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A review by bookswithboo
A Spell of Good Things by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
đź“– A Spell Of Good Things
✏️ Ayobami Adebayo
đź“ŤNigeria
đź‘Ą Wuraola. Eniola. Yeye. Busola. Motara. Kunle.
đź“Ž Contemporary Fiction
e-ARC from NetGalley and Canongate
Publication Date: 09Feb23
“It was disconcerting. To feel that she was already failing at something she did not even know until recently mattered so much to anyone. She had thought she knew what was required of her. Get good grades and become a doctor. But the closer she had gotten to earning a medical degree, the more it seemed to pale into nothingness in their estimation, since she didn’t have a man waiting to marry her when she was done.”
Wow. This is a stunner of a book. Well-written, evocative and powerful. It starts slow but by the time you’re into the second part, you’re running head first trying to keep up with it.
The story centres around two young people from opposite ends of the Nigerian social spectrum. Wuraola comes from a wealthy family and is trying to balance her flourishing career as a doctor, family expectations and a relationship with the volatile Kunle. Eniola’s family struggles to put food on the table and he is desperately fighting the shame of his poverty, trying to find a way to a better future - an uphill struggle where everything seems to be working against him leading to desperate situations.
It’s a story of light and dark. On one hand it is a stark representation of the wealth gap between Nigeria’s haves and have-nots but it is also a story of familial love and a rich culture. I read Stay With Me earlier this year and both books have convinced me that Ayobami Adebayo will be an auto-buy author for me going forward. I can’t wait to see what she writes next.
✏️ Ayobami Adebayo
đź“ŤNigeria
đź‘Ą Wuraola. Eniola. Yeye. Busola. Motara. Kunle.
đź“Ž Contemporary Fiction
e-ARC from NetGalley and Canongate
Publication Date: 09Feb23
“It was disconcerting. To feel that she was already failing at something she did not even know until recently mattered so much to anyone. She had thought she knew what was required of her. Get good grades and become a doctor. But the closer she had gotten to earning a medical degree, the more it seemed to pale into nothingness in their estimation, since she didn’t have a man waiting to marry her when she was done.”
Wow. This is a stunner of a book. Well-written, evocative and powerful. It starts slow but by the time you’re into the second part, you’re running head first trying to keep up with it.
The story centres around two young people from opposite ends of the Nigerian social spectrum. Wuraola comes from a wealthy family and is trying to balance her flourishing career as a doctor, family expectations and a relationship with the volatile Kunle. Eniola’s family struggles to put food on the table and he is desperately fighting the shame of his poverty, trying to find a way to a better future - an uphill struggle where everything seems to be working against him leading to desperate situations.
It’s a story of light and dark. On one hand it is a stark representation of the wealth gap between Nigeria’s haves and have-nots but it is also a story of familial love and a rich culture. I read Stay With Me earlier this year and both books have convinced me that Ayobami Adebayo will be an auto-buy author for me going forward. I can’t wait to see what she writes next.