Nigerian writer Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀’s debut novel, Stay With Me, is a stellar piece of published text. It tackles profound subjects – love, marriage, motherhood – but with a distinct and local flavor. Tthe interesting and thought-provoking premise is supplemented by a wonderful and powerful language. Filled with magical lines, it is a well for lyrical lines and quotes. Here are some of the interesting quotes from this amazing book, which I absolutely love.
Do check out my complete review of this tantalizing fiction by clicking here.
“Besides, what would be left of love without truth stretched beyond its limits, without those better versions of ourselves that we present as the ones that exist?”
~ Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, Stay With Me
“I was armed with millions of smiles. Apologetic smiles, pity-me smiles, I-look-unto-God smiles – name all the fake smiles needed to get through an afternoon with a group of people who claim to want the best for you while poking at your open sore with a tick – and I had them ready.”
~ Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, Stay With Me
“I understand how a word others use every day can become something whispered in the dark to soothe a wound that just won’t heal. I remember thinking I would never hear it spoken without unravelling a little, wondering if I would ever get to say it in the light. So I recognise the gift in this simple pronouncement, the promise of a beginning in this one word.”
~ Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, Stay With Me
“The reasons why we do the things we do will not always be the ones others will remember. Sometimes I think we have children because we want to leave behind someone who can explain who we were to the world.”
~ Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, Stay With Me
“If the burden is too much and stays too long, even love bends, cracks, comes close to breaking and sometimes does break. But when it’s in a thousand pieces around your feed, that doesn’t mean it’s no longer love.”
~ Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, Stay With Me
“It would take a while for me to realise that each of my children had given me as much as they took. My memories of them, bittersweet and constant, were as powerful as a physical presence. and because of that, as a bus bore me into the heart of a city I did not know, while my last child was dying in Lagos and the country was unraveling, I was not afraid because I was not alone.”
~ Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, Stay With Me
“But the biggest lies are often the ones we tell ourselves. I bit my tongue because I did not want to ask questions. I did not ask questions because I did not want to know the answers. It was convenient to believe my husband was trustworthy; sometimes faith is easier than doubt.”
~ Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, Stay With Me
“I shut my eyes as one receiving a benediction. Inside me something unfurls, joy spreads through my being, unfamiliar yet unquestioned, and I know that this too is a beginning, a promise of wonders to come.”
~ Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, Stay With Me
“A mother must be vigilant. She must be able and willing to wake up ten times during the night to feed her baby. After her intermittent vigil she must see everything clearly the next morning so that she can notice any changes in her baby. A mother is not permitted to have blurry vision. She must notice if her baby’s wail is too loud or too low. She must know if the child’s temperature has risen or fallen. A mother must not miss any signs.”
~ Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, Stay With Me
“So love is like a test, but in what sense? To what end? Who was carrying out the test? But I think I did believe that love had immense power to unearth all that was good in us, refine us and reveal to us the better versions of ourselves.”
~ Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, Stay With Me
Have you also read Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀’s Stay With Me? If yes, what are your thoughts of the book? What are your favorite quotes? Do share it in the comment box below.
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