Stay With Me

There was much to like about this novel. I enjoyed the narrator's conflicts - she was fiercely independent yet still had to confirm in many ways, I loved the descriptions of the salon where she worked and the gossipy women. However I didn't feel the novel was as powerful as it could have been, and I felt it lacked something. However I did find the ending very powerful.

A wonderful book with some surprising twists and turns. It made me both laugh and cry. A very moving story and incredibly well written.

To me, the beauty of this book is something that might not be obvious to all readers; Adebayo will inevitably be compared to Adichie, which is flattering, but ultimately a misrepresentation. The beauty of her prose, though this might sound a little tribalistic, is that she is so intrinsically *Yoruba*, in the way that Adichie is undeniably Igbo. The nuances, the speech, the motivations of her characters-- all are an incredible representation of a culture with an innumerable amount of subtleties, and as a Nigerian reader, I recognized and appreciated each one.

The story isn't perfect. Adebayo's attempt to illustrate political unrest in 1980s Nigeria never really kindles or is brought to life in a way that arrests the reader; it seems rather disjointed from the heart of the story, which lies in the cultural and moral ramifications of childlessness, and how manhood is represented in this world. It's powerful, simply and beautifully written. I recommend it highly and look forward to how Adebayo's career will develop.

Loved it. Am always looking for the book that is a little bit different. Loved all the characters from the start. A wonderful insight into Nigerian society and the burdens that having to have children brings.

STAY WITH ME
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Ayobami Adebayo

This is the first time I have read a Nigerian author and what a wonderful introduction it has been to that country, the customs, superstitions, traditions and a way of life so alien to what I have experienced. The young writer is skilled in prose, characterisation and plotting and this book is testament to her wonderful story telling.
Yejide and Akin fell instantly in love and married whlle still students. They have a strong marriage but after four years and no sign of a child the pressure on them from Akin’s family is intense with Yejide seen as the main obstacle to her lack of conception. In their culture it is a wife’s duty to produce children fairly quickly and the more sons the better. Despite visits to soothsayers and and people claiming magical powers Yejide is seen to have failed in her duty. Her mother died giving birth to her so she grew up with her father and his other four wives. She may have been part of the family but was well down on the pecking order when it came to affection and inclusion. Her upbringing with four jealous step mothers and their children made me think of the familiar story to us of Cinderella.
When her in-laws led by Akin’s Mother Moomi descend on her marital home they introduce Yejide to her husband’s new young and very pretty wife, Funmi, who it is expected will produce the much wanted children. The resulting pressure causes a phantom pregnancy to Yejide, who is as desperate as the rest of the family to produce a child. Stressed to breaking point she has a phantom pregnancy, denying doctors who have told her there is no baby. For the best part of a year her abdomen swells and she has no periods. Akin is distressed but kindly but their relationship becomes strained. I found the marital and family politics alien, strange but most interesting. The various titles and names family members us to address one another is not always clear. The story is a poignant one and very moving focusing on family bonds and the ebbing and flowing of relationships. The snippets of the social and political unrest in Nigeria causing danger and anxiety to the people places the story well and truly in the present.
The switch of viewpoints between Akin and Yejide caused me some confusion initially.
Yejide is a lovely character and I felt so much sympathy for her. I cannot imagine the suffering a woman in Nigeria must endure due to the customs of the country. To be told that a baby dies because it must have been ‘evil’ is dreadful and for the place of internment to be hidden from parents to prevent them being ‘contaminated’ with evil is so very harsh.
Akin and Yejide have a strong love that lasts despite the tragedies they face. When she was still a young girl Yejide’s father told her that ‘love was like a test’. At the time she did not question her father but as the book draws to a superb finale she recalls his words and understands the meaning. I hope there are few women see their love tested to such an extent as hers is. If only Akin and Yejide had been totally honest with one another from the beginning of their relationship the strain would not have been so severe.
But then we readers would have missed out on a superb book and a rattling good story.

Heart and soul wrenching. Driven. Incredible.

I chose this book as I like World literature, not long ago I read another book by a Nigerian author called Lola Shoneyin which I really enjoyed. This book is similar to some extent as it is about marriage, children and secrets.

