrums with this novel for at least 200 pages. It is highly reminiscent of other works by Adichie, Gyasi, and Braithwaite, so the story itself felt like well-traveled territory: who can and cannot cook great jollof rice, what quality of akara cloth is being worn by Third Sister, whether the cousin's husband is handsome or rich (seldom both), rampant political corruption, and intelligent children disadvantaged by crushing poverty. The hurricane that is the final 50 pages was an entirely different experience but - for this reader at least - insufficient to make up for the time already spent getting to that point. It also felt somewhat tacked on to what preceded it and a bit rushed.
3.5 rounded up because, despite my reservations, it's likely to stay with me for a while.
3.5 rounded up because, despite my reservations, it's likely to stay with me for a while.
March 7, 2023
Why does she keep doing this to me??
September 8, 2023
Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2023
This is a book that is easy to admire but more difficult to enjoy, in part because the story is relentlessly bleak. Its two strands and main protagonists only meet in rather contrived circumstances and never really interact, but both are necessary to tell the story of two families, one of them broken and the other apparently thriving due to their ties with Nigeria's corrupt elites. The whole thing is set in a provincial town that most have no prospect of escaping, and Adébáyọ̀'s portrait of Nigeria is not a flattering one. For all that this is a well crafted story that sheds light on a number of important issues, and I would not be at all surprised if it makes the Booker shortlist.
This is a book that is easy to admire but more difficult to enjoy, in part because the story is relentlessly bleak. Its two strands and main protagonists only meet in rather contrived circumstances and never really interact, but both are necessary to tell the story of two families, one of them broken and the other apparently thriving due to their ties with Nigeria's corrupt elites. The whole thing is set in a provincial town that most have no prospect of escaping, and Adébáyọ̀'s portrait of Nigeria is not a flattering one. For all that this is a well crafted story that sheds light on a number of important issues, and I would not be at all surprised if it makes the Booker shortlist.
August 23, 2023
"What if everything that is to happen has already happened, and only the consequences are playing themselves out?"
Adebayo tells us a story of two families in Modern day Nigeria. Two families at the opposite ends of the social and financial spectrum, each facing their own troubles.
Eniola, the young teen is not the brightest student but he loves school and dreams of getting admission in a top private school that his father has promised him. Their lives take a turn for the worse when his father is made redundant and the little family suffers to make ends meet.
Wuraola, the young doctor, on the other hand is born with a silver spoon in her mouth. But she is still bogged down with the continuous societal and familial pressures. Which are exacerbated due to her being a woman. An insufferable mother who pressures her to get married, a fiance who belongs to a well connected family but doesn't exactly turn out to be prince charming.
While Adebayo takes us through the lives of these two characters, there is a third storyline about how this affluent family is connected to an honourable politician, using and later abusing them.
Eniola gets caught up in the politician's dirty games and that leads us to how the two families converge and the consequences of their actions play out. The last 100 pages were pretty gripping all the way to the disastrous end.
Adebayo's writing is smart and effective. The narrative is compelling. The low depths Eniola's family gradually sinks to is not only shocking but heartbreaking. How Wuraola suffers through a toxic relationship just to bow down to what is required of her as a woman is alarming and painful.
My two main concerns would be that one, the narrative takes too long to get going. There are some unnecessary scenes and situations about each member of the two families which slow down the pace, until the last quarter where the story speeds up. Second, while you do feel for the two main characters, the story as a whole lacks the level of emotion that Stay With Me had, hitting me like a punch in the gut.
Overall, I totally recommend it. A fairly good follow up to an incredible debut.
Adebayo tells us a story of two families in Modern day Nigeria. Two families at the opposite ends of the social and financial spectrum, each facing their own troubles.
Eniola, the young teen is not the brightest student but he loves school and dreams of getting admission in a top private school that his father has promised him. Their lives take a turn for the worse when his father is made redundant and the little family suffers to make ends meet.
Wuraola, the young doctor, on the other hand is born with a silver spoon in her mouth. But she is still bogged down with the continuous societal and familial pressures. Which are exacerbated due to her being a woman. An insufferable mother who pressures her to get married, a fiance who belongs to a well connected family but doesn't exactly turn out to be prince charming.
While Adebayo takes us through the lives of these two characters, there is a third storyline about how this affluent family is connected to an honourable politician, using and later abusing them.
Eniola gets caught up in the politician's dirty games and that leads us to how the two families converge and the consequences of their actions play out. The last 100 pages were pretty gripping all the way to the disastrous end.
Adebayo's writing is smart and effective. The narrative is compelling. The low depths Eniola's family gradually sinks to is not only shocking but heartbreaking. How Wuraola suffers through a toxic relationship just to bow down to what is required of her as a woman is alarming and painful.
