Bailey's/Orange Women's Fiction Group discussion

Our February 2021 book is Stay with Me by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀

totally new author to me !

I am going to listen to this one - fingers crossed its engrossing as I need a really gripping read!

I am aiming to start listening to the audio book for this one sometime in the next week. I am looking forward to it!

I checked out my copy today and hope to start tonight.

I finished the audiobook yesterday. I really liked it. I personally dealt with infertility (but now have 2 kids) so could relate to the characters' desire for a child. I will wait to say more until others have finished.

I look forward to others posting their thoughts on this one. :) I just finished Transcendent Kingdom and in its' book club kit, one of the Suggested Reads was Stay with Me.

Almost done - I have found it slow but still engaging so far. The loss of reality is so cruel.

Hello everyone, actually finished this a few weeks ago but have had no time to gather my thoughts. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Adjoa Andoh. I found this a really interesting book, with much more going on than it first appears. I found the mix of modernity yet the lack of knowledge about sex really interesting and it was a real surprise when the story switched from Yejide to her husbands viewpoint. I don’t have children, by choice and that pressure to have them would be such a terrible reality to live in. I enjoyed that the book covered such a long time period and you saw the whole story. I’ve read several books set in Nigeria in the last year, mainly anything I can get my hands on by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Half of a Yellow Sun was my favourite read of 2020), and have also just read The Girl with the Louding Voice and find the inequality and lack of information and education for women so important that those of us who have had choices, education and freedom of contraception choices, appreciate them. I also found the references to military coup, and how power could shift so quickly eye opening. I haven’t read any other books by this author, but would certainly look out for them, does anyone have other recommendations? I thought was an excellent choice for a group read, and one I probably wouldn't have found otherwise, Thanks Jessica for selecting it.

Jessica wrote: "I look forward to others posting their thoughts on this one. :) I just finished Transcendent Kingdom and in its' book club kit, one of the Suggested Reads was Stay with Me."
I haven’t read Transcendent Kingdom yet but I’ve been listening to some predictions of what will be on the women’s prize long list and it keeps coming up. Are you recommending?

I finished the audio version of this (great production) and enjoyed it, but did not love it. I'm trying to reflect on why and I think I just didn't feel close enough to the characters or sense they were fully developed. I know this is not the experience of other readers and it could well have been lack of full concentration on my part - that's a risk for me with audio, in particular.

I thought it a strong story overall and I always enjoy the experiences of women in other cultures so on that front it was a satisfying read. But it didn't pull me in or wow me the way my favourites do. It was a solid 3* read for me.

Carol wrote: "Jessica wrote: "I look forward to others posting their thoughts on this one. :) I just finished Transcendent Kingdom and in its' book club kit, one of the Suggested Reads was Stay w..."

I really, really enjoyed Transcendent Kingdom and would definitely recommend it.