Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - A Spell of Good Things

Had a little bit of a slow start for me, but by the first 100 pages I was invested. I loved Ayobami Adebayo's writing in her first novel, and this one was no different. Her descriptions of the lives of these two main characters were so vivid, that it was jarring at times when the POVs switched. This was an insightful look into politics, class, gender in Nigerian society, depression, and relationship abuse. All pretty heavy topics, but all weaved together seamlessly. The ending was sobering, had to sit with it for a bit after I finished reading.

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jouljet's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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mel_s_bookshelf's review against another edition

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emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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crazytourists_books's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A heartbreaking story, beautifully written. It could have been shorter, as it drags painfully at some points, bit it made my heart beat hard towards the end, and that's a kind of redemption.
I have so many questions about what I just read... Is it an account of contemporary Nigeria? Do things like those described in the book happen in real life today? Or is it something that happened in the past? I was horrified and deeply saddened by what I read, about how it is to live in Nigeria, and I sure hope that the author exaggerated about things that don't happen anymore. Adébáyó also leaves something unanswered for us to answer as we please and a part of me likes that (not everything needs to be resolved) but another part is afraid that it's not answered because the resolution given wouldn't be one that I would like.
(3.5 stars, because it was far too long)

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yawningtiger's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book is an excellent second novel. I’ve been really loooking forward to this since reading Stay With Me when it was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction.

Ayobami Adebayo packs so much into 340 pages with the concepts, characters and culture of Nigeria, highlighting inequalities etc with a very deft touch. The characters feel so real, I’m imagining them existing long after finishing the novel.
Whilst this is a slow read (it’s so compact!) I still struggled to walk away and kept having breaks so that I could pick up the book again and continue to be immersed in the world Adebayo created/is writing of. Even the cover art is beautiful.
I’m already impatient for their next novel, but this one was definitely worth the wait! Will just have to reread ‘Stay With Me’ again in the meantime.

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qqjj's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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themillennialjareads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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erebus53's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I went into this book not knowing anything about it. As a result I was about 9 hours in before I started seeing the point of the book. It really starts with slice of life things, and a broad cast of Nigerian characters, and it is difficult to see all the connections that will eventually be built.

Amongst the main players are,
a woman who is a doctor who is being pressured by family to marry the man she has been dating,
his father who is a politician,
her mother who is trying to hold a family together,
the woman she buys her handmade dresses from,
a boy who works in the tailoring shop,
his family and their hopes and financial struggles that have been immense since his father was laid off by government funding cuts for schools.

These disparate characters seem to have little in common except locality. Each has their own history, drives and challenges. The pace is slow and half way through I was feeling a little lost when it came to understanding the significance of some things. Although frustrating, this is part of the point of the book. Without a big picture of what is going on, it is easy to ignore small things that contribute to a problem. This is a major theme of the story, but it takes a back seat to the unfolding interplay of characters.

As a backdrop we see a country that lives with shortage of medical and teaching staff (caused in part by the exodus of graduate students), and a divide between rich and poor that leaves those who are destitute or disabled begging on the streets. There is also some disability narrative with a mother who is terrified that her children will be Dyslexic, because she feels that her personal survival was only possible due to marrying a man with a good job.

Logical things happen but it still feels affronting. The last 5% of the book is a rollercoaster of tenseness and revelation, and emotional resonance that would only be possible with the time and love that the reader invests in the characters to this point. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes character driven stories, has a lot of patience, and an interest in Nigeria.

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