Someday, Maybe

Someday, Maybe is gruelling in portraying the grief of Eve after her husband's suicide. There is no escape from her sadness, her anger, her desperation, her guilt. Despite this being a tough and sad story, I found Someday, Maybe to be an easy and very engaging read.

Alongside what Eve is enduring is the story of her wonderful family and friendships. The way Eve is cocooned, nurtured and protected by the people who love her is wonderful. Eve's relationship with her parents, with her siblings, the sister and brother separately, the siblings together without the parents - all this is what lifted and made the book for me.

I would definitely recommend this book, as long as you are prepared for the raw emotion running through it.

I read this book for my book group, the Otter Readers. I enjoyed it.

The plot is simple and not especially gripping, instead it is the hints of sub-stories developing around the main character that kept me hooked. Although this was essentially a story of one person's journey through grief, all of the characters were beautifully created; each with their own depth.

The book would have been more compelling if the author had let us into these stories a little more. There were times when the introspection of the main character was stifling, perhaps this is how it feels to be close to someone grieving. I absolutely loved the description of Nigerian family culture, the language, the food, the prayers, the work ethic. The author draws you into their family and for a little while you feel their warmth and protection. Definitely worth a read!

A book that got my imagination from the first chapter. Eve holds my attention with her descriptive account of the time before her husband commits suicide.

Eve goes back to how she met her husband and her close friend Bee, who is a prominent character.

Her family is trying so hard to help Eve but she has closed everyone out. Eve wants to curl up and shut the world without her husband out. It is interesting how this family has found ways to support Eve and how this is received by her. The book is written from the heart with honesty and I liked the descriptive account of Quentin’s life giving an insight into their life together. Questions as to why would Quentin take his own life? The book moves on to life without Quentin.

Quentin’s family is naturally grieving; this is another relationship that Eve deals with in her own way.

There are funny moments and it is touchingly written.

Our reading group was selected to read and review Someday Maybe. On first glance we were unsure due to the book being about suicide, loss and grief but our initial hesitance was misplaced. The book is well written and had us hooked from the first chapter. Although the subject matter is sad Onyi ensured that the book is not depressing and the subject matter is dealt with sensitively and appropriately so that the book can be enjoyed. As a group we enjoyed reading this book and have been able to speak as a group about suicide, grief and bereavement which are difficult subjects to discuss especially with young adults. We are a mixed group who like to read a variety of genres and although we would not have picked this book normally we are glad we have had the opportunity to read something different. Thank you.