A New York Times Notable Book • “A thoroughly contemporary—and deeply moving—portrait of a marriage.... In the lineage of great works by Chinua Achebe and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.” —The New York Times Book Review
Ilesa, Nigeria. Ever since they first met and fell in love at university, Yejide and Akin have agreed: polygamy is not for them. But four years into their marriage—after consulting fertility doctors and healers, and trying strange teas and unlikely cures—Yejide is still not pregnant. She assumes she still has time—until her in-laws arrive 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.
The unforgettable story of a marriage as seen through the eyes of both husband and wife, Stay With Me asks how much we can sacrifice for the sake of family.
I really liked the concept of this book, and it was generally well-written and interesting. But it was a bit uneven, with some things coming out of nowhere and then barely mentioned again. (Most obviously, Funmi's murder.) I thought Yejide was a fully-formed, flawed, but sympathetic character, her heartbreaking reaction to repeated tragedy completely believable. I found her husband Akin a bit less sympathetic, though he is meant to be likeable. I especially enjoyed the incorporation of Nigerian fairytales into the narrative.
