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A review by reading_and_roaming20
Stay with Me by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀
emotional
sad
fast-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
4.5
Oh my poor, poor heart. It is heavy and sad and feeling many feels. That’s it. That’s the review.
Ok jk, that’s not the whole review but that’s the gist.
I really enjoyed the dual timelines happening here. The structure was similar to THE ISLAND OF SEA WOMEN where we’re in the character’s present day every few chapters and learning about the past for the majority of the book.
In this case, we got to see Yejide and Amin’s marriage from both of their perspectives. Watching them go from young and in love, knowing from the first chapter that they don’t wind up together, pulled me right in. They had so much stacked against them with infertility and the cultural family pressure to have children. (Big trigger warning there.)
In a short 260 pages, this story hits time and time again with heartbreaking twists that had me pausing to soak in what I had just read.
AND THAT ENDING. I can’t express myself properly without spoilers. It just………..it was good but it hurt.
This is the kind of book that you have to be in the right mindset for. That said, if you’re ready to wind up emotionally ragged, it is absolutely a must-read. I loved it. I am sad. The end.
Ok jk, that’s not the whole review but that’s the gist.
I really enjoyed the dual timelines happening here. The structure was similar to THE ISLAND OF SEA WOMEN where we’re in the character’s present day every few chapters and learning about the past for the majority of the book.
In this case, we got to see Yejide and Amin’s marriage from both of their perspectives. Watching them go from young and in love, knowing from the first chapter that they don’t wind up together, pulled me right in. They had so much stacked against them with infertility and the cultural family pressure to have children. (Big trigger warning there.)
In a short 260 pages, this story hits time and time again with heartbreaking twists that had me pausing to soak in what I had just read.
AND THAT ENDING. I can’t express myself properly without spoilers. It just………..it was good but it hurt.
This is the kind of book that you have to be in the right mindset for. That said, if you’re ready to wind up emotionally ragged, it is absolutely a must-read. I loved it. I am sad. The end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Child death, and Terminal illness