Last February, I read two unique and surprising debut novels about family relationships by Nigerian authors. I have never read anything like either of these books before. Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo is the story of Yejide and her husband, Akin, who married for love and want to break from the tradition of polygamy. But when Yejide is unable to get pregnant, Akin’s family pressures him to take a second wife. The characters are so complex… the events are unforgettable. I felt so many emotions reading this novel. I’m looking forward to reading anything this author writes. “Yejide would have a child and we would be happy forever. The cost didn't matter. It didn't matter how many rivers we had to cross. At the end of it all was this stretch of happiness that was supposed to begin only after we had children and not a minute before.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Stay With Me Ayobami Adebayo Published August 1st, 2017 by Knopf 288 pages My Sister, the Serial Killer is darkly humorous
How fun it is to revisit favorite books. I have never been one for re-reading (there are so many good books to read) but writing these reviews has given me the desire to do just that. I guess favorites are favorites for a reason. “Now the circus is open. Now you may enter.” The mysterious circus arrives without warning and takes place only at night. The reader is transported around the world as dark secrets about the circus are revealed and the characters search for a way out of a deadly game. The pace is a slow burn, and the real magic of this book for me exists in connecting the pieces to create a strange and interesting world. There is a love story (actually, more than one) but don’t go into this book expecting romance to be the main theme. Sections of this book are written in second person, which created an intimacy and drew me in immediately. Reading these chapters, I felt as though I were being let in on a secret. This is a book that recalls the won
Comments
Post a Comment