Dele Weds Destiny

A Novel

By: Tomi Obaro

Narrated by: Tariye Peterside

Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

A VANITY FAIR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • The story of three once-inseparable college friends in Nigeria who reunite in Lagos for the first time in thirty years—a sparkling novel about the extraordinary resilience of female friendship.

“A story rendered with so much heart.”—Taylor Jenkins Reid, best-selling author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones and the Six

Funmi, Enitan, and Zainab first meet at university in Nigeria and become friends for life despite their differences. Funmi is beautiful, brash, and determined; Enitan is homely and eager, seeking escape from her single mother's smothering and needy love; Zainab is elegant and reserved, raised by her father's first two wives after her mother's death in childbirth.

Their friendship is complicated but enduring, and over the course of the novel, the reader learns about their loves and losses. How Funmi stole Zainab's boyfriend and became pregnant, only to have an abortion and lose the boyfriend to police violence. How Enitan was seduced by an American Peace Corps volunteer, the only one who ever really saw her, but is culturally so different from him—a Connecticut WASP—that raising their daughter together put them at odds. How Zainab fell in love with her teacher, a friend of her father’s, and ruptured her relationship with her father to have him.

Now, some thirty years later, the three women are reunited for the first time, in Lagos. The occasion: Funmi’s daughter, Destiny, is getting married. Enitan brings her American daughter, Remi. Zainab travels by bus, nervously leaving her ailing husband in the care of their son. Funmi, hosting the weekend with her wealthy husband, wants everything to go perfectly. But as the big day approaches, it becomes clear that something is not right. As the novel builds powerfully, the complexities of the mothers’ friendship—and the private wisdom each has earned—come to bear on a riveting, heartrending moment of decision. Dele Weds Destiny is a sensational debut from a dazzling new voice in contemporary fiction.

©2022 Tomi Obaro (P)2022 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

A Vanity Fair Best Book of the Year

“Loving and lively . . . the writing takes on a political power . . . indelible . . . bravura."—The New York Times Book Review

"Obaro’s writing gives richness and depth to female friendship, depicting the beauty of bonds that last a lifetime."—The Washington Post

"Richly entertaining . . . [a] debut novel of loyalty, betrayal, and ultimately the unwavering love that courses through our most intimate bonds."—Oprah Daily

Great book to read

I finally finished!!! what a great book, not some many plot twists. I really inenoyed the book.

Disappointing ending

I enjoyed the writer’s vivid descriptions and the storyteller’s performance. However, the ending felt abrupt.

Good story

This novel was very engaging. All the characters were well fleshed out, and I totally enjoyed getting to know the mothers. Enitan, Funmi and Zeynab were all women you could understand. However, naming the book about Destiny and Dele, lead me to believe that more would've been resolved/ discussed about them. I needed a bit more towards the ending of the book, but I'm guessing that will be done in book 2.

Complex Adult Rom-Com

Although the title and the book are about a wedding, the book is really about the lives, romances and interactions of three women who create the environment in which the wedding is to be held - their back stories are threads that weave into the present. It was fun to listen to, more fun than a typical rom-com, because you see how the characters evolve, and how the past creates the present. If you are not Nigerian, like me, pay careful attention to the names at the beginning, so you can follow their character development throughout.

Awesome

I really enjoyed this book and the narrator wow. She’s so good with the accents and way things are said

Interesting story missing a few things

I really enjoyed how the back story of their friendship informed the present. I would have liked some more story time in the present to see how their lives mirrored their moms’ but overall a nice and fairly entertaining story to read/listen to.

Worth the listen despite the (minor) flaws

The story was EXCELLENT! But the author's habit of switching tenses mid paragraph was a bit distracting. As was her need to occasionally over-describe details that turned out to have no relevance to the plot (like every item of food on the table).
The storyteller was brilliant in her ability to give each character their own voice. However, her inflections and pauses left a little to be desired.

I can very much relate to this story

very well thought out. Strong female characters. The Nigerian culture resonates well. the narrator is splendid. The end however is so abrupt....please tell me there is a book two.

Powerful story of friendship, love, and family

As someone who's Nigerian American, this story feels very close to home. The story depicts what it means and how it feels to be Nigerian, with all of the family pressure, outdated gender expectations, and intricate relationships. It also perfectly shows the damaging effects of cultural expectations of women and the result of that pressure. The setting shows subtlety of the beauty and danger of this culture which gives the viewer a new perspective and better understanding of the characters. The title of the book is very misleading because even though the wedding is what brings the main characters together, it feels more like a subplot of the story. The author and narrator worked perfectly together, it feels like one person did everything. Overall, Dele Weds Destiny is an amazing story and I look forward to what comes next.

It’s over?!?!

“Wait… what???” This is what I thought as the story just suddenly and abruptly ended. It took a while to get used to the narrator’s smooth, sometimes monotone voice in the beginning, but the story held my interest. Just as the back story was getting interesting, and I was looking forward to how everything would pan out… it ended!