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reagananidobu's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
2.25
zetiacg'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? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Child death and Death
kells_shelf's review against another edition
5.0
You may have to suspend reality **or at least your own perception of what could be real** to believe all the tragedy that could befall one family (the main female character, in particular)...but isn’t that what a good story is all about? Since when does a book have to be believable to be great? :)
I found this to be very engrossing and readable, filled with both simple and beautiful descriptions of the emotion that comes from love, shame, desperation and desire for connection. There are certainly unnerving characters that you JUST WANT TO SHAKE, but I think that may be what the author was intending.
Also, triggers abound! So, you may want to wait on this one if you are deep in the pain of infertility, loss of a loved one, divorce, family strife... (sorry trying to be general without spoilers)
kshiffler's review against another edition
4.0
indieretro'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? Yes
4.25
caitoburnett's review against another edition
5.0
katko123's review against another edition
4.0
Before I started reading this book I have read about Nigeria where the story is set. The main problem is overpopulation. It used to be 16.6 million people in 2013 and it'd expected to be over 50 million in next 30 years. It is normal to have 4 wives (as Koran allows) and at least 11-15 children in one family. As a result the wildlife has decreased and the drought became an everyday problem.
Having all that in mind reading a story where a woman is under a huge pressure to conceive ... well it wasn't easy.
It's a beautiful tale about love, loss, sacrifice and a fight between modern and tradition. Social relations and traditions I found particularly interesting.
sade's review against another edition
4.0
One of the greatest lies ever sold to women is "LOVE" and how women are supposed to bend over backwards, break themselves if need be for love...
This book had me up in my feelings because you really hear about this kind of things happening. How women are made to feel less than because they aren't mothers. It was especially painful for me reading about Yejide because she had no-one in her corner.. No one to tell her this isn't love and that she deserves better.
My one negative with this book was that I didn't like that a whole lot of pages were devoted to political commentary at that time in Nigeria. Mainly because it just didn't seem to gel and was sort of jarring really to have that much political commentary.
All in all a really fantastic read, that I would recommend to everyone.
Also p.s Tomi Adeyemi could really use this as a sort of reference on how to write Yoruba in books and also what constitutes Yoruba names.