My two main concerns would be that one, the narrative takes too long to get going. There are some unnecessary scenes and situations about each member of the two families which slow down the pace, until the last quarter where the story speeds up. Second, while you do feel for the two main characters, the story as a whole lacks the level of emotion that Stay With Me had, hitting me like a punch in the gut.
Overall, I totally recommend it. A fairly good follow up to an incredible debut.
August 4, 2023
Longlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize.
4.5 Stars!
As a child Eniola would close his eyes when in trouble. Like an ostrich sticking its head in the sand, he thought nobody could see him if he could not see them. But everybody saw the newspaper vendor spit in his face. Eniola blames his father for the spit and the enraged vendor. His father sent him to pick up the paper. He sent Eniola because he had not paid the vendor for months. It should be his father with spit on his face. The vendor is just one of many creditors his father owes money. His father, along with many other teachers in the state were sacked, the subjects they taught judged no longer important. Eniola’s dream to go away to boarding school, of further education, is lost along with his father’s job. It is not the only thing lost. The car, the furniture, the fridge, the television. Everything Eniola’s family owns, disappears in a spiral that ends in poverty.
Wuraola has received the education that Eniola desperately craves. Unlike Eniola’s family, Wuraola comes from a family of comfortable wealth. She is a doctor, engaged to be married.
Eniola and Wuraola are the two protagonists of the novel. Both have their own narratives, but their narratives are destined to cross.
Both characters represent the two extremes that exist side by side. Extreme poverty and extreme wealth. Eniola and his family have no money at all. His mother forced to beg each day for hours on end, while his father spends his days in bed staring at the wall, crippled with failure and shame, teetering on the edge of suicide. In stark contrast, Wuraola’s family live in a world of abundance. Status and class, not food and survival, their priorities.
Set in contemporary Nigeria, Adebayo uses both narratives to expose the county’s woefully inadequate education and health systems. The disparity between the rich and the poor. Extreme poverty juxtaposed with abundant wealth. The patriarchal society that the state is mired in. Wuraola comes to realise that her future husband is not the man she thinks he is. What starts out as a slap, spirals quickly into dangerous physical abuse.
The novel darkens towards the end, and Adebayo addresses another problem, that being political corruption and the violence and terror that it fuels. Violence and terror that both character’s paths ultimately converge on. A convergence from which wealth is no protection.
This book is beautifully written and the way that the two narrative arcs cross and ultimately join is skilfully done.
4.5 Stars!
As a child Eniola would close his eyes when in trouble. Like an ostrich sticking its head in the sand, he thought nobody could see him if he could not see them. But everybody saw the newspaper vendor spit in his face. Eniola blames his father for the spit and the enraged vendor. His father sent him to pick up the paper. He sent Eniola because he had not paid the vendor for months. It should be his father with spit on his face. The vendor is just one of many creditors his father owes money. His father, along with many other teachers in the state were sacked, the subjects they taught judged no longer important. Eniola’s dream to go away to boarding school, of further education, is lost along with his father’s job. It is not the only thing lost. The car, the furniture, the fridge, the television. Everything Eniola’s family owns, disappears in a spiral that ends in poverty.
Wuraola has received the education that Eniola desperately craves. Unlike Eniola’s family, Wuraola comes from a family of comfortable wealth. She is a doctor, engaged to be married.
Eniola and Wuraola are the two protagonists of the novel. Both have their own narratives, but their narratives are destined to cross.
Both characters represent the two extremes that exist side by side. Extreme poverty and extreme wealth. Eniola and his family have no money at all. His mother forced to beg each day for hours on end, while his father spends his days in bed staring at the wall, crippled with failure and shame, teetering on the edge of suicide. In stark contrast, Wuraola’s family live in a world of abundance. Status and class, not food and survival, their priorities.
Set in contemporary Nigeria, Adebayo uses both narratives to expose the county’s woefully inadequate education and health systems. The disparity between the rich and the poor. Extreme poverty juxtaposed with abundant wealth. The patriarchal society that the state is mired in. Wuraola comes to realise that her future husband is not the man she thinks he is. What starts out as a slap, spirals quickly into dangerous physical abuse.
The novel darkens towards the end, and Adebayo addresses another problem, that being political corruption and the violence and terror that it fuels. Violence and terror that both character’s paths ultimately converge on. A convergence from which wealth is no protection.
This book is beautifully written and the way that the two narrative arcs cross and ultimately join is skilfully done.
