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stindex's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
dumisa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, and Gaslighting
Trigger Warning: Poverty and human sufferingjunglejelly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
While I did mostly enjoy the book, I did find the middle too slow in pace, and the parents' perspectives too jarring. The slow pace and different perspectives affected the flow of the book.
The ending is so haunting and left me
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Child death, Death, Suicide, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Bullying, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury
kwahl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Kidnapping, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Blood, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
amberinpieces's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, and Classism
Minor: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
bg_oseman_fan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Classism
Moderate: Child death, Death, Misogyny, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
yawningtiger's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Ayobami Adebayo packs so much into 340 pages with the concepts, characters and culture of Nigeria, highlighting inequalities etc with a very deft touch. The characters feel so real, I’m imagining them existing long after finishing the novel.
Whilst this is a slow read (it’s so compact!) I still struggled to walk away and kept having breaks so that I could pick up the book again and continue to be immersed in the world Adebayo created/is writing of. Even the cover art is beautiful.
I’m already impatient for their next novel, but this one was definitely worth the wait! Will just have to reread ‘Stay With Me’ again in the meantime.
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Violence
Minor: Death, Mental illness, and Grief
themillennialjareads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Stalking
Moderate: Gun violence, Mental illness, and Grief
Minor: Child death
erebus53's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Amongst the main players are,
a woman who is a doctor who is being pressured by family to marry the man she has been dating,
his father who is a politician,
her mother who is trying to hold a family together,
the woman she buys her handmade dresses from,
a boy who works in the tailoring shop,
his family and their hopes and financial struggles that have been immense since his father was laid off by government funding cuts for schools.
These disparate characters seem to have little in common except locality. Each has their own history, drives and challenges. The pace is slow and half way through I was feeling a little lost when it came to understanding the significance of some things. Although frustrating, this is part of the point of the book. Without a big picture of what is going on, it is easy to ignore small things that contribute to a problem. This is a major theme of the story, but it takes a back seat to the unfolding interplay of characters.
As a backdrop we see a country that lives with shortage of medical and teaching staff (caused in part by the exodus of graduate students), and a divide between rich and poor that leaves those who are destitute or disabled begging on the streets. There is also some disability narrative with a mother who is terrified that her children will be Dyslexic, because she feels that her personal survival was only possible due to marrying a man with a good job.
Logical things happen but it still feels affronting. The last 5% of the book is a rollercoaster of tenseness and revelation, and emotional resonance that would only be possible with the time and love that the reader invests in the characters to this point. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes character driven stories, has a lot of patience, and an interest in Nigeria.
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cancer, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Grief, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Mental illness, Suicide, and Alcohol
nadia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.25
Following on from Stay With Me, I remain a fan of Adébáyọ̀'s writing. I could tell I was reading the words of a skilful writer, and yet it was all so easily digestible. Nothing is overdone.
I can't decide how I felt about the change in pace towards the end of the book. On one hand I appreciated the switch-up; on the other, it felt a little rushed!
All in all, an incredibly worthwhile read, and I especially appreciated how the ending of the book accurately reflects the harsh realities of real life for a lot of people.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, and Death of parent