Book Review – Stay With Me by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀

About the Book

Yejide is hoping for a miracle, for a child. It is all her husband wants, all her mother-in-law wants, and she has tried everything. But when her relatives insist upon a new wife, it is too much for Yejide to bear.

Unravelling against the social and political turbulence of 1980s Nigeria, Stay With Me is a story of the fragility of married love, the undoing of family, the power of grief, and the all-consuming bonds of motherhood. It is a tale about the desperate attempts we make to save ourselves, and those we love, from heartbreak.

Format: ebook (295 pages) Publisher: Canongate
Publication date: 2nd March 2017 Genre: Literary Fiction

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My Review

Yejide is smart, sassy, well-educated and runs her own business but she doesn’t have the one thing she desires and her family expect – a child.  The pressure to conform to the demands of her family and culture becomes unbearable for Yejide, creating strains in her marriage to Akin.  Akin is similarly pressurised by the expectations of his family, especially his mother.  This pressure results in actions that will have unintended and dramatic  consequences for Yejide and Akin, and for those around them. 

Told from the points of view of both Yejide and Akin and shifting between different time periods (which are sometimes difficult to keep track of), this is an assured debut novel that keeps the reader guessing.  The author deftly inserts several emotional bombshells at various points that change the tone and direction of the entire narrative.  However, there is also humour in the cast of supporting characters. 

There are fascinating insights into Nigerian/Yoruba culture such as the rituals of greeting, significance of naming and the importance of hierarchy within families (particularly in polygamous families).  An intimate family drama, the story plays out against the backdrop of  political events in Nigeria but these are very much secondary to the novel (unlike, say, in Half of a Yellow Sun). 

Listen to Ayòbámi talking about Stay With Me on BBC Radio 4’s Bookclub here.

I received an advance review copy courtesy Canongate Books via NetGalley

In three words: Moving, dramatic, assured
Try something similar: The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives by Lola Shoneyin

About the Author

Ayòbámi Adébàyò was born in Lagos, Nigeria. Her debut novel, Stay With Me, won the 9mobile Prize for Literature, was shortlisted for the Baileys Prize for Women’s Fiction, the Wellcome Book Prize and the Kwani? Manuscript Prize. It has been translated into twenty languages and the French translation was awarded the Prix Les Afriques. Longlisted for the International Dylan Thomas Prize and the International Dublin Literary Award, Stay With Me was a New York Times, Guardian, Chicago Tribune and NPR Best Book of the Year. Ayòbámi Adébàyò splits her time between Norwich and Lagos. (Photo: X profile)

Connect with Ayòbámi
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