Everything Good Will Come

by Sefi Atta

Overview

Now a classic of world literature, this beautifully written, funny and piercingly honest story of a contemporary Yoruba woman’s coming-of-age in Lagos is a heartfelt drama of family, friendship, community and divided loyalties. It is 1971, a year after the Biafran War, and Nigeria is under military rule. The politics of the state matter less to eleven-year-old Enitan than whether her mother, now deeply religious since the death of Enitan’s brother, will allow her friendship with the new girl next door, the brash and beautiful Sheri Bakare. Everything Good Will Come charts the unusual friendship and fate of these two girls; one who is prepared to manipulate the traditional system and one who attempts to defy it. Enitan’s is the story of a fiercely intelligent, strong young woman coming of age in a culture that still insists on feminine submission. She sees the poverty and knows about the brutal military dictatorship but it is not until politics invades her own family that she defies her husband and moves from bystander to activist. She bucks the familial and political systems until she is confronted with the one desire that is too precious to forfeit in the name of personal freedom—her desire for a child. Sefi Atta is also author of The Bead Collector (Myriad, 2019).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781623711047
Publisher:	Interlink Publishing Group, Incorporated
Publication date:	02/13/2024
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 8.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Sefi Atta is the author of Swallow, News from Home, A Bit of Difference and Sefi Atta: Selected Plays. Sefi has received several literary awards, including the 2006 Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa and the 2009 Noma Award for Publishing in Africa. Her radio plays have been broadcast by the BBC and her stage plays have been performed internationally. She divides her time between the USA, UK and Nigeria. Sefi Atta’s writing features in New Daughters of Africa, an anthology of women writers of African descent, edited by Margaret Busby. Everything Good Will Come and The Bead Collector were published in August 2019 and are available to buy now.

Editorial Reviews

'An original, witty coming-of-age tale... an iridescent introduction to a fascinating nation.' – Observer Magazine

'There is wit, intelligence and a delicious irreverence in this book.' – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

'A classic of world literature, this beautifully written, funny and piercingly honest story.' – School Depot

'Whenever I am down and faced with life’s personal challenges or bogged down by the problems of Nigeria especially, I find that phrase Everything Good Will Come in pink and green neon bar lights unconsciously flashing in my head and calming my spirit down. If you get the chance pick this book up.' – Adaure Achumba

Everything Good Will Come is a profound story that showcased a myriad of themes from friendships, family, womanhood, feminism to the culture/traditions and politics in Nigeria. Sefi Atta is an amazing writer and she took us on an unforgettable journey. She wrote characters so flawed and relatable. This is one of my favourite books ever... such a timeless piece of work. When I think of how we young people in Nigeria have made our voices heard in the past few weeks, I can’t help but feel like everything good will come eventually. We can’t give up.' – Tosin, Bookstagrammer

'[A] book of spirit and an inspiration for anyone who has ever been in opposition to societal or cultural norms.' – Bloomsbury Review

'A literary masterpiece... Everything Good Will Come put me into a spell from the first page to the very last... It portrays the complicated society and history of Nigeria through brilliant prose.' – World Literature Today

'Beautifully paced... a country struggling to find its post-Independence identity.' – Times Literary Supplement

'Every part is reawakened and alive: red, throbbing, like the heartbeat of a healthy newborn... I was sorry when I came to the end.' – Buchi Emecheta

From the Publisher

"Sefi Atta's first novel has the nerve to redefine existing traditions of African storytelling. It confronts the familiar passions of a city and a country with unusual insights and a lyrical power pointing our literature to truly greater heights.

Odia Ofeimun

"An affirmation of faith in one's capacity, especially female and national, for self-realization.

Tanure Ojaide

"There is wit, intelligence and a delicious irreverence in this book. But it is Sefi Atta's courage in choosing to look at her fictional world through fiercely feminist lenses that I most admired.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

"[A] book of spirit and an inspiration for anyone who has ever been in opposition to societal or cultural norms.

Kathleen Cain

Everything Good Will Come is like listening to an old friend recounting and bring up-to-date and to life the happenings in our beloved city of Lagos. From Ikoyi bordering the Marina, to the south nearing Yoruba towns, every part is reawakened and alive: red, throbbing, like the heartbeat of a healthy newborn... I was sorry when I came to the end.

Buchi Emecheta

"This is a courageous story about friendship and self-discovery; it is a rallying cry to women to speak out in a world that tries to muzzle them.

Helen Habila

"What is beyond doubt is that Sefi writes brilliantly with instantly infectious wit.

Bashorun JK Randle

"A contemporary rendering of the Nigerian female experience in the footsteps of Buchi Emecheta and Flora Nwapa. It brought the Lagos Queen's Drive, Dolphin Square and Surulere alive.

Nigeria The Nigerian Guardian

"Atta's distinctive coming-of-age novel ' will appeal to all readers interested in contemporary women's stories and/or African culture. Recommended..

Choice

"Sefi Atta's first novel is a beautifully paced stroll in the shoes of a woman growing up in a country struggling to find its post-Independence identity ' The main characters are well realized, and the supporting castcampaigning journalist, put-upon mother-in-law, co-wives in a polygamous marriage, stroppy secretaryavoid caricature. The relaxed tempo of the narrative allows for proper character development." Everything Good Will Come depicts the struggles women face in a conservative society. This is convincing; more remarkable is what the novel has to say about the need to speak out when all around is falling apart.

Times Literary Supplement (London)

"Again and again Atta's writing tugs at the heart, at the conscience. At the same time, reflecting the resilience of the Lagosians whose lives she explores, humour is almost constant, effervescent, most often satirical slant.

South Africa Sunday Independent

?"Everything Good Will Come is an original, witty coming-of-age tale: Tom Sawyer meets Jane Eyre, with Nigerian girls. Reading Everything Good ' .you can feel the dust and the sun ' an iridescent introduction to a fascinating nation.

The Observer Magazine (London)

"This lively first novel breaks new ground with a close-up, honest story of a contemporary Yoruba woman's coming-of-age in Lagos. Nigerian-born author Atta now lives in the U.S., and she offers a hilarious if angry take on the Western view of dark, noble, savage Africa "with snakes and vines and ooga—booga dialect." Yet with all the fast talk, this is a heartfelt drama of family, friendship, and community, especially among women. Enitan Taiwo always knows how privileged she is in her lawyer father's home. She sees the poverty and knows about the brutal military dictatorship. But it is not until politics invades her own family that she defies her kind husband and moves from bystander to activist. Never reverential, Enitan's first-person narrative reveals the dynamic diversity within the city, the differences across class, generation, gender, faith, language, tradition, and individual character. Differences, yes, but sometimes connections, too.

Booklist

"Skillful ' impressive debut novel ' Thematically, her work is wide-ranging and yet powerfully focused, the different areas of concern drawn together so that they inform each other ' Again and again Atta's writing tugs at the heart, at the conscience. At the same time, reflecting the resilience of the Logosians whose lives she explores, humour is almost constant, effervescent, most often with a satirical slant ' There are no delusions in Atta's novel, no romanticisation or overstating of a case. Her work stands as a paean to her central character's strengths and her determination to combat oppression.

Africa) The Sunday Independent (Lesotho