Shortlisted for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction 2017.
A surprising, emotional, and courageous novel, one where the words and feelings gradually unwind from the page and take up residence in your mind. Set in Nigeria during the 1980s, this is a story that at first feels like a window into another world, yet one that is somehow recognisable, as feelings are translatable, wherever they may be felt. Yejide desperately wants a child, her entire world collapses when her in-laws insist on her husband Akin marrying a new wife, in order to bear him children. We see the couple, feel their thoughts, the hurt and sorrow on both sides. I couldn't stop reading, yet the rawness, the pain was in every turn of the page. Unexpected revelations smacked into my awareness, turned my thoughts, captivated me further. Ayobami Adebayo, in her debut novel, writes with a clear and simple intensity. ’Stay With Me’ is utterly compelling, provocative, and a truly beautiful read. ~ Liz Robinson
March 2017 Debut of the Month.
Click here to read Ayobami Adebayo discuss her debut novel Stay with Me.
Head to our 'Black Lit Matters' list to find more must-read novels by black writers.
| Primary Genre | Family Drama |
| Other Genres: | |
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'There are things even love can't do ...If the burden is too much and stays too long, even love bends, cracks, comes close to breaking and sometimes does break. But even when it's in a thousand pieces around your feet, that doesn't mean it's no longer love ...' Yejide is hoping for a miracle, for a child. It is all her husband wants, all her mother-in-law wants, and she has tried everything - arduous pilgrimages, medical consultations, dances with prophets, appeals to God. But when her in-laws insist upon a new wife, it is too much for Yejide to bear. It will lead to jealousy, betrayal and despair. Unravelling against the social and political turbulence of 80s Nigeria, Stay With Me sings with the voices, colours, joys and fears of its surroundings. Ayobami Adebayo weaves a devastating story of the fragility of married love, the undoing of family, the wretchedness of grief, and the all-consuming bonds of motherhood. It is a tale about our desperate attempts to save ourselves and those we love from heartbreak.
Stay With Me features in the following genres: Family Drama, Book Club Recommendations, Books with reviews by our Reader Review Panel, Debut Books of the Month, Debuts, eBooks of the Month, Modern and Contemporary Fiction, Sharing Diverse Voices, Fiction, Recommendations, General Fiction, Romance / Relationship Stories
Stay With Me is available in CD-Audio, Paperback, Ebook, , Hardback
Stay With Me was written by Ayobami Adebayo and published by Canongate Books
Stay With Me has 298 pages
£8.99
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