I really wanted to love this one, but while I admired it and learned a lot about modern Nigeria from it I always felt that I was at arms length from the story and while the use of Nigerian names and phrases was interesting I wanted subtitles to the book a lot of the time.

Still very keen to read what Adebayo writes next but sadly this one wasn't for me

The two narrative voices in the story are on either side of the social divide in Nigeria. One is Eniola, a boy who has had to shoulder the pressures of the household because his father has retreated into a shell because of the loss of his job. The other is Wuraola, who is a first-year resident at the hospital and trying to find some respite from her gruelling schedule.
The social circles are quite distinct, and the borders are clear.
Although the troubles facing both our lead characters are different, and one may seem to pale in seriousness to the other, over the course of the book, we find out how much the past moulds everything and all the other players in each situation.
Eniola was told to expect to join a prestigious institution, and although he does not have many scholastic goals in life and is actually better at sewing, he starts to crave that school position and all that it stands for. He sets the ball rolling for the ultimate sad ending. Wuraola, on the other hand, has technically achieved her (and her family's) dreams. Society's plans for her are chaffing her, especially since her fiance is starting to show his true colours.
In either story, there is a push and pull of affection between siblings, focus on family and how past traumas rear their heads. I found it very illuminating and believable. I would have rated it higher if not for the utter desolation of the ending.
I did not expect a happily-ever-after, nor did I hope everyone involved would learn their lessons and grow. I was hoping for some form of closure. The ending did not give that to me. After all the in-depth people-watching that we did, it felt like everything was a moot point. I could not shrug off the gloom for a while.
This last point may be seen as a complaint, but it also shows the skill of the author to make and keep me emotionally invested in the characters.
I would recommend this book to those readers who seek out stories of strife in places they have not visited before and do not mind a more realistic, if depressing, ending.
I received an ARC thanks to Netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

A Spell of Good Things showcases the lives of two very different families in Nigeria.

Eniola is a boy who looks like a man, but one stuck in a never ending cycle of poverty since his father lost his job. There's never enough money to buy food, pay rent and pay for his and his sister's school fees or apprenticeship. No matter how hard his mother tries, she just can't make ends meet.

Wuraola is a young doctor from a wealthy family, exhausted and constantly under pressure at work, money is not an issue for her. She has her own problems though, her boyfriend Kunle is volatile and controlling, yet she's ignoring the red flags because of the societal pressure to be married. When Eniola discovers a way to make some easy money, he sets himself on a collision course with Wuraola's family; one that is doomed to end in tragedy.

This is a hard-hitting and thought provoking novel. It doesn't shy away from difficult and painful topics. The author puts a spotlight on the soul crushing reality of living in poverty. Of borrowing from Bill to pay Ben, but never knowing where the money to pay Bill back will come from. You can't help but feel for Eniola; forced to go to school by his parents because education is the most important thing, yet whipped every morning because his parent's have not paid the school fees. Adébáyọ̀ truly brings the plight of his family to life.

The wealth disparity is equally hard-hitting; Wuraola's family is as far apart from the poverty of Eniola's that it's jarring. Her narrative has it's own darkly powerful moments though, shining a light on domestic abuse and the reasons those emmeshed find to stay. There were moments where I genuinely wanted to scream at her. With both families getting involved in local politics but in very different ways, the collision course is set even if they don't know it yet.

All in all, this is a powerful and hard hitting novel. It's slow moving and Adébáyọ̀ spends a lot of time building up the characters and side characters. I quite appreciated this, it brought the lives of the individuals stark definition. It is also undeniably bleak at points; whilst there is humour, it can't hide the misery, poverty and abuses on display.

Many thanks to NetGalley for my free review copy of this title.

This cover and title got me intrigued… and I loved this!Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read this book in exchange for my review.
An absolutely heartbreaking, gripping and beautiful story. Impossible to resist, impossible to predict, impossible to put down . . .

This was a really powerful story, that felt very emotional and raw to me. It hit me in ways I didn't expect. Adebayo has a beautiful way with words. I can't wait to read her next book.

Kúnlé is mad (apologies had to start with that). I take the stories I read very personal. We will know who Kunle is soon

A spell of good things is an interesting title for how this story played out. I loved reading this book. Character development was on point and transition from both worlds (rich and affluent vs poor) was good.

Story broken down into two worlds; Ẹniọlá the son of a former teacher who due to unemployment is living in poverty, can’t pay rent and has his family go days by without food on the table. Ẹniọlá and his sister Bùsọ́lá are always bested and sacked from school due to school fees not been paid. Things got really bad that the family had to resort to begging just to get rent and school fees sorted. Fast forward, Ẹniọlá finds himself in the midst of bad company who have an affiliation with the current governor. He is recruited as a “thug” for the politician and gets involved in some real mess which cost him to lose a family member; a guilt he will have on for years.

Then we have Wúràọlá a medical doctor from a very affluent home. She is dating the Coker’s son; Kúnlé. The Coker’s are both doctors who work at the same hospital where Wúràọlá is doing her rotation. Fast forward, Kúnlé proposes to Wúràọlá. Kúnlé is abusive in the relationship however Wúràọlá doesn’t want to bring “disgrace” to her family, noting both families are close and it saves her from the pressure from her mother about wanting her daughter to get married before 30.