This is a story of a marriage, a couple Yejide and Akin, who struggle to have children but it is also a lot more.
Tradition meets modernity in this novel set in Nigeria in the 80s and then again in 2008. I liked the way I was drawn into this world, quite unknown but I did not feel I could not understand it. There was unrest in Nigeria at the time and even if the book is not about it, you can feel the historical context.
The characters are all quite flawed but I don't mind, I never expect to read books full of heroes and heroines. Real people are flawed, they can be petty, envious and make lots of stupid and regrettable decisions. The book reads well and the characters, with all their faults, have complex personalities.

There is plenty of drama in this book and some parts are extremely sad, the desire of a mother to have children can be very powerful as much as her fear of losing them. And the fear in itself can lead to more loss. But I am not going to say what happens, you should read the book yourself. If you like African literature or you want to read a family drama set in Africa, give this novel a chance.

So much pain, betrayal, loss . After a difficult childhood Yejide had to deal with family expectations, superstition and traditional conventions with just the support of a husband unable to give her what she wanted. She was the strength in the marriage but appeared to have lost the most.

This book is heartbreakingly incredible, and it made my heart ache with every page.

This book is about a woman called Yejide and her husband Akin. All Yejide wants is a child, it's what her family and her husband's family want. After several years of marriage, Yejide and her husband have none. So Akin's family force him to marry a new wife named, Funmi.

The book explores so many subjects, love being one of the main themes; loyalty, children, disease and most importantly heartbreak. The story is captivating, with so many stories in one, and great and dynamic characters.

I loved this book. I am so glad I read it. Along with a great plot, and incredible characters, it comes with a dose of Nigerian culture and tradition, and that really brings the story to life

This is the first book I've read by a Nigerian author, and I'm so happy I came across it. This book is so beautiful, and every page I read was so worth it.

The main character, Yejide was amazing. She's a strong, independent, character. I related with her strongly and that is amazing to see in a book because Yejide has a completely different life from mine and yet I understand her and relate to her wholeheartedly.

This book does have themes of cheating. I am tired of books romanticizing cheating. I don't care if your husband is annoying or if your wife is a freaking madwoman. Never ever forever. However, this book does not tell that kind of story. It is a story about vulnerability, cheating, manipulation, but the author has managed to twist it away from a story that justifies or romanticizes the bad things that happen in it.

The mythology, stories, and traditions in this book is incredible. It's set in our world, yet it feels like there is a whole other dimension to it that we don't have in our regular lives. The stories I felt provided tenderness, depth, and meaning to the events in the book.

In the book, Yejide and her husband go through a lot of stuff that I would consider the worst things that could ever happen to a human being. They get damaged internally and hurt so many times it's easy to lose count. However, this book shows all things good in the world, as well as the bad. This is story about how love can survive the sorrows and pains.

I loved the message, the story, and the characters. Solid read about love, loss, life, (three 'L's!) I strongly recommend it. This novel, I feel, speaks to the heart. It made me ache inside and it is a story I will certainly remember for a while.

For every book I read, I try to feel something, learn something, find something that speaks to me as a human being, and this story did it for me. It was so effortless to read it and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Thanks,
Yomna

I haven't read any books by Adebayo before but I really enjoyed this book. It was fascinating to learn of the culture of Nigeria and I warmed to Yejide and felt desperately sad for her predicament. The book was convincing and I definitely recommend it and will look out for new releases by Adebayo.

I enjoyed this novel set in Nigeria and told in two voices over two time lines. Will definitely read more of Adebayo's work.

I was given this NetGalley copy in return of an honest review.

This has to be one of the best books I've read all year. It's so rare that I give a book five stars but by the end of the book I found myself turning the last page and whispering, 'That's amazing,' so five stars it is.

I was drawn into the intrigue of this book from the very first chapter and as I continued to read I was fooled into thinking that this story was not going to go any further than the married couple, Akin and Yejide's problems trying to conceive a child. But as I kept going I became more and more absorbed by the cultural backdrop and the beautifully articulated prose.

