A Spell of Good Things
A novel
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4.0 • 14 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
BOOKER PRIZE NOMINEE • A NEW YORKER AND NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • GMA BUZZ PICK • A dazzling story of modern Nigeria and two families caught in the riptides of wealth, power, romantic obsession, and political corruption from the celebrated author of Stay with Me, "in the lineage of great works by Chinua Achebe and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie" (The New York Times).
Eniola is tall for his age, a boy who looks like a man. Because his father has lost his job, Eniola spends his days running errands for the local tailor, collecting newspapers, begging when he must, dreaming of a big future.
Wuraola is a golden girl, the perfect child of a wealthy family. Now an exhausted young doctor in her first year of practice, she is beloved by Kunle, the volatile son of an ascendant politician.
When a local politician takes an interest in Eniola and sudden violence shatters a family party, Wuraola's and Eniola’s lives become intertwined. In her breathtaking second novel, Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ shines her light on Nigeria, on the gaping divide between the haves and the have-nots, and the shared humanity that lives in between.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Walk the streets of a changing nation in Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀’s breathtaking novel, set in the early 2000s during the dawn of Nigeria’s democratic era. In the face of his father’s mental illness, young Ẹniọlá struggles to keep up his education—and keep his family afloat. Wúràọlá, a sleep-deprived doctor in a rundown hospital, is constantly dealing with her fiancé’s jealousy and her wealthy family’s ambitions. When the two characters’ lives plow into each other, the consequences are unexpected and tremendous. Adébáyọ̀ blends flowing prose, colorful descriptions, and Yoruba phrases to craft a stunning and detailed picture of modern Nigeria, and her nuanced depictions of supporting characters like Ẹniọlá’s depressive father and Wúràọlá’s sardonic sister add incredible richness. Adébáyọ̀’s fascinating tale of family, class, and country is a provocative study of what happens when poverty and privilege collide.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Adébáyọ̀ follows up Stay with Me with this bright and distinctive tragedy set in modern Nigeria. Ẹniọlá, a teenager whose father has lost his job, can no longer pay the tuition at the private school that he'd hoped would enable him to rise from poverty. Wúràọlá is a doctor from a wealthy and politically connected family. She's overworked in an underfunded hospital, and courted by well-bred Kúnlé, whose mood shifts and possessiveness unnerve her. Ẹniọlá takes an apprenticeship with a tailor, but after he is beaten at school for the unpaid fees, his mother insists Ẹniọlá and his little sister accompany her to beg for money. Things spiral out of control when Ẹniọlá's parents decide to pay his sister's tuition with the proceeds but not his. He takes his revenge by joining a gang working for the vengeful politician Fẹ̀sọ̀jaiyé. Wúràọlá, meanwhile, becomes engaged to Kúnlé despite her misgivings, and though her parents are ecstatic, he slaps her at a party. Kúnlé's father is running against Fẹ̀sọ̀jaiyé, and the story's violent denouement is as devastating as it is inevitable. Pitch-perfect details provide a sense of the characters' lives—the red dust caked on Ẹniọlá's white socks from long walks to school, the soft headscarf worn by Wúràọlá's mother that "barely whispered"—and as the characters are pushed to the brink, Adébáyọ̀ delivers a searing indictment of the country's corruption and gender inequalities. This packs a powerful punch.
Customer Reviews
Intense
Gripping story of personal relationships with great local Nigerian flavor. Well written and compelling, but not unique. Maybe a short lister.