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Title details for Stay with Me by Ayobami Adebayo - Available

Stay with Me

A novel

by Ayobami Adebayo
Adjoa Andoh
Audiobook
2 of 2 copies available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
2 of 2 copies available
A New York Times Notable Book
The New York Times’ Critics’ Top Books of the Year
Named a Best Book of the Year by San Francisco Chronicle, National Public Radio, The Economist, Buzzfeed, Paste Magazine, Southern Living, HelloGiggles, and Shelf Awareness
Huffington Post’s Best Feminist Books of the Year
The New York Post’s Most Thrilling and Fascinating Books of the Year
The New York Public Library’s Ten Best Books of the Year
"A stunning debut novel." —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times
This celebrated, unforgettable first novel (“A bright, big-hearted demonstration of female spirit.” –The Guardian), shortlisted for the prestigious Women's Prize for Fiction and set in Nigeria, gives voice to both husband and wife as they tell the story of their marriage—and the forces that threaten to tear it apart. 
Yejide and Akin have been married since they met and fell in love at university. Though many expected Akin to take several wives, he and Yejide have always agreed: polygamy is not for them. But four years into their marriage—after consulting fertility doctors and healers, trying strange teas and unlikely cures—Yejide is still not pregnant. She assumes she still has time—until her family arrives on her doorstep with a young woman they introduce as Akin's second wife. Furious, shocked, and livid with jealousy, Yejide knows the only way to save her marriage is to get pregnant. Which, finally, she does—but at a cost far greater than she could have dared to imagine. An electrifying novel of enormous emotional power, Stay With Me asks how much we can sacrifice for the sake of family.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    August 22, 2017

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781524781835
      • File size: 230545 KB
      • Duration: 08:00:18

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from June 12, 2017
      Adebayo explores the toll the intense pressure to have children exacts on one Nigerian couple across two decades. Akin’s large family disrupts his and Yejide’s happy but childless marriage by forcing him into a polygamous marriage without his wife’s knowledge. This betrayal and a last-ditch visit to a holy man convince Yejide that she is pregnant and she begins a year-long psychosomatic pregnancy. Just when she finally accepts that there will be no child, Akin’s brother Dotun seduces and impregnates her. The child is eagerly welcomed as Akin’s own, especially by his imposing mother. The happiness ends abruptly with the seemingly accidental death of Akin’s second wife. As subsequent traumas multiply between the couple, Adebayo slowly reveals their unspoken shame by having both narrate chapters covering the same events. Yejide’s strong ache to be a mother and her frustration with traditional Yoruba culture make her a complex character. Adebayo shows great promise in her debut novel. Her methodical exposure of her characters’ secrets forces the reader into continual reevaluations and culminates in a tender, satisfying conclusion.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Adjoa Andoh delivers a strong portrayal of this audiobook's main characters, Yejide and Akin, an African couple entangled in cultural traditions they hope to share with their future children. Some of the traditions, however, challenge their growing family. Andoh clearly differentiates the characters by altering her tone and adding accents to her pronunciation at various times. She virtually becomes the elder mothers and other family members who impact the couple's relationship. Andoh's tone is sharp, especially when representing Yejide. The anguish in her voice during scenes of hardship is at times purposely overbearing to convey the depth of Yejide's feelings as a mother and wife. This is a powerful novel that unfolds through Andoh's superb characterizations of the protagonists. T.E.C. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      December 1, 2017

      Against a tumultuous backdrop of political, military, and economic turmoil in modern Nigeria comes a portrait of a marriage that begins with idealistic devotion and ardent promise. For Yejide and Akin, love should have been enough, but after four years without children, "even love bends, cracks, comes close to breaking and sometimes does break." Unable to fend off his mother's demands for a grandchild, Akin warily agrees to take a second wife. When modern medicine can't help her conceive, desperate Yejide climbs the "Mountain of Jaw-Dropping Miracles" and comes back down convinced (falsely) she's pregnant. The need to procreate both unites and destroys the couple, each plagued with secrets and betrayals that eventually lead to parenthood but not without devastating regrets and searing tragedy. Adjoa Andoh's rich narration, softly infused with her native British accent, effortlessly adapts to a more pronounced Nigerian inflection as needed. Andoh becomes both husband and wife, modulating her mellifluous voice between Akin's hope and defeat and Yejide's hurt and resolve. With elegant control, Andoh elevates Adebayo's already extraordinary debut into a spectacular aural performance. VERDICT Libraries owe patrons ready access to this sort of meaningful, transformative fare. ["A blazing entry onto the list of young, talented writers from Nigeria": LJ 6/15/17 starred review of the Knopf hc.]--Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon, Washington, DC

      Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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