... loving and lively ... In life, such steadfastness is welcome; in fiction, which tends to derive its life from rupture and breakage, less so. While I was carried smoothly through the travails of these women, a line from elsewhere crept up on me. It was the quip attributed to Francis Bacon, remade famous by Kanye, about champagne for real friends, real pain for sham friends, although in this case, 'fictional' replaces 'sham.' In other words, I caught myself thinking a sadistic thought. Then again, isn’t the best and truest way for an author to love her characters to drive them into the kind of pain — real pain — that strains and changes their bonds, and with that, their selves? ... Events are relayed in plain, genial prose, unfussed by the occasional cliché. Mystifyingly, some dramatic moments are ushered offstage or skated over ... This can lend much of the novel a feeling of account, rather than selectively crafted story. Nonetheless, Obaro’s unadorned style can come into its own, as it does most arrestingly with a bravura abortion scene. Here, the procedural quality of the writing takes on a political power; it seems entirely appropriate that we learn each step — the dilation, the curettage — all conducted illegally, under cover of darkness, in the Nigeria of 1984 ... The novel’s greatest pleasure, though, is the indelible, show-stealing Funmi.
... rich ... moving ... offers a memorable portrait of a country that has long been divided between a Christian south and a Muslim north. The vividly rendered wedding weekend is split as well ... The novel is pure sterling when describing the traditional Nigerian celebration ... The climactic wedding in the novel's final pages delivers just what readers hope for in terms of surprises, and it's well worth the wait. There are no fiddlers on roofs, but old traditions bounce and jolt along to great energy and expense, eventually falling away to herald new traditions as well as a new Destiny.
The story is told in flashbacks and present day in a way that helps them reconcile where they have ended up and where they once dreamed they’d go. A timeless examination of all the dreams you hold for yourself, the dreams your parents and others have for you, and how much you are able to follow your heart.
Descriptions of the over-the-top wedding festivities would be a pure delight but for the underlying question: Will these women ultimately love and support their daughters as they once did each other? ... The intricacies of female friendships and the complex nature of mother/daughter relationships are at the heart of this absorbing novel from BuzzFeed culture editor Obaro, a sharp new voice on the literary scene.
... about the power of women’s friendships and the efforts women undertake to sustain these relationships ... At times, the novel fails to explore Funmi and Destiny’s dynamic fully, resorting to the stereotypical relationship strains between mothers and daughters ... Tomi and many emerging African writers are brilliantly writing away from the colonial framework where European imperialism and its aftermath was at the center of their novel’s plot. In Dele Weds Destiny, Tomi sneaks in history—the 1980’s anti-government student riots in Nigeria and the collapse of Nigeria’s economy due to austerity measures—for readers to gain a conceptual understanding of Nigeria’s perils and strength, but she doesn’t allow it to dominate the narrative. Hence, the main characters’ lives are not haunted by history and other social calamities...This is a different type of storytelling from the global south, one that is less focused on the general malfunctioning of a society and its impact on the collective, and more focused on the individual’s progress and defiance within that social hierarchy. Despite the looming societal ills, and there were many, Funmi, Enitan, and Zainab defeated the odds to create their lives on their own terms ... Nigerian weddings are ostentatious in production, from the choreographed dances and the colorful, elaborate attire to the hundreds of guests spraying money at the married couple. Dele and Destiny’s wedding likewise does not disappoint.
Obaro’s debut novel immerses the reader in the highs and lows of being a Nigerian. She skillfully provides enough context for readers outside of the culture while also writing for Nigerian readers who will see themselves, their mothers, and their aunties in the three protagonists. The three women are complex characters with satisfying arcs, and each displays a different aspect of the diverse groups that make up Nigerian society. But the beauty of the novel lies in their friendship and the complexities of the mother-daughter relationships. A perfect choice for fans of Tayari Jones and Bernardine Evaristo.
... a portrait of female friendship that will feel familiar to women everywhere, but it is also infused with Nigerian cultural specificity: food, clothing, religion, music, and ambient threat ... Perhaps an epilogue could have remedied the abruptness of the ending, which leaves an awful lot up in the air ... An engrossing read with strong characters and a clear portrait of Nigeria then and now.
... lush if busy ... Obaro offers plenty of sumptuous depictions of Nigerian culture via Destiny’s wedding, as well as perceptive observations about the characters, though the dual timeline makes this feel at once rushed and overstuffed, and leaves the characters underdeveloped. The result is pleasant if not entirely memorable.
