Recent Reads

105. The Drawing of the Three (The Dark Tower #2)
The thing about King is that he has books where one word can bring back an entire yarn. For example, if I say RedRum, doesn't a whole tale play out in your mind? For this book the word is lobstrosities. Holy smokes!

I didn't love the first book in The Dark Tower magnum opus so wasn't sure about picking this one up, but when a constant reader said it got much better I jumped in and was hooked by the first page or two. Classic King. In this installment Roland, the Gunslinger, meets up with other characters, and understanding what the title means will take you until the last sentence or two. I don't want to spoil the reveals, so all I'll say is that if you quit after the first book, do yourself a favor and try this one. Fans of King will get a thrill with references to his other works. There are lots of loose ends in this one, so I'm waiting impatiently for the next book in the series to arrive. Yes, I should have planned better, but I really had no plans to continue on so that's on me.

I listened to the audiobook which is superbly narrated by Frank Muller. If you have yet to read it I 'd highly recommend this one on audio. Rating: 4 stars.

106. Stay with Me
This debut novel has been getting lots of buzz and I was intrigued by the premise, but even though it has gotten rave reviews, it didn't work as well for me.

The story unfolds over multiple timelines in Nigeria, and personal dramas are juxtaposed with the larger political ones unfolding in the country. A man and a woman meet at university, get married, but alas do not live happily ever after. When the couple remains childless, the family intervenes, and one day the woman learns that her husband now has a second wife. You know things are not going to end well.

I have no issue with polygamy as long as both genders are free to partake, and am always disappointed when books don't address that option, a sure sign that patriarchy is still deeply entrenched in our societies. There are many juicy themes explored in this novel, love, marriage, familial obligations, polygamy, the importance of a male heir, a woman's agency or lack thereof, are the ones that come to mind. Any of these themes could be explored in a full length novel by itself, and I think that is part of what weakened this novel for me. There are so many things going on, and with such a short novel the author tells and tells with very little show. There are big emotional plot points, but the author does not dive deep or flesh out any of the characters in this novel enough, so the foundation doesn't really support the structure. A scene is laid out and we the reader must infuse it with emotion that doesn't really derive from the words on the page.

Another issue I had is that we alternate between two points of view - the wife (number one) is the main narrator, while the husband inserts his POV from time to time. I suppose that this device was used to garner sympathy for the husband, but it didn't work as he wasn't fully developed enough for me to care about his issues. There isn't a likable character in this story, and I was okay with that, but there just wasn't enough meat on the bones of these people for my tastes.

The writing itself was easy enough to read and this is a really quick read. I liked the slow reveal of things known and unknown, and the customs and traditions described. While there is real heartbreak in this story, it felt rather like listening to a disaster story on the news - lots of sound bites without the punch that remains with you when you are done. And do not get me started on that ending. Oy veh!

Still, it's a good debut novel, and the author has enough writing chops to make me pick up her next book. Rating: 3 stars.