Set in Nigeria between 1985 and 2008, Stay With Me tells the story of a couple who meet in their early twenties, their marriage and the problems they encounter with meddling in-laws when they are unable to have a child. But the book goes deeper than that. We learn so much about what motivates our two main protagonists as Adebayo weaves a set of engaging plot twists played out by fully formed and colourful characters. All the of the supporting roles stand out, you really feel as if you have stepped into the world the author creates.

I like the use of foreign words, the writer doesn't lose you by using them and she doesn't hold back in introducing the reader to what might be different culture to the one we are used to.

The middle and end of the book I found the most gripping so there was a nice build up of intensity there that I really appreciated by the end of the book.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fiction that is true to life, honest, well thought out and thoroughly entertaining. I will look out for more books by this author.

Really enjoyed this, although once again wish I knew more about the Nigerian political backdrop to the story.

What really made this for me was discussing with a Nigerian friend, and getting even more context to Nigerian family life in the 1980s/90s. I was incredulous that so much of this still happens!
So Yejide and Akim have been married a while... but there is no sign of children. He is forced into taking a second wife by his family, so desperate is the family will for the eldest son to produce his own family. This is just the start in the cracks in his mariage to Yejide, and the lengths both will go to and the secrets they will keep and the lies they will tell to conform to the life that is expected of them.
A heartbreaking tale of real Nigerian family life, of love, of grief, of desperation.

Stay With Me is an addictive read about a woman, Yejide, her husband, and her attempts to have children, set in Nigeria from 1985 to 2008. It is a novel about hope and it is the hope that keeps you reading, a hope for Yejide and for her husband Akin and for the hope that hope is worth it after all.

Adebayo’s book is often a subtle one, showing character relationships and moments rather than immediately telling the reader what to think or how everybody felt. The main characters are rounded and flawed, often thinking they know everything but missing crucial details. Yejide’s emotions in particular, from her huge desire to get pregnant to her feelings in the important final moments of the book, come across through the writing very effectively, making this a novel thoroughly grounded in its characters. The writing style is easy to get into and gripping, with the narrative jumping from Yejide’s point of view to Akin’s in order to show events from both sides. Neither character is wrong, but both characters think, hope, and love in different ways.

I read a proof of Stay With Me after having been interested by the promotion of the book so far and it didn’t disappoint. It is a novel that draws you into the world of its characters and their lives. Stay With Me is literary fiction with emotion.

This emotional story centres on family pressures, secrets, grief, betrayals and shock revelations. Based around a culture that I’m not completely familiar with and set against a backdrop of political unrest, I really enjoyed this story which kept me turning pages and guessing throughout.

One small point that I would like to make is that the author tries to bring into the story, the political unrest of Nigeria, but I felt that this came across as a little disjointed and didn’t go deep enough to really link with the main story. That said, this was an extremely great debut and I very much look forward to reading more books by this author in the future.

I chose to read this NetGalley ARC for which I have given a voluntary and unbiased review.

A gripping tale of a marriage in conflict against the background of a country in conflict. For fans of Half of a Yellow Sun but sadly just like Homegoing it suffers from a weak end. The writing is fantastic and apart from the end I loved it.

I think this author has potential. I liked the fact that the story was told from different viewpoints but I think it would have helped to indicate the narrator in the chapter heading as I found several times to have gotten the narrator wrong partway through chapters, which was frustrating. Lots of surprising twists and turns. I like reading African books because the authors tend to describe the sights, sounds, and smells but somehow this was missing here. Nonetheless a promising debut and I shall be looking out for more.

This book deals with sensitive issues (infertility, child mortality, adultery) with great sensibility and the fact that the story takes place in Nigeria - at a time when these topics may have been taboo - gives the book a very interesting dimension. In addition, we are given glimpses of Nigeria under military dictatorship and I thought it was particularly clever how the main character's increasing emotional turmoil is mirroring her country's descent into political unrest and chaos..

