A Spell of Good Things, a novel by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ, is more than a cautionary tale. It is a successful attempt at showing who we are, where we are, and what needs to be done.
In a 2022 reflection, Nigerian novelist and satirist, Elnathan John, argued in a thread of tweets that,
There is something about poverty in Nigeria existing close to wealth. You can see it but cannot touch. Someone is starving on the left, someone buying his girlfriend a house in Dubai on the right. There is something very violent about this. Something very wrong.
This socio-economic paradox enjoys clarity through the volatility that ensures the absence of continuous protection for the inhabitants of frail societies. This, therefore, underpins the painstaking examination of interlaced but opposite lives of the major characters that anchor Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀’s A Spell of Good Things...
Every year, The Republic publishes the most ambitious writing focused on Africa, from news and analysis to long-form features.
To continue reading this article, Subscribe or Register for a Free Pass.
Already a subscriber? Log in.