Though both parties (I.e Wúràọlá & Ẹniọlá) live in separate worlds, they somehow come across each other. You should read this to see how the story develops and for once I was happy about Wúràọlá’s decision.. No spoilers though

Thie book brings together two 'sides' of living in Nigeria. What can happen to ( and within) wealthy and other families who have lost everything they had. They beg on the streets for money to pay for their children's schooling and have to prioritise female over male for example.
two families fates are interwoven in a brilliant way - showing the differences between them.
An immensely readable novel.

“It was there in how she often handled happiness with nervousness, as though good things could only last for a spell.”

Two Nigerian families at opposing ends of the class system. How are their lives affected by their origins, the country’s politics and societal expectations?

The storytelling, the vivid scenes - I was completely immersed. I loved how this book is told through alternating POVs, not only of the two main characters but also of their relatives. All backstories and family dynamics were very interesting.

How everything ties together at the end is sad but wonderfully done.

A very well written book, I was hooked from the beginning. The chapters go into different people's lives but they are al interconnected. A very sad ending and some trigger warnings -domestic violence, bullying.
A sad look at what poverty does to people.

In A Spell of Good Things, Ayobami Adebayo’s second novel, she fearlessly lays bare the appalling consequences of poverty and corruption.
Since Eniola’s father lost his job as teacher and has given up hope of supporting his family, further school fees are out of the question. Hard working Eniola knows the consequences of a life with no education and suffers unimaginable abuse at school until the fees are due.
Wuraola is a trainee doctor, betrothed to a man connected to her family through her father’s political aspirations.
The lives of these two characters cross, indirectly at first but subsequently more precisely in the worst possible circumstances.
As the narrative alternates between the two the struggle to understand Wuraola’s reticence for change recedes as the complications are unfolded but the route forced upon Eniola on the other hand is just inevitable.
A Spell of Good Things is dark, revealing and memorable. This unsettling book is a worthy read.

Utterly heartbreaking. The author paints an all too realistic portrait of a country divided by class and corruption, her characters flawed and damaged and brave and greedy and selfish and kind. I found it almost painful to read in places but the writing is gorgeous. I’m definitely going to look for her earlier work now.

This superb sweeping family epic is set in modern Nigeria and follows the interwoven yet very disparate lives of two children from opposite sides of the tracks. Newly-qualified doctor Wúràolá is in the first year of life in medicine: she is her family’s pride and joy, and on the cusp of marriage to her childhood sweetheart and family friend Kúnlé – yet his sudden and unpredictable mood changes are starting to make her pause for thought. On the other side of the narrative is Eniolá, whose despondent father is in the grip of depression after being made redundant, leaving Eniolá, his sister Bùsólá and his mother to work out how to pay the bills. His attendance at school is uncertain, dependent on scraping together the fees, so he spends his day assisting the local tailor and – on one particularly bad day – begging in the streets. Though both Wúràolá and Eniolá have their own hopes and dreams, political machinations and power-hungry individuals unexpectedly shape the pair’s destinies – and it’s not long before their lives are enmeshed in an untangleable fashion. Breathtaking in its scope, brilliantly descriptive and completely captivating, this is a powerful novel about family, love, the pursuit of happiness, and the unseen ways in which our choices affect the lives of others around us.

A Spell of Good Things by Ayòbámi Adébáyò is a book that looks unflinchingly at the have’s and have not’s in Nigeria. The two main characters come from two very different backgrounds.

Eniola is a boy who looks like a man. His schoolteacher father loses his job due to a shakeup in the education system, and falls into a deep depression. This leaves Eniola working as an errand boy for the local tailor, collecting newspapers and begging (much against his will). He wants so much more for his life, though…

Wuraola is from a wealthy family. Her parents are proud of her succeeding in her aim to be a doctor - and now they expect her to marry. And Kunle is the son of friends that they favour. But he’s volatile in private (to say the least).

We follow the stories of Eniola and Wuraola and the differences in their lives are stark. Eniola goes to school hungry, he’s beaten by the teachers because his parents pay their school fees late (if at all). And finally, he thinks he has found a way out of his poverty - when in fact it’s something far worse.

Wuraola’s life is difficult in a different way: she has a well-paid, well-respected job, but the Nigerian health system is overstretched, underfunded and doesn’t have enough doctors. But she believes in doing her duty, so she works hard, and says yes when Kunle proposes.

Wuraola’s and Eniola’s lives are on a collision course though.

I inhaled this book. It’s gritty and doesn’t hold back in any way. It’s an insight into lives I’ve never experienced and so powerfully told. The themes of domestic abuse, poverty, access to education and political corruption make for a heartbreaking read.
Recommended.

