Reviews tagging 'Death'

Stay with Me by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀

28 reviews

davidbythebay's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Absolutely brilliant! A lovely and devastating book that looks at a marriage from the 1980s through 2008, all with the background of Nigeria and its political turmoil. 

I first heard about this back in 2017 on NPR. I bought the book right before the pandemic started in 2020. And I finally read it now in September 2022. I do not know why I waited. If the discussion on NPR and the description wasn't enough, Margaret Atwood's Twitter review ("Scorching, gripping, ultimately lovely.") Should have really pushed this book forward for me as Atwood is an all-time favorite author of mine. But somehow I kept putting this off. 

First, let me say that it did take me a minute to get into the swing of things. By that I mean that sometimes Nigerian customs and phrases are used that usually have context clues or translations around where they are, but as I am fascinated by culture and language I often was paused by. Also, and more importantly, the story does have a dual POV which is never explicitly labeled at the start of a chapter. It was easy to pick up within the first paragraph or sentence who was talking, but it did throw me off a bit at first. 

The dual timeline (east Part begins in 2008 before going back in time to the 1980s and 90s) was easy to discern. It was very much a few chapters in 2008 with the majority of the book being a linear story of Akin and Yejide's marriage. What they went through was devastating and I won't go into it much here, but know that if you are sensitive to some topics, be warned.

Those "gripes" being laid out now, the whole book from start to finish was a captivating journey that really did sing off the page. It was lyrical and completely immersive. I learned a lot about Nigerian customs and traditions, as well as some history. This story, though, could really have been set anywhere at anytime. It is a universal story of marriage. The setting and timeperiod, however, added a whole other layer to the work and really was absolutely beautiful. Gorgeous prose sang off the page and left haunting images. 

The ending felt completely right and full. Though Part 4 is short, the book has led to this moment and you can feel it. There is a hope and a future that is shadowy and unseen, but there is a great feeling at the end that left me feeling elated by the book. 

Do not hesitate like I did... read this now! I see the author has a new novel coming out early next year. My plan is to not wait on that as I did this one. A new classic to be sure and a brilliant debut novel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy

Moderate: Alcohol, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Death, Abandonment, Child death, Chronic illness, Grief, Medical content, and Murder

taratearex's review

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

 The audiobook for this was quite entertaining. The story takes so many twists and turns you really never know where it's going, I said "oh my god" out loud multiple times! This is one of those books I don't think I would have read as a physical copy, just given the subject matter (marriage and pregnancy issues) and characters (none are particularly likeable, which always hard for me) were hard for me to connect with, but was made engaging through the audiobook.

TW: death, child death, infertility, parent death 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Infertility, and Child death

Moderate: Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Infidelity

sarinha_lu's review against another edition

emotional sad tense fast-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Death

bookish_houseplant's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is probably the most emotionally difficult book I have ever read. I just finished it and I'm shaking and sobbing. After part one as someone who has always wanted children but doesn't have any yet, I had to put it down. I picked it back up today and read the rest all at once. It's like a train crash; terrible to watch but you can't look away. Don't read this if you want something light-hearted. However I rate books on how much they make me feel something and this book is beautifully written and absolutely tore my heart out. If you're up for that, I highly recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Pregnancy, and Child death

Moderate: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, and War

If you enjoyed Violet Evergarden I think you would appreciate this and vice versa

bahamyulala's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Pregnancy, and Grief

n_li_re's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Pregnancy, Sexism, Infertility, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Death of parent, War, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Murder, Vomit, and Violence

Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Mental illness

bandysbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This book went in way different directions than I was expecting. It is a very dark story and unbearably sad. I found myself viscerally frustrated at several points while reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child death, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical content, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Infertility, Infidelity, and Pregnancy

internationalreads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, Medical content, Pregnancy, Sexism, and Sexual content

amberinbookland's review against another edition

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Infidelity, Religious bigotry, Gun violence, Child death, Terminal illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, War, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Murder, Miscarriage, Grief, Death of parent, Death, Blood, Alcohol, and Abandonment

vi_vis's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, Abandonment, Child abuse, and Gaslighting