Stay with Me

A Novel

By: Ayobami Adebayo

Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh

Length: 8 hrs

Publisher's summary

This celebrated, unforgettable first novel, short-listed for the prestigious Bailey's Prize and set in Nigeria, gives voice to both husband and wife as they tell the story of their marriage - and the forces that threaten to tear it apart.

Yejide and Akin have been married since they met and fell in love at university. Though many expected Akin to take several wives, he and Yejide have always agreed: Polygamy is not for them. But four years into their marriage - after consulting fertility doctors and healers, trying strange teas and unlikely cures - Yejide is still not pregnant. She assumes she still has time - until her family arrives 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.

An electrifying novel of enormous emotional power, Stay with Me asks how much we can sacrifice for the sake of family.

©2017 Ayobami Adebayo (P)2017 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"A bright, big-hearted demonstration of female spirit, as well as the damage done by the boundlessness of male pride." (The Guardian)

"Adebayo describes parenthood and love with heartbreaking prose. She deftly reveals secrets and the decisions that set life-altering events in motion. The story's fast pace brings surprising twists to Akin, Yejide, and their families' lives." (Booklist)

"Adjoa Andoh delivers a strong portrayal of this audiobook's main characters.... She virtually becomes the elder mothers and other family members who impact the couple's relationship.... This is a powerful novel that unfolds through Andoh's superb characterizations of the protagonists." (AudioFile)

Heart-rending and epic

This book almost killed me, in a good way. As a mother I sometimes felt that I couldn't go in reading, it was just too much to bear emotionally, but I kept going, because I was too invested in the characters, I needed to see this through with them. I felt like I left a piece of me in that book when I finished.

Wonderful to listen to

I loved the narrator and how each character had a unique voice and conjured up an image all their own. The time flew by as I listened to this novel.

What I didn't care for was that one of the plot twists didn't make any sense at all. I don't want to give the story away, but one of the characters has a condition that would have been obvious to the wife and would have made it impossible for her to be able to hide something she did. I even replayed part of the story to make sure I hadn't missed something and I didn't. So one of the main plots just didn't make any darn sense.

If I excuse that, I enjoyed the bits of Nigerian culture that were woven throughout the story and it really hit home that we set ourselves up for misery and miss out on life when we pin all of our hopes on having a fairytale life that is imposed by the people around us. We have to find happiness in the true loves in our lives and stop wasting time pretending, lying, and covering it up to be something we aren't, especially when there are people who love us the way we are.

Awesome Story!

The delivery of this story was really good and the author was awesome at evoking so many many emotions as the story went on. Thoroughly enjoyed it.....did not want it to end.

Incredible.

An emotional and captivating story about the evolution of a marriage and the individuals contained within. Beautifully and flawlessly narrated.

Very enjoyable

I really enjoyed this book. I found the story very interesting and came from a very different voice than mine. I have no idea if the accents were correct but the performance kept me engaged rather than distracted which happens when I don't enjoy a reader. I definitely recommend this book.

Tore at all the heart strings

I felt the love, the betrayal, the pain. I have never lost a child, and can definitely not imagine having to do that repeatedly. I can even understand Akin trying to do anything to make his wife happy. Infertility can destroy relationships. Put some deceit on top and you have a whole mess.

Stay with Me

This was a wonderful read. I started out reading the book but work got too much. I needed to continue so I listened to the story while driving home. I will probably listen to it again.
Thanks for this well written story, Ms. Adebayo.

A Unique Story

I so appreciated that this story did not feel like something I’d read before. It was unique and held my interest from the very start. I couldn’t stop listening.

Wow

Wow, such a complex cast of characters and story. Unforgettable, heartbreaking, and with such a unique perspective.

What a book

This book made me laugh, shake my head, feel like crying, grow sad, and then gave me hope.

I feel so much empathy for Yejide. The characters were so richly fleshed out. I felt a similarity with Akin’s mother and my own grandmother, although my grandmother wasn’t so pushy.

I am going to recommend this book to all my reader friends.
Excellent work.