I don’t know Ayòbámi Adébáyò’s previous work, but the blurb for A Spell of Good Things called to me with a promise of a book that would shine a ‘light on Nigeria, on the gaping divide between the haves & the have-nots, & the shared humanity that lives in between’.
I don’t read for escapism - I have Instagram’s search bar for that. I want books that are unafraid to teach me something new about the world through the deft crafting of story & character, I want books that will bravely reflect the truth of people through an array of world settings; I want characters that dive deep into the core of what drives us as humans & the political systems that affect us. This is how fiction changes the world & why there’s so much to recommend A Spell of Good Things.
I found the use of Yoruba phrases such as the greeting, gbogbo riín ni mo kí o, to be a beautiful way of immersing in an unfamiliar culture. If I have an issue, it’s that I’d have like more in-depth descriptions of the food so that I could savour every mouthful of pounded yam.
Adébáyò shows a deep love for, & interest in, the political landscape of Nigeria & its effects on rich & poor. I wish this book was on the national curriculum in Britain so that anybody who complains about paying taxes towards education, health & the benefit system could understand just how dismal having no safety net would be for so many. Children begging to be allowed to go to school when the parents can’t afford the fees is one Tory dream I hope is never realised. This book is unflinching in presenting the multiple issues people in difficult financial situations face: a stark reminder that regardless of skin colour, poverty is an affliction of humanity, precipitated by the accumulation of wealth. I’m reminded of the social commentary of Emile Zola’s Germinal, & Ken Loach’s, I, Daniel Blake.
I finish A Spell of Good Things with the surety that social security systems supporting those most in need must continue to be championed in Britain, while also feeling ashamed that these were not ideals our ancestors encouraged in the countries they colonised.

The story starts being told by two individuals a junior doctor and a poor young boy and it was some time before we were told what the link was , for me this left the start feeling quite disjointed
the slap when it comes is out of the blue and unexpected and because of this it is doubly shocking , the whole tone of the book changes after this and progresses with sickening inevitability making it a hard read at times but totally enthralling
This novel is firmly rooted in Nigerian which is a s clear strength however I did find at times some of the names and words difficult to understand for a British reader , I had to google things on several occasions to make sure I was understanding fully and in order to get the most from the reading experience . I did feel a glossary of terms might have been a useful addition . Having said this I did get a strong feel of African life which I enjoyed immensely
I rad an early copy on net galley uk the book is published I the uk on 9yj February 2023 by Canongate . they review is published in goodreads nertgalley uk and my book blog bionicsarahsbooks.wordpress.com

Stay With Me is maybe one of the best debuts, even books, that I have ever read. It really stuck with me and I recommended it to everyone who I knew would also love it. Working for a book subscription service at the time, I personally sent this book to countless people because I knew it would be an instant win.

All that to say, yes, I probably did have extremely high expectations for this and why it hurts to say that I thought this was just okay.

One of the real issues for me was the dialogue, which mostly felt wooden and almost unrealistic to me. We’re presented with a great cast of characters who often have a great interior dialogue but then speak to each other in a mechanical, staged way - it would just rip me out of the story every time!

I also found that the secondary characters were more compelling than the main characters and, just as I started to care more for the main characters, the story was over! The story didn’t start to pick up until over a third of the way through and the third act was spectacular but the ending left me with questions and wanting more.

Overall, this isn’t a bad book but it was a disappointment to me after I loved Stay With Me so wholeheartedly. I will still read another book by the same author because there’s no denying her skill - I hope I’ll be wowed once more! But this was just okay.

A heartbreaking tale of a young man, desperate to stay in school despite his family’s inability to pay the fees. Naive decisions lead to tragic results for himself, his family and those around him. A Young doctor also makes poor choices, submitting to family expectations and her fiancés brutality. This is not a comforting story, it is brutal and real and tragic.

As she did in her wonderful debut novel, Stay With Me, Adébáyò focuses on the underlying cultural, family and societal pressures of life in Nigeria. In A Spell of Good Things she tackles wealth, poverty, violence, physical abuse, depression, political corruption and the expectation of women to marry and produce children above all else. But this time she does so in an entirely different way.

Wuraola, a young, female doctor, faces pressure to marry from her wealthy and politically connected family. Marriage and family is the only form of success that they recognise for a woman. She is physically abused by her boyfriend/fiancé, who also seems to have no respect for her successful career in medicine.

Eniola is a teenage boy whose dreams of education and a career are shattered when his father looses his job. The family can no longer pay the rent, or their children’s school fees, resulting in Eniola, his mother and sister having to beg. He is beaten everyday at his school because of his late payment of fees.

Wuraola’s and Eniola’s stories alternate throughout the book before their lives intersect at the end with violent results, deeply effecting both families.

Adébáyò tackles the issues of life and class in Nigeria with unflinching honesty. My only criticism is that the build up to the finale took a bit too long. I found myself often wondering where the story was going and when the two main characters would finally connect.

The copy I read came via NetGalley.

Wow wow wow what a stunning book!! I devoured this! It was well worth the wait for this second novel. It was deep, gritty, poignant, beautiful. Please read this book!

I really like this book. I was excited to read it after hearing good things about stay with me. At first I found the story a bit slow but once it picked up for me I was fully engaged.