February 21, 2023
I’ve actually had Ayobami Adebayo’s debut novel
Stay With Me
on my TBR for a while, but unfortunately, despite the best of intentions, I never got around to picking it up (classic case of “too many books, too little time”). Well, a few weeks ago, when an ARC of her second book,
A Spell of Good Things
, landed in my email box, I was determined that, this time, I will get around to it. And I am so glad I did because Adebayo’s writing here is amazing — poetic, lyrical, completely immersive and engaging. I also appreciated getting to learn about Nigeria and a culture that I knew next to nothing about prior to reading this book — though I will admit that the sentences and phrases written in an untranslated Nigerian dialect throughout the book did throw me for a loop in that I had to stop and look stuff up at times in order to fully understand what I was reading.
With that said though, the book’s subject matter is actually quite heavy. The story revolves around two main characters — a female doctor in her twenties named Wuraola and a teenage boy named Eniola — from two Nigerian families at opposite ends of the economic spectrum (the extremely wealthy vs the devastatingly impoverished, the “haves” vs the “have-nots”) whose paths unexpectedly yet inevitably intertwine, amidst a backdrop of economic strife, political corruption, violence, and tragedy (and that’s just scratching the surface). Even though there were moments of levity (manifested primarily through one of the Wuraola aunties and a few other relatives) interspersed primarily throughout the first half of the story, much of the second half had an undercurrent of bleakness and sadness to it that I actually found difficult to shake even after I had turned the last page.
I don’t want to say too much about this one, as I feel this is the type of story that you have to actually experience for it to be most impactful. What I will say is that this is one of those quiet, slow-burn type stories that takes its time to build up and play out — thoughtfully, meticulously, carefully — then in the last quarter or so of the book, the story suddenly hits you in the gut and you’re left reeling a bit. For me, I found myself still thinking about that last quarter of the book even long after I had finished reading — I kept playing though different scenarios and wondering, if certain people had acted differently, if some circumstances had been different, would that have changed things in the end?
While this was not an easy read by any means (especially emotionally), I’m glad I picked it up, as it was a unique, thought-provoking experience that doesn’t come around too often. I know for sure now that I need to go back and read Adebayo’s debut, sooner rather than later.
Received ARC from Knopf via NetGalley.
With that said though, the book’s subject matter is actually quite heavy. The story revolves around two main characters — a female doctor in her twenties named Wuraola and a teenage boy named Eniola — from two Nigerian families at opposite ends of the economic spectrum (the extremely wealthy vs the devastatingly impoverished, the “haves” vs the “have-nots”) whose paths unexpectedly yet inevitably intertwine, amidst a backdrop of economic strife, political corruption, violence, and tragedy (and that’s just scratching the surface). Even though there were moments of levity (manifested primarily through one of the Wuraola aunties and a few other relatives) interspersed primarily throughout the first half of the story, much of the second half had an undercurrent of bleakness and sadness to it that I actually found difficult to shake even after I had turned the last page.
I don’t want to say too much about this one, as I feel this is the type of story that you have to actually experience for it to be most impactful. What I will say is that this is one of those quiet, slow-burn type stories that takes its time to build up and play out — thoughtfully, meticulously, carefully — then in the last quarter or so of the book, the story suddenly hits you in the gut and you’re left reeling a bit. For me, I found myself still thinking about that last quarter of the book even long after I had finished reading — I kept playing though different scenarios and wondering, if certain people had acted differently, if some circumstances had been different, would that have changed things in the end?
While this was not an easy read by any means (especially emotionally), I’m glad I picked it up, as it was a unique, thought-provoking experience that doesn’t come around too often. I know for sure now that I need to go back and read Adebayo’s debut, sooner rather than later.
Received ARC from Knopf via NetGalley.
August 21, 2023
She had always marvelled at his calm reassurance that everything good in his life would either remain the same or get better. He took good fortune for granted. As though it were impossible that it would abide only for a spell. She had never been able to shake the sense that life was war, a series of battles with the occasional spell of good things.
I’ve read quite a few books set in modern-day Nigeria (enough to acknowledge that as colonists drew the country’s borders, this enforced association of unaffiliated tribes is no cultural monolith), and while I am open to learning more about the pressures that any group of people live under, I really didn’t learn anything new in A Spell of Good Things. Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ (whose previous novel Stay with Me did expand my heart and mind) is going for an intergenerational epic here: Rotating between the POVs of many members of an upper class and a lower class family, she demonstrates the ways in which every Nigerian is negatively affected by political corruption, lack of investment in social programs and infrastructure, and entrenched social customs. But there really wasn’t anything new or surprising in the details. Adébáyọ̀’s characters are well-drawn and sympathetic — it’s hard not to wince as various people are controlled or beaten by those who have power over them — but overall, the writing is straightforward, often dull, and builds to a dramatic conclusion devoid of any literary or philosophical payoff. This was fine, but I wouldn’t give it the Booker Prize.
