The relationship starts promising. Akin learns the fellow student Yejide at a cinema know, they fall in love, get married soon. Notwithstanding the customs of the country and, unlike their parents they want to run a monogamous marriage. Both are young, open-minded, modern and can hope for a carefree, happy life. However, from the traditions and value system of their society, they can not so easily solved. They are represented by “Moomi” Akins mother. Her firstborn, a trained bank employee, is her favorite and probably more advisable flagship son.
But why his wife has still not become pregnant after four years of marriage? Moomi pressures him, reminding him of his responsibility to care for offspring, gives at once its been barely noticed younger sons more attention – they are just simple artisans, but could easily loads of produce children
. if Yejide is not pregnant, a second wife must be found. Moomi drags a number of candidates until Akin chooses Funmi. He does not choose about, because he could love as Yejide them more, but because she gets involved in the agreement, not as it would be usual to move into his house, but to live a few kilometers away and a month just a weekend to spend it.
The package loaded all involved heavy. Even Akin pushes over months work commitments to escape his visits to Funmi. The accepted although Yejides precedence as the first wife, but calls for patiently waiting also their rights as a second wife and now wants to live with in the family home.
The greatest suffering is subject Yejide. For a long time already it faces open accusations exposed ( “Women make children, and if you can not, you’re just a man.”), Which tries to cope with perpetual smile, and have to put up with how members of their much Mrs. family interfere incredibly directly into their intimate life. In their growing desperation, she consulted doctors and charlatans, but no one can help her. The overwhelming psychological pressure of expectation, coupled with the fear of the rival, leading to a false pregnancy.
The Nigerian author Ayobami Adebayo, born in 1988 in Lagos (Nigeria), leaves the disturbing relationship story from the changing perspectives of the partners concerned tell. This gives each of the reports great authenticity and emotional power. The reader experiences, for example, at first hand how the healer puts into towels boat wrapped kids to suckle at her breast to stimulate their susceptibility, or how it is fighting despite her confident and wise-run argument in discussions with their relatives at a loss because they age-old traditions and irrational superstition against him has. In the end they will win nothing but further humiliation, exclusion, painful loneliness and self-doubt.
Akin is pushed to the ground and torn. The family and social expectations weigh heavily on him, as is the concern for the tortured psyche of his great love. At the same time he avoids her, lest bitter truths they could completely break, and is looking for other ways out of the dilemma of his family life. The poignant story at this point is far from over. The author continues it with unbelievable surprises of fate, hopes that turn into disasters, plans to be thwarted tragic. In the end, there are many victims and no winner. Ayobami Adebayo has with ” Stay with me < ” Ayobami Adebayo: “Stay with me” to “.
As a charming side effect, we get glimpses of the Nigerian daily, read by the typical meals, the traditional clothes of the women and their hairstyle, the hours lovingly braided” Braids ” , The plot is set in the eighties, was worn down as the land of a series of military dictatorships. The dangers threatening the population from the political instability and violence in the country, also affect the condition of the fictional characters. A glossary facilitates the understanding of the development. This completely recommendable debut novel was nominated in 2017 for the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction , counted from several international arts pages of the best books of the year and in thirteen countries sold.
Stay with me by Ayobami Adebayo Review. (2019, Nov 18). Retrieved from https://paperap.com/stay-with-me-by-ayobami-adebayo-my-review/