A Spell of Good Things: Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2023

A Spell of Good Things by Ayòbámi Adébáyò is set in modern Nigeria and follows two families brought into uneasy proximity through wealth, power and political corruption. The novel was longlisted for the Booker Prize 2023 and shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize 2024.

Eniola, tall for his age, sees his daily life change after his father loses his job. He runs errands for a local tailor, collects newspapers and begs, while holding on to hopes of a different future. Wuraola is the “golden girl” of a wealthy family and a young doctor in her first year of practice, exhausted by the demands of the role and loved by Kunle, the volatile son of family friends. When a local politician takes an interest in Eniola and violence breaks out at a family party, Eniola and Wuraola find their lives becoming intertwined.

Key details

• Author: Ayòbámi Adébáyò
• Set in modern Nigeria
• Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2023
• Shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize 2024

Synopsis

Eniola and Wuraola move through sharply different worlds that begin to collide. As Eniola navigates hardship after his father’s job loss, Wuraola faces the pressures of her first year as a doctor within a wealthy family. A politician’s interest in Eniola and an outbreak of violence at a family party connect their lives, as the novel considers the distance between the haves and the have-nots, and the humanity that exists between them.