God forbid she ever say it out loud, but Kúnlé was a much better catch than she expected for Wúràọlá. The longer Wúràọlá had remained single, flitting from one unserious boyfriend to another, the more Yèyé had worried that, when she did decide to commit to one of them, closer to thirty than twenty, she would be left with a pool of expiring men who were unmarried because no one wanted them. On her worst days, she had imagined Wúràọlá ending up with some barely educated drunkard whose parents lived in a house with no indoor plumbing. And how would that have improved on her daughter’s fortunes in this life?
Although the novel rotates between nine POVs, the two main characters are: Ẹniọlá — a poor boy in his last year of secondary school, whose father had been laid off from his teaching job years before, and as the dad now spends his days in bed staring at the wall, Ẹniọlá’s mom is forced to beg and scavenge to afford her children’s school fees and rent on their squalid flat, and: Wúràọlá — a brilliant doctor rotating through her hospital residencies, from a rich and influential family, whose mother is pressuring her to get married. Although these two characters couldn’t be more different, the failings of their government affect them in the same ways: lack of investment in education and healthcare sees not enough teachers and books for Ẹniọlá, not enough fellow doctors or medicine for Wúràọlá; without enough food, Ẹniọlá is lucky to get one meal a day, whereas Wúràọlá is too busy to stop and eat more than once a day; with an upcoming election, venal politicians will put pressure on Wúràọlá’s father to support this one or that if he wants to continue getting government contracts, while those same politicians won’t be above hiring a poor boy like Ẹniọlá to enforce a different kind of pressure:
Ẹniọlá pressed his forehead against the window. So what if he was carrying a machete? Holy Michael had not asked him to hurt anyone with it, he was just going to scare people a little. If he could help his mother and sister, could whatever made it possible be as wrong as his father claimed?
While not very much happens for most of the novel, Ẹniọlá on a bus with a machete does initiate dramatic events, and while I see that many reviewers think the ending justifies the journey, I’m going to shield myself behind the Kirkus review that refers to this “trajectory” as “predictable and moralizing”; hey, their words, not mine.
I found it interesting that Adébáyọ̀ presents the female characters as smarter and more capable than their male partners — although Ẹniọlá is shown as desperate to complete his education, it’s his younger sister who gets perfect grades; Wúràọlá is a respected doctor while her fiancé couldn’t pass the entrance exam to med school; Ẹniọlá’s mom will do anything to support her family while his dad is too depressed to even apply for work; Wúràọlá’s mother, Yèyé, has secret investments in case their “spell of good things” runs dry (advice she received from her very capable older sisters); even the tailor shop (a storyline that I think could have been cut without losing anything) is owned by a woman. It was interesting that women can succeed in this society — there doesn’t seem to be any barrier to girls receiving the same educational opportunities as boys — even though they still suffer under sexist customs (the women aren’t complete until they’re married; the poor family’s landlord will only deal with the dad, even though it’s the mom who scrapes together the rent; there are countless rules for prostrating themselves before, addressing, and serving the men.) Even so, I was intrigued that Adébáyọ̀ would present someone as independent and intelligent as Dr Wúràọlá getting giddily caught up in the admiration of others once she does get engaged and I get that Adébáyọ̀ is addressing both sexism and classism — and the extra pressures put on people by a corrupt government — but I honestly don’t think she’s saying anything new here: yeah, these things are bad; no, this didn’t do much for me.
November 23, 2023
Finally another Adebayo!!
I still think about her debut Stay with Me even though I read it years and years ago upon its release.
——————
Just read it. Sadly, I found it a trudge to get through and hard to connect with :’( I’m sorry Adebayo I’m still a huge fan and Stay with Me is a masterpiece.
I still think about her debut Stay with Me even though I read it years and years ago upon its release.
——————
Just read it. Sadly, I found it a trudge to get through and hard to connect with :’( I’m sorry Adebayo I’m still a huge fan and Stay with Me is a masterpiece.
August 5, 2023
BOOKER PRIZE 2023 LONGLIST
A SPELL OF GOOD THINGS by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀
*** 1/2 rounded up
Adébáyọ̀ caught many’s attention with the release of her first novel STAY WITH ME, which dealt with the turbulent world of polygamous marriage structures. Shortlisted for many prestigious prizes, Adébáyọ̀ quickly emerged as one of the new and exciting voices of contemporary African literature. Her follow up, A SPELL OF GOOD THINGS, casts an even wider net, delving into class, gender, and the broader tensions of the Nigerian political landscape.
The plot follows two central characters, Eniola, a young boy whose father’s dismissal as a school teacher has flung his family into economic uncertainty, and Wuraolo, the daughter of wealth, a successful doctor and soon-to-be wife of a powerful political figure’s son. Both their lives are sent into chaotic places, Eniola being drawn into the violent underworld of pollical power in Nigeria and Wuraolo discovering her suitor does not shy away from violent outbursts directed at her.
