Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo (Review by Caitlin Winkler)
Wow! I almost feel like anything I say here won’t even come close to doing justice to this book. You know when a review of the novel comes from Margaret Atwood and the story is Shortlisted for the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction, that this is going to be a book worth reading. I feel that the summary of this book does a good job in providing a loose idea of what the story is about but, in my opinion, there is so much more to this book.
Nigeria is the setting where we meet Akin and Yejide who are young, in love, married, and childless. A common question throughout this story; how far would you go for someone you love? We, as the reader, see the impact that this has on the couple, in addition to the outside societal pressures. I am honestly hesitant to disclose anymore about the story itself as the unexpectedness of the plot is part of what I loved so much.
Stay with me is a beautiful novel about a marriage, but really is so much more than that. Told from the point of view of both husband and wife, you feel the pain of both parties and cringe at the lengths they go. Aside from the plot, the writing style of Adebayo is lyrical and beautiful, even when the words are anything but, and this is what led me to rate this book so highly. I recommend reading Stay With Me and promise you that it will stay with you.