2024 Dylan Thomas Prize (shortlist)
2024 Encore Award (nominee)
2023 Booker Prize (longlist)
BOOKER PRIZE NOMINEE • A NEW YORKER AND NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • GMA BUZZ PICK • A dazzling story of modern Nigeria and two families caught in the riptides of wealth, power, romantic obsession, and political corruption from the celebrated author of Stay with Me, "in the lineage of great works by Chinua Achebe and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie" (The New York Times).
Eniola is tall for his age, a boy who looks like a man. Because his father has lost his job, Eniola spends his days running errands for the local tailor, collecting newspapers, begging when he must, 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 an ascendant politician.
When a local politician takes an interest in Eniola and sudden violence shatters a family party, Wuraola's and Eniola’s lives become intertwined. In her breathtaking second novel, Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ shines her light on Nigeria, on the gaping divide between the haves and the have-nots, and the shared humanity that lives in between.
Genre: Literary Fiction
Eniola is tall for his age, a boy who looks like a man. Because his father has lost his job, Eniola spends his days running errands for the local tailor, collecting newspapers, begging when he must, 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 an ascendant politician.
When a local politician takes an interest in Eniola and sudden violence shatters a family party, Wuraola's and Eniola’s lives become intertwined. In her breathtaking second novel, Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ shines her light on Nigeria, on the gaping divide between the haves and the have-nots, and the shared humanity that lives in between.
Genre: Literary Fiction
Praise for this book
"All characters matter in Aybami Adebay's intricate, haunting and timely fictional exploration of classism and sexism set in Nigeria's election season." - Sefi Atta
"A moving story, skillfully 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
"Aybami Adebay is a natural storyteller, a spellbinder. Her expansive second novel is Dickensian in scope and execution. It sparkles." - Helon Habila
"Adebayo's mesmerizing prose is suffused with heart and sharp emotions. Every page of this book was a pleasure to read. Even the hard parts. A Spell of Good Things is a triumph of storytelling." - Chika Unigwe
"A moving story, skillfully 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
"Aybami Adebay is a natural storyteller, a spellbinder. Her expansive second novel is Dickensian in scope and execution. It sparkles." - Helon Habila
"Adebayo's mesmerizing prose is suffused with heart and sharp emotions. Every page of this book was a pleasure to read. Even the hard parts. A Spell of Good Things is a triumph of storytelling." - Chika Unigwe
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