Adébáyọ̀ writes powerfully, the dialogue filled with emotion, and the novel’s closing act is riveting.
I found this more appealing than STAY WITH ME but it was also a bit disjointed. The multiple perspectives was overwhelming at times and the intersection of the two main plotlines felt forced. I would have preferred if the focus was Wuraolo’s story.
A quick note on the audiobook. There are two narrators, one for women characters and one for men (although even this becomes inconsistent). The male narrator has a breathy voice that made for foggy diction that made it hard to follow. In hindsight I would read the text.
#bookstareadsthebooker2023 #bookstagramreadsthebooker #bookerprize #bookprizes #africanliterature #nigerianliterature #bookreview #literaryfiction #igbooks #audiobook #libbyapp
A SPELL OF GOOD THINGS by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀
*** 1/2 rounded up
Adébáyọ̀ caught many’s attention with the release of her first novel STAY WITH ME, which dealt with the turbulent world of polygamous marriage structures. Shortlisted for many prestigious prizes, Adébáyọ̀ quickly emerged as one of the new and exciting voices of contemporary African literature. Her follow up, A SPELL OF GOOD THINGS, casts an even wider net, delving into class, gender, and the broader tensions of the Nigerian political landscape.
The plot follows two central characters, Eniola, a young boy whose father’s dismissal as a school teacher has flung his family into economic uncertainty, and Wuraolo, the daughter of wealth, a successful doctor and soon-to-be wife of a powerful political figure’s son. Both their lives are sent into chaotic places, Eniola being drawn into the violent underworld of pollical power in Nigeria and Wuraolo discovering her suitor does not shy away from violent outbursts directed at her.
Adébáyọ̀ writes powerfully, the dialogue filled with emotion, and the novel’s closing act is riveting.
I found this more appealing than STAY WITH ME but it was also a bit disjointed. The multiple perspectives was overwhelming at times and the intersection of the two main plotlines felt forced. I would have preferred if the focus was Wuraolo’s story.
A quick note on the audiobook. There are two narrators, one for women characters and one for men (although even this becomes inconsistent). The male narrator has a breathy voice that made for foggy diction that made it hard to follow. In hindsight I would read the text.
#bookstareadsthebooker2023 #bookstagramreadsthebooker #bookerprize #bookprizes #africanliterature #nigerianliterature #bookreview #literaryfiction #igbooks #audiobook #libbyapp
September 14, 2023
2.5, rounded up.
13th and final book of the 2023 Booker longlist for me! I made it! Ranked 11th.
First off - a mini-rant: I understand the impetus for authors for whom English is NOT their first language, writing about a different culture, and their desire to lend their works authenticity, verisimilitude and an exotic flavor by liberally sprinkling their texts with words and phrases from their native languages; in this case, Yoruba, the language of Nigeria.
About half the time here one can figure out from the context or from translations within the sentences what is being talked about, or infrequently, Kindle will have the word in its dictionary. But since Yoruba uses a surfeit of diacritical marks not found on a typical keyboard, one can't even really use Google Translator to help one decipher the rest.
SO - unless you provide footnotes and/or a GODDAMN glossary, you are doing yourself a disservice and showing contempt for your audience by not including them into what you are trying to say. Here, most egregiously, the climax contains two long sentences the characters shout out in moments of high tension - and I haven't a clue what either of them are saying. I took off a full star because of this annoyance.
Despite that, this novel also suffers from reading like it HAS been written in a foreign language and then been translated poorly into English - the prose is both simplistic and somewhat stilted. The stories being told here are also rather generic - strip them of their unfamiliar locale and boil them down to their essential elements (a woman in an abusive relationship; an impoverished boy unwittingly getting in over his head by joining a thuggish politician's gang) and they are stale and hackneyed. Transport those storylines to say, Brooklyn. and people wouldn't even bat an eye.
Often the African based books chosen for the Booker longlist suffer from this quality, and one can only surmise they've been included in some dunderheaded attempt to be PC (My Sister, the Serial Killer being the only notable exception in the past decade). Doubt this will make the longlist and would be genuinely shocked should it win, but I didn't hate it ... and I'd have never picked it up except for its nomination, so kudos for that.
13th and final book of the 2023 Booker longlist for me! I made it! Ranked 11th.
First off - a mini-rant: I understand the impetus for authors for whom English is NOT their first language, writing about a different culture, and their desire to lend their works authenticity, verisimilitude and an exotic flavor by liberally sprinkling their texts with words and phrases from their native languages; in this case, Yoruba, the language of Nigeria.
About half the time here one can figure out from the context or from translations within the sentences what is being talked about, or infrequently, Kindle will have the word in its dictionary. But since Yoruba uses a surfeit of diacritical marks not found on a typical keyboard, one can't even really use Google Translator to help one decipher the rest.
