If you’ve read Ayobami Adebayo’s Stay With Me, you will probably not be surprised that her most recent novel was longlisted for the Booker prize. While both novels are wonderful, I think the scale of storytelling in A Spell of Good Things grows in such powerful ways. As with her previous novels, this story offers a glimpse into modern life in Nigeria, this time taking us into the lives of Wuraola, the daughter of a doctor who is also a doctor herself and living relatively well, and Eniola, a young man on the opposite side of the economic spectrum.
Recently, my book club got together to discuss The Bandit Queens, and it occurred to me that while these books are WILDLY different in tone, there was a bit of overlap in the content in some ways. Both contain storylines in which a modern woman faces the dilemma of more traditional family expectations in direct conflict with her own ambition; both also deal with abuse that feels embedded in a culture of masculine dominance. As we talked about Schroff’s book, I wondered if perhaps people who struggled with the levity in her tone might feel that this book is more suitable. It’s not tragedy-porn-esque, like A Little Life, but it does present the subject with more seriousness.
This is also a good moment to mention that content warnings apply – there are depictions of abuse and mentions of suicide in this novel, so please take care while reading.
The story moves between the perspectives of Wuraola and Eniola, who, as mentioned, live vastly different lives. Eniola’s father was a school teacher who was fired from his job, and has since sunk into a depression, rendering him unable to effectively look for other employment. He lives with his parents and his sister, Busola. Eniola’s parents value education a great deal, and they have tried to pay as much money as they can towards their children’s school fees to prevent sending them to a public school. Busola and Eniola are bright, curious children, but Eniola can sense the rising tension in his household as it becomes clear they cannot afford food, rent, and school fees. Their school has also instituted regular beatings for children whose families are behind on school fees, which adds another component of stress.
Eniola is more or less the apprentice of a local dress maker, Caro, who is the bridge between Eniola’s life and that of Wuraola. Wuraola, born in wealth, does not have financial stress – her mother is in fact able to spend lots of money at Caro’s dress shop, when she is inclined to. And as Wuraola approaches thirty, her mother would really be inclined to visit Caro’s dress shop as often as needed if clothing alone would ensure her daughter would find a husband, and soon.
Wuraola does have a steady boyfriend, Kunle, and she is interested in the idea of marriage to him. But she is also a young doctor, and she might feel a little more inclined to impress Kunle’s parents (who are both doctors, as his her father). As the story progresses, we learn other reasons she might be hesitant to become more involved with Kunle.
Occasionally, we are gifted with a chapter in the perspective of Wuraola or Eniola’s mother, which helps to deepen the story. There is a also a storyline related to local politics that becomes Chekov’s political war, paying off in a final act that was devastating. The story was exquisitely plotted.