Stay With Me
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4.4 • 187 Ratings
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- £5.99
Publisher Description
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2017 BAILEYS WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2018 WELLCOME BOOK PRIZE
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2018 INTERNATIONAL DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE
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.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
This is an extraordinary novel from Ayobami Adebayo, a young Nigerian author. Set on the eve of Nigeria’s 1980s civil war, it follows Yejide and Akin, a married couple yet to conceive a much-desired first child. Soon, Akin is manipulated by his family into taking a second, younger wife. As Yejide’s world comes crashing down around around her, devastating family secrets come tumbling forth. Adebayo writes Yejide’s torment, jealousy and almost demonic determination to fall pregnant with a heartbreaking, naked beauty that builds up to a staggering climax. Stay With Me is a work of truly astonishing writing.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Adebayo explores the toll the intense pressure to have children exacts on one Nigerian couple across two decades. Akin's large family disrupts his and Yejide's happy but childless marriage by forcing him into a polygamous marriage without his wife's knowledge. This betrayal and a last-ditch visit to a holy man convince Yejide that she is pregnant and she begins a year-long psychosomatic pregnancy. Just when she finally accepts that there will be no child, Akin's brother Dotun seduces and impregnates her. The child is eagerly welcomed as Akin's own, especially by his imposing mother. The happiness ends abruptly with the seemingly accidental death of Akin's second wife. As subsequent traumas multiply between the couple, Adebayo slowly reveals their unspoken shame by having both narrate chapters covering the same events. Yejide's strong ache to be a mother and her frustration with traditional Yoruba culture make her a complex character. Adebayo shows great promise in her debut novel. Her methodical exposure of her characters' secrets forces the reader into continual reevaluations and culminates in a tender, satisfying conclusion.
Customer Reviews
Amazing read
I really loved the writing style of the author, it really got me hooked. The only thing was I kind of expected her husband to be impotent but that just made the entire story funnier. Yep definitely a recommended read for everyone.
Full of emotions.
I have read this book twice, and I will read it again. I cannot get the story and the characters out of my head. I really hope that this book is turned into a movie someday.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND
The writing style was so captivating and story had me hooked from beginning to end. Honestly such a deep, beautiful book