SO - unless you provide footnotes and/or a GODDAMN glossary, you are doing yourself a disservice and showing contempt for your audience by not including them into what you are trying to say. Here, most egregiously, the climax contains two long sentences the characters shout out in moments of high tension - and I haven't a clue what either of them are saying. I took off a full star because of this annoyance.
Despite that, this novel also suffers from reading like it HAS been written in a foreign language and then been translated poorly into English - the prose is both simplistic and somewhat stilted. The stories being told here are also rather generic - strip them of their unfamiliar locale and boil them down to their essential elements (a woman in an abusive relationship; an impoverished boy unwittingly getting in over his head by joining a thuggish politician's gang) and they are stale and hackneyed. Transport those storylines to say, Brooklyn. and people wouldn't even bat an eye.
Often the African based books chosen for the Booker longlist suffer from this quality, and one can only surmise they've been included in some dunderheaded attempt to be PC (My Sister, the Serial Killer being the only notable exception in the past decade). Doubt this will make the longlist and would be genuinely shocked should it win, but I didn't hate it ... and I'd have never picked it up except for its nomination, so kudos for that.
February 18, 2023
Ayobami Adebayo is one of my favourite authors, and she didn't disappoint with this book. I must warn you, this isn't a light and easy read. The main characters, Eniola and Wuraola come from very different worlds. Eniola is a poor and confused teenager whose only wish is to continue his education as his family plunges deeper and deeper into poverty while Wura is a doctor from a wealthy and established family. Class privilege, the weight of familial expectations, politics, poverty and ambition are all explored in the book. Ayobami is an amazing writer, and not just in terms of creating a good story, but also writing style. Reading this book a few weeks before the Nigerian elections also hits differently and gave me, even more, to think about but even barring that, it's just a really, really good book. Definitely going to have this as a book club pick and can't wait to discuss it with a ton of people. Amazing read
August 12, 2023
Is there going to be any joy in the Booker dozen or just a bleak pile on? It took a long time to get into this but the finale was quite a surprise, and not a good one.
August 14, 2023
100th book of 2023.
2.5. Most reviews say the same things I'm going to say: parts of this were good but on the whole the novel felt so baggy; it could lose the first half probably without much damage to the rest. The ending is rushed and the 'coming together' was a little underwhelming. I found Adébáyọ̀'s prose a little stuffy too. A lot of time is given to conversations and scenes that brought little to the actual narrative. The wedding preparations, for example. A shame. Not a bad book but just too messy and not enough payoff. I liked the characters for the most part and certain scenes were well executed, particularly those with domestic violence in them. The reasonings of the abusive boyfriend are things I've heard, to a lesser degree, from the mouths of men I know.
2.5. Most reviews say the same things I'm going to say: parts of this were good but on the whole the novel felt so baggy; it could lose the first half probably without much damage to the rest. The ending is rushed and the 'coming together' was a little underwhelming. I found Adébáyọ̀'s prose a little stuffy too. A lot of time is given to conversations and scenes that brought little to the actual narrative. The wedding preparations, for example. A shame. Not a bad book but just too messy and not enough payoff. I liked the characters for the most part and certain scenes were well executed, particularly those with domestic violence in them. The reasonings of the abusive boyfriend are things I've heard, to a lesser degree, from the mouths of men I know.
January 25, 2024
While the story touches on important stuff the writing style was so dry and flat and there were so many characters that all more or less sounded the exact same that I just never really got into the proverbial swing of it.
Neutral 2.5 rounded up.
Neutral 2.5 rounded up.
March 19, 2025
I decided to try again!
I benefited from a second listen - I gave more concentration, kept up with the characters, and enjoyed it more.
I benefited from a second listen - I gave more concentration, kept up with the characters, and enjoyed it more.
December 25, 2023
Je reste donc éveillée jusqu'à 1h du matin pour finir choquée 🫠😳
Ce roman m'a secouée et malmenée mais j'ai dévore chaque page.
Foncez et préparez les mouchoirs
Ce roman m'a secouée et malmenée mais j'ai dévore chaque page.
Foncez et préparez les mouchoirs
February 27, 2025
اگه به خاطر پایان بندی سکتهای داستان نبود حتما پنج ستاره کاملو بهش میدادم.
داستان حول محور بررسی بُروز و escalation خشونت می چرخه. اینکه چطور با انکار نشانه ها، کمکم خشونت تبدیل به مصیبت میشه. آدِبایو اینجا خشونت خانگی و خشونت خیابانی رُ بررسی میکنه و هر دو رُ همسنخ و همریشه، و مطیع شرایط سیاسی-اقتصادی جامعه میدونه.