Yejide is smart, sassy, well-educated and runs her own business but she doesn’t have the one thing she desires and her family expect – a child. The pressure to conform to the demands of her family and culture becomes unbearable for Yejide, creating strains in her marriage to Akin. Akin is similarly pressurised by the expectations of his family, especially his mother. This pressure results in actions that will have unintended and dramatic consequences for Yejide and Akin, and for those around them. Told from the points of view of both Yejide and Akin and shifting between different time periods (which are sometimes difficult to keep track of), this is an assured debut novel that keeps the reader guessing. The author deftly inserts several emotional bombshells at various points that change the tone and direction of the entire narrative. However, there is also humour in the cast of supporting characters. There are fascinating insights into Nigerian/Yoruba culture such as the rituals of greeting, significance of naming and the importance of hierarchy within families (particularly in polygamous families). The story plays out against the backdrop of political events in Nigeria but this is very much secondary to the novel which is an intimate, moving family drama.

Stay with me by Ayobami Adebayo centers around a married couple, Yejide and Akin. The two have been married for three years and are childless.Yejide is already feeling the pressure of being childless in a society where women are recognized for their ability to be mothers. Family, friends and even strangers start pushing her and she ends up making numerous trips to the hospital looking for medical solutions. When science fails, she starts seeking unorthodox interventions such as visiting spiritual leaders and witch doctors.

I think that the portrayal of Yejide’s struggles and how society kept pressuring her was so accurate. It is something that happens a lot in our society. I don’t know if that happens in other parts of the world. I empathized with Yejide. Culture plays a key part in the story. I can’t say much about this but I liked how this was portrayed through speech, dressing, and customs. I love reading about other people’s cultures.

The book is set in Nigeria at a time of political unrests leading to student’s protests and an attempted coup. This reminded me of Chimamanda’s Half of a Yellow Sun which is also set in a similar period. However, the state of the nation does not have much impact on the characters apart from a few critical times when they get caught up in the mayhem. I still felt like the author did a great job with the setting. Even if the unrests were not a key part of the story, they were still evident.

The story is told by the two main characters, Akin and Yejide which enables readers to see how the two are dealing with the issue. It also helped in the character development because we get to know the two better through their narrations. Another aspect of the narration that I enjoyed was the use of two timelines. We get to know about Yejide and Akin three years after marriage. However, there are chapters that take us back to when they made in University and their courtship.

Stay with me by Adebayo Ayobami is a well-written story about a woman’s struggle with childlessness, societal pressures and loss. It is through this book that I learned about pseudocyesis which is shocking and heartbreaking at the same time. There are a number of twists and secrets that made it difficult to predict the ending. The beautifully articulated prose, setting, female protagonist and the themes all made this a wonderful read.

“Stay with me” is the debut novel of Ayobami Adebayo, a very charismatic Nigerian writer. The story is set in the Nigeria of the eighties. The two heroes of the book are Yejide and Akin. The met while in college and fell in love for each other instantly. Their story is the one described in this book, making us all to think who life can be.

Yejide, is a young girl that has lost her mother at birth. Her father has married other women to help raise her and bring up more children, but none of them ever made into her mother, not that any of them really tried. She was a burden on them, and they never hugged her along with their children. Therefore, Yejide decided she was not the polygamist kind and she made that clear to Akin early in their relationship. They were very in love and devoted to each other. They have tried, but they could not bear any children, and this is when it all started to go bad. Yejide has tried everything in order to get pregnant. She even accepted Akin being married to another woman, only to be deceived by the man she loved.

The writer provides a part of Nigeria’s turbulent history in the 80s, through their heroes’ story. She reveals the customs and the way of thinking at the time and maybe even today, in a simply and comfort manner. This story is all about relationships. It is about what it takes to be in love with someone. What it means to trust another person only to fond out that it is not the one you knew to be. It is a story of power over weakness, of love over cunning, of sacrifice over control. It is about motherhood and unconditional love. It is about grief and dealing with it, trying not to hurt the people you love.

Adebayo is a writer that has many to say in a beautiful prose. She has come to stay. she is claiming her position in the writing world and she is going to get one and stick to it. Better keep in eye on her and her books to come!

ARC received courtesy of Canongate Books via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.