A Spell of Good Things: Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2023
Ayobami Adebayo
SHORTLISTED FOR THE DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE 2024
LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2023
MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2023: the Observer, Guardian, Financial Times, Stylist, the Express and Oprah Daily
Ayòbámi Adébáyò, the Women's Prize-shortlisted author of Stay With Me, unveils a dazzling story of modern Nigeria and two families caught in the riptides of wealth, power, romantic obsession and political corruption.
Eniola is tall for his age, a boy who looks like a man. His father has lost his job, so Eniola spends his days running errands for the local tailor, collecting newspapers and begging, dreaming of a big future.
Wuraola is a golden girl, the perfect child of a wealthy family. Now an exhausted young doctor in her first year of practice, she is beloved by Kunle, the volatile son of family friends.
When a local politician takes an interest in Eniola and sudden violence shatters a family party, Wuraola and Eniola's lives become intertwined. In this breathtaking novel, Ayòbámi Adébáyò shines her light on Nigeria, on the gaping divide between the haves and the have-nots, and the shared humanity that lives in between.
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About Ayobami Adebayo
Reviews for A Spell of Good Things: Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2023
Observer
A moving story, skilfully told, about Eniola, a boy whose future has been snatched away from him, and Wuraola, a talented, overworked junior doctor, whose intertwined narratives combine to produce an insightful portrait of an unequal and deeply divided society moving towards a terrible crisis. A Spell of Good Things is both gripping and memorable
PAT BARKER A powerful, staggering read
Booker Prize 2023
An outstanding read
ANITA RANI
BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour
Heart-rending . . . a breeze to read, despite the weightiness of its subject matter . . . Adebayo handles her characters with empathy and nuance, showing their vulnerabilities, yearnings, shame and delusions
Financial Times
Adebayo humanizes those sucked into the vortex of [. . . ] power with striking compassion - the characters' misjudgments and delusions are deeply and empathetically imagined, wholly alive
New York Times
Couldn't be more timely. It's as much about politics as it is a story of toxic relationships, coming of age, and finding the courage to do the right thing
AFUA HIRSCH A portrait of domestic strife and political tensions in Nigeria
Michael Donkor
Guardian
Spellbinding . . . Beautiful writing and a story that we found truly unforgettable
Glamour UK
A triumph . . . a shrewdly-observed, intricate story about power, politics, and poverty, and one which renders Nigeria in high-definition colour
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