در کنار این تم تفکر برانگیز، ما مخاطبان غیر بومی، در پس زمینه و بطن داستان با قسمتهایی خصوصی تر از فرهنگ و سیاست در زندگی روزمره مردم نیجریه آشنا میشیم که همینطور که قبلاً هم گفته بودم به واسطه غریبهآشنا بودنشون برای منِ ایرانی به شدت متاثر کننده بود.
باید اضافه کنم که منظورم از «غریبهآشنا» اینه که تک تک شخصیت ها، حوادث، جو پُرآلایندهٔ سیاسی و اسکلت نزار اقتصادی و حتی سیستم مریض درمانیِ نیجریهٔ داستان برای ما آشناست. اما به نظرم فعلاً و تا قبل از ظهور قریبالوقوع دلار ۱ میلیون تومنی، میشه گفت نیجریه همون ایرانه ولی on crack.
کتاب از نظر نگارش:
آدبایو آوای ادبی (voice) رسا و باصلابتی داره و نثرش بهخاطر جایگزاری دقیق حوادث و جزییات، استفاده اقتصادی از کلمات و گردش بین راویان متعدد، از گام (pace) مُدونی برخورداره. به علاوه و مهمتر: هر۶-۵ شخصیت اصلی داستان در نهایت دارای آراک داستانی هستند و پویا.
از آدیوبوک اصلا. راضی نبودم. به لحجه راوی عادت کردم ولی عدم تغییر تون باعث مونوتون شدن و گم کردن خط داستانی میشد.
در کل و برای پروژه آشنایی با ادبیات و متعاقباً فرهنگ مردم نیجریه و آفریقا این کتابو انتخاب کرده بودم و از این انتخاب راضی ام.
پی نوشت:
الان که داشتم دربارهش بیشتر میخوندم فهمیدم این کتاب برای جایزه بوکرمن ۲۰۲۳ لانگلیست شده بوده.
داستان حول محور بررسی بُروز و escalation خشونت می چرخه. اینکه چطور با انکار نشانه ها، کمکم خشونت تبدیل به مصیبت میشه. آدِبایو اینجا خشونت خانگی و خشونت خیابانی رُ بررسی میکنه و هر دو رُ همسنخ و همریشه، و مطیع شرایط سیاسی-اقتصادی جامعه میدونه.
در کنار این تم تفکر برانگیز، ما مخاطبان غیر بومی، در پس زمینه و بطن داستان با قسمتهایی خصوصی تر از فرهنگ و سیاست در زندگی روزمره مردم نیجریه آشنا میشیم که همینطور که قبلاً هم گفته بودم به واسطه غریبهآشنا بودنشون برای منِ ایرانی به شدت متاثر کننده بود.
باید اضافه کنم که منظورم از «غریبهآشنا» اینه که تک تک شخصیت ها، حوادث، جو پُرآلایندهٔ سیاسی و اسکلت نزار اقتصادی و حتی سیستم مریض درمانیِ نیجریهٔ داستان برای ما آشناست. اما به نظرم فعلاً و تا قبل از ظهور قریبالوقوع دلار ۱ میلیون تومنی، میشه گفت نیجریه همون ایرانه ولی on crack.
کتاب از نظر نگارش:
آدبایو آوای ادبی (voice) رسا و باصلابتی داره و نثرش بهخاطر جایگزاری دقیق حوادث و جزییات، استفاده اقتصادی از کلمات و گردش بین راویان متعدد، از گام (pace) مُدونی برخورداره. به علاوه و مهمتر: هر۶-۵ شخصیت اصلی داستان در نهایت دارای آراک داستانی هستند و پویا.
از آدیوبوک اصلا. راضی نبودم. به لحجه راوی عادت کردم ولی عدم تغییر تون باعث مونوتون شدن و گم کردن خط داستانی میشد.
در کل و برای پروژه آشنایی با ادبیات و متعاقباً فرهنگ مردم نیجریه و آفریقا این کتابو انتخاب کرده بودم و از این انتخاب راضی ام.
پی نوشت:
الان که داشتم دربارهش بیشتر میخوندم فهمیدم این کتاب برای جایزه بوکرمن ۲۰۲۳ لانگلیست شده بوده.
December 13, 2024
Great book, great story, great writer. I enjoyed
August 10, 2023
A Spell of Good Things - Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀
Booker Prize - 2023, #1
رواية نيجيرية، تفطر القلب، عن الفقر والفساد المستشري بكل أوجه النظام في نيجيريا. بطلا الرواية فتى مراهق في الخامسة عشر من العمر، ابن عائلة فقيرة: الأب مكتئب مذ سرح من العمل والأم تفعل كل ما بوسعها لتوفير وجبة واحدة كل يوم وشقيقة ذكية ومتفوقة. أقصى أمنيات هذه العائلة هو يوم واحد لالتقاط الأنفاس ، يوم واحد بدون القلق على دفع رسوم المدرسة أو الطعام والإيجار.
