A Spell of Good Things

Starred review from December 12, 2022
Adébáyọ̀ follows up Stay with Me with this bright and distinctive tragedy set in modern Nigeria. Ẹniọlá, a teenager whose father has lost his job, can no longer pay the tuition at the private school that he’d hoped would enable him to rise from poverty. Wúràọlá is a doctor from a wealthy and politically connected family. She’s overworked in an underfunded hospital, and courted by well-bred Kúnlé, whose mood shifts and possessiveness unnerve her. Ẹniọlá takes an apprenticeship with a tailor, but after he is beaten at school for the unpaid fees, his mother insists Ẹniọlá and his little sister accompany her to beg for money. Things spiral out of control when Ẹniọlá’s parents decide to pay his sister’s tuition with the proceeds but not his. He takes his revenge by joining a gang working for the vengeful politician Fẹ̀sọ̀jaiyé. Wúràọlá, meanwhile, becomes engaged to Kúnlé despite her misgivings, and though her parents are ecstatic, he slaps her at a party. Kúnlé’s father is running against Fẹ̀sọ̀jaiyé, and the story’s violent denouement is as devastating as it is inevitable. Pitch-perfect details provide a sense of the characters’ lives—the red dust caked on Ẹniọlá’s white socks from long walks to school, the soft headscarf worn by Wúràọlá’s mother that “barely whispered”—and as the characters are pushed to the brink, Adébáyọ̀ delivers a searing indictment of the country’s corruption and gender inequalities. This packs a powerful punch. Agent: Kathy Robbins, in association with Clare Alexander of Aitken Alexander Associates.

May 1, 2023

Narrated by Bab�j�d� Oy�k�nl� and O․re․ Apampa, Ad�b�y�․'s second novel (following Stay with Me) explores Nigeria's social inequalities and growing economic precarity through the lives of two protagonists from opposite ends of the social and financial spectrum. W�r�o․l�, a resident doctor, comes from a wealthy family with political connections. She is pressured to conform to a patriarchal society's expectation of women, where a good marriage to a good family matters more than one's dreams and aspirations. Sixteen-year-old E․ni�․la's family struggles financially when his father loses his teaching job; eventually, E․ni�․la and his younger sister, B�so․l�, turn to the streets for money. When E․ni�․la decides to join a gang working for a political opponent of W�r�o․l�'s father-in-law, Ad�b�y�․'s deft hand in storytelling is evident as E․ni�․la and W�r�o․l�'s paths cross with devastating consequences. Oy�k�nl� and Apampa convey the rhythm of the book, speaking with accurate Yoruban accents and providing vivid characterizations that bring additional depth to this already compelling story. VERDICT Ad�b�y�․'s skill is apparent as she navigates W�r�o․l�'s and E․ni�․la's contrasting worlds, connecting the two through the choices they make and the tragedy that engulfs them both.--Enica Davis

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.