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A review by jessicah95
A Spell of Good Things by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀
5.0
Adébáyò has done it again! Fans of her beautiful debut novel, Stay With Me, will not be disappointed with this eagerly awaited return.
Set in modern day Nigeria, this novel is a deftly woven exploration of political corruption, class conflict, gender expectations and family dynamics. The main protagonists of this rich tapestry are Wúràọlá, a junior doctor, and the teenaged Ẹniọlá. Whilst the novel is predominantly told through the eyes of these two characters, we get to hear from several others, all in some way connected to the aforementioned two; parents, siblings, family friends and the like. As the narrative unfolds, their fates become increasingly interlinked, all building to a deeply affecting conclusion.
As we do get to hear from multiple perspectives throughout, it did take me a while to connect to the two we follow most closely, and sometimes left me wanting to hear more from the more minor characters I resonated with easier such as Bùsọ́lá and Mọ́tárá; two teenaged girls with very different circumstances but equally as spirited. I do not want to give too much away plot wise, so all I will say is that what is very smart about this method of storytelling is that whilst I was being drawn to focus on both Wúràọlá and Ẹniọlá and their increasingly frightening circumstances, I was less prepared for an ending in which other characters befall considerably more heart-rending fates.
Pacing wise, this started off as rather slow for me. So much so that I actually ended up putting this down early on to focus on other reads but once I came back to it, I was fully gripped and invested. Still, the pacing remains quite measured until around the 80% mark, where I really felt a crescendo building as the stakes are rapidly heightened. As I was approaching the ending, this novel almost began to feel like a play to me, a tragedy on a pretty epic scale.
(TW) Whilst they are artfully handled, there are lots of serious issues highlighted in this book, and I feel trigger warnings for violence and domestic abuse in particular, may be appreciated by some readers. Despite such issues and despite being quite a sad novel overall, this is not an overly bleak read. There are moments of real humour and levity throughout, especially in some of the dialogue, and whilst there is very much not a happy ending, I did not feel that all hope was lost.
If I have anything negative at all to say about this book, it’s in relation to a scene very near the end in a taxi (I’ve read a few comments from other early reviewers that seem to agree with me). Personally, it just felt too strong a coincidence, a little heavy handed for a novel that is otherwise seamlessly told, so it could have been left out for me.
Again, I don’t want to give away any spoilers but, in a way, this novel ends as it begins. The story comes full circle, which provides a neat ending but also suggests an inevitability; many of the characters (and many real life people that are reflected in them) are largely bound by circumstances that are out of their control and I found this imagery very poignant.
Ultimately, any book that makes me cry can get no less than 5 stars from me, and I would urge absolutely anyone and everyone to read it!
Many thanks to Canongate for providing a ebook via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.
Set in modern day Nigeria, this novel is a deftly woven exploration of political corruption, class conflict, gender expectations and family dynamics. The main protagonists of this rich tapestry are Wúràọlá, a junior doctor, and the teenaged Ẹniọlá. Whilst the novel is predominantly told through the eyes of these two characters, we get to hear from several others, all in some way connected to the aforementioned two; parents, siblings, family friends and the like. As the narrative unfolds, their fates become increasingly interlinked, all building to a deeply affecting conclusion.
As we do get to hear from multiple perspectives throughout, it did take me a while to connect to the two we follow most closely, and sometimes left me wanting to hear more from the more minor characters I resonated with easier such as Bùsọ́lá and Mọ́tárá; two teenaged girls with very different circumstances but equally as spirited. I do not want to give too much away plot wise, so all I will say is that what is very smart about this method of storytelling is that whilst I was being drawn to focus on both Wúràọlá and Ẹniọlá and their increasingly frightening circumstances, I was less prepared for an ending in which other characters befall considerably more heart-rending fates.
Pacing wise, this started off as rather slow for me. So much so that I actually ended up putting this down early on to focus on other reads but once I came back to it, I was fully gripped and invested. Still, the pacing remains quite measured until around the 80% mark, where I really felt a crescendo building as the stakes are rapidly heightened. As I was approaching the ending, this novel almost began to feel like a play to me, a tragedy on a pretty epic scale.
(TW) Whilst they are artfully handled, there are lots of serious issues highlighted in this book, and I feel trigger warnings for violence and domestic abuse in particular, may be appreciated by some readers. Despite such issues and despite being quite a sad novel overall, this is not an overly bleak read. There are moments of real humour and levity throughout, especially in some of the dialogue, and whilst there is very much not a happy ending, I did not feel that all hope was lost.
If I have anything negative at all to say about this book, it’s in relation to a scene very near the end in a taxi (I’ve read a few comments from other early reviewers that seem to agree with me). Personally, it just felt too strong a coincidence, a little heavy handed for a novel that is otherwise seamlessly told, so it could have been left out for me.
Again, I don’t want to give away any spoilers but, in a way, this novel ends as it begins. The story comes full circle, which provides a neat ending but also suggests an inevitability; many of the characters (and many real life people that are reflected in them) are largely bound by circumstances that are out of their control and I found this imagery very poignant.
Ultimately, any book that makes me cry can get no less than 5 stars from me, and I would urge absolutely anyone and everyone to read it!
Many thanks to Canongate for providing a ebook via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Violence