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A review by morganbirck
Someday, Maybe by Onyi Nwabineli
challenging
dark
sad
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? It's complicated
3.75
Major CW: suicide
Eve found her husband after he died by suicide. She had no idea he was even depressed. He didn’t leave a note. Struggling to understand why he would have left her, Eve grieves the loss of the love of her life and attempts to live, day-by-day with the support of her family and friends.
A novel about this grief, what it means to love someone and lose them, and how the world moves on even as you’re lost in loss, Nwabineli writes in a way that is surprisingly witty and charming for such a difficult topic. It’s not an easy read; we are facing the overwhelming agony Eve experiences page after page. And the book does not necessarily lighten in the ways we’d expect. Rather, Nwabineli wants us to sit with the discomfort of watching someone who cannot just move on, and takes her time with the grieving process. She challenges us to understand that grief is not linear, and that people will not always live up to our expectations or timelines of mourning. I found this in equal parts incredibly frustrating and heartbreaking. The writing is contemporary, which is not my favorite style. But it is well-written. It’s also written in first-person present tense, which I was initially skeptical of, but think it landed itself very well to keeping you on this journey with Eve, and miring you in its details. There were times when it did get a bit confusing. There was a trope in there I won’t ruin but isn’t my favorite, which kind of took away from the book for me. I think it’s a beautiful book, and in ways both difficult and easy to read. I would recommend with obvious caveats that it can be incredibly triggering.
Eve found her husband after he died by suicide. She had no idea he was even depressed. He didn’t leave a note. Struggling to understand why he would have left her, Eve grieves the loss of the love of her life and attempts to live, day-by-day with the support of her family and friends.
A novel about this grief, what it means to love someone and lose them, and how the world moves on even as you’re lost in loss, Nwabineli writes in a way that is surprisingly witty and charming for such a difficult topic. It’s not an easy read; we are facing the overwhelming agony Eve experiences page after page. And the book does not necessarily lighten in the ways we’d expect. Rather, Nwabineli wants us to sit with the discomfort of watching someone who cannot just move on, and takes her time with the grieving process. She challenges us to understand that grief is not linear, and that people will not always live up to our expectations or timelines of mourning. I found this in equal parts incredibly frustrating and heartbreaking. The writing is contemporary, which is not my favorite style. But it is well-written. It’s also written in first-person present tense, which I was initially skeptical of, but think it landed itself very well to keeping you on this journey with Eve, and miring you in its details. There were times when it did get a bit confusing. There was a trope in there I won’t ruin but isn’t my favorite, which kind of took away from the book for me. I think it’s a beautiful book, and in ways both difficult and easy to read. I would recommend with obvious caveats that it can be incredibly triggering.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction and Suicide
Moderate: Pregnancy