Book review: Stay With Me

By Ayobami Adebayo

Book review: Stay With Me

Hey besties! Welcome to another book review.

Have you heard about the theory that grandmothers have carried two generations if they've had daughters? Because the cells that would become the mother's ovaries already form while she is a growing fetus.

I thought about it as I was reading the last two pages of this lovely book by Ayobami Adebayo. Just like Lola Shoneyin in The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives, she dives into the topic of fertility; however, the tone here carries much more weight.

If you know me, you know I marvel at West African literature and cinema. My introduction to Nigerian Literature, particularly, was through Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I have not looked back since. They describe the cities so vividly and incorporate political context so well that it has inspired my own work.

Stay With Me explores the POVs of Akinyele and Yejide, a married couple of university sweethearts. He was her first, and so, well into married life, she did not understand why she was still not eating for two (I'm not spoiling anything, it's literally at the back of the cover!).

We learn early that Yejide yearned for motherhood, unaware of how much Akin wanted a child too. We get to see how far they were willing to go for a nuclear family.

Her coming of age happened in marriage. What once felt like a safe haven soon became grounds for rivalry, secrets, and deception. Some were of her own design, most were fueled by family members. We also read about the consequences of Akin's suppressed anger due to societal pressure.

The author explores the dynamics of polygamous marriages with an honesty that immerses the reader into the protagonist's experience. Some chapters had my jaw on the floor, while others comforted my anxiety around "what's happening to them this time." She built the anticipation for each moment of suspense and wove the thread of the story in a way that the last page felt like a tapestry in plain sight. No stone was left unturned, and even the side characters have their moment.

Many times, as Yejide contemplated her maternal desires, she thought of her own mother, which ties us back to the opening theory that women do not carry motherhood alone; they inherit it biologically and emotionally.

Adebayo shows in her writing that mothers, or rather matriarchs, set the tone for their families.

I would rate it a 9/10. Excellent read, I finished it over the holidays, and Heaven knows I am a slow reader. It would be a 10 if some of the transitions and dialogues were clearer, but that's just my opinion. Don't hold her to it; she is an outstanding writer.

If I said more about it, I would be spoiling the whole book.

What about you, besties, what are you reading during the holidays? Let me know, I write back ;)