وطبيبة متدربة وابنة لعائلة غنية تواجه الكثير من المشكلات؛ بدءً بأمها المتطلبة، وخالاتها الفضوليات وخطيبها المعنّف وحرمانها من النوم بسبب العمل المتواصل في مستشقى عام.
تؤثر على الجميع، الكثير من القرارات السياسية والاستقطاب والمال الفاسد وحرب الولاءات في فترة انتخابات تعيشها المدينة.
نيجيريا في قصة عائلتين على طرفي نقيض ولكن تتشابك مصائر أفراد العائلتين عبر سلسلة معقدة من العلاقات والمصادفات والقرارات.
عمل مرهق وصعب وحزين ... حزين ... حزين ...
Booker Prize - 2023, #1
رواية نيجيرية، تفطر القلب، عن الفقر والفساد المستشري بكل أوجه النظام في نيجيريا. بطلا الرواية فتى مراهق في الخامسة عشر من العمر، ابن عائلة فقيرة: الأب مكتئب مذ سرح من العمل والأم تفعل كل ما بوسعها لتوفير وجبة واحدة كل يوم وشقيقة ذكية ومتفوقة. أقصى أمنيات هذه العائلة هو يوم واحد لالتقاط الأنفاس ، يوم واحد بدون القلق على دفع رسوم المدرسة أو الطعام والإيجار.
وطبيبة متدربة وابنة لعائلة غنية تواجه الكثير من المشكلات؛ بدءً بأمها المتطلبة، وخالاتها الفضوليات وخطيبها المعنّف وحرمانها من النوم بسبب العمل المتواصل في مستشقى عام.
تؤثر على الجميع، الكثير من القرارات السياسية والاستقطاب والمال الفاسد وحرب الولاءات في فترة انتخابات تعيشها المدينة.
نيجيريا في قصة عائلتين على طرفي نقيض ولكن تتشابك مصائر أفراد العائلتين عبر سلسلة معقدة من العلاقات والمصادفات والقرارات.
عمل مرهق وصعب وحزين ... حزين ... حزين ...
January 26, 2024
Muffled rage stalks like the wind, sudden and invisible. People don't fear the wind until it fells a tree. Then, they say it's too much.
- Everything Good Will Come by Sefi Atta
Interesting, how the little things add up to make a person purchase a book: the layout of the store, the way Spanish and English titles are shelved, books lining the cobblestone streets, splendid colors woven into the cover of this paperback like African threads, the title, the African authors who are paid homage through excerpts from their books at the beginning of each section, this novel's first pages...
There I was, in Barcelona, Spain, experiencing the feeling bookshops bring, that sense of place in the world even when we're across oceans; there I was, flipping through books, desperate to find a paperback, when I flipped through the first few pages of this book and was immediately drawn to Eniolá. Sent by his father to collect his weekly newspaper, Eniolá is shocked into silence when the newspaper vendor spits in his face. Eniolá's father has lost his job and can no longer pay the vendor, who, in a moment of shamelessness and cruelty, decides to spit on a child as a message to his father. This infuriating moment is not only a beautiful setup to the unsettling story and landscape but is also an undercurrent of the novel.
Eniolá's father, a schoolteacher, has lost his job as part of a massive layoff. As a result, the family loses their home, the ability to pay tuition, and the father sinks into a deep depression that renders him immobile. Eniolá's mother, a marketwoman, struggles to make ends meet but cannot pay the bills by selling her wares, so Eniolá and his sister are flogged in school every day because their tuition is late. It is as if it is yet another way to wound the parents, another way to make them feel even more denigrated. The children, once raised to follow the steps of their educated and successful father, must now accompany their mother to scavenge for food.
I was invested in Eniolá's story, interested in coming across more surprises, some twists and turns. And there were many small surprises, including the surprising turn in Wúràolá's story—the parallel story occurring. Wúràolá is a doctor in residence at a poorly stocked and understaffed local hospital. Wúràolá, raised in a privileged family, faces the stress of balancing a career and family in a world that pressures her to get married and have a family before age thirty. I enjoyed reading about her love life and her many hours spent in the hospital helping patients and memorizing illnesses. I yearned for more of that narrative and less of the story woven around their family tree.
The novel veers back and forth, from Eniolá's family and trajectory, to Wúràolá's, and then to the person who connects the two, to the devastating story that connects and binds both families. When I closed the novel, I thought about where the story lost me, where it started to drag, and I realized I could have done without the numerous minor characters and the pauses for elongated backstory. I would have been content with viewing the characters through Eniolá's narrative. I would have been content with Eniolá.
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