News

DELE WEDS DESTINY by Tomi Obaro

Submitted by mcutler on
Posted on July 15, 2022 in
DELE WEDS DESTINY by Tomi Obaro
Tomi Obaro’s sparkling debut DELE WEDS DESTINY continues to accumulate a wealth of positive press following its publication. The book is Good Morning America’s Buzz Pick for July, and BookRiot featured the novel on its list of “The Best Books Out This Week (June 28)” alongside enthusiastic praise: “[A] sensational debut from a dazzling new voice in contemporary fiction…Pick this one up for a take on complex female friendship that features women from a culture we don’t always see this from. The messy lives of Funmi, Enitan, and Zainab is set against the backdrop of Nigerian food, clothing, and music, which are all brought to life brilliantly by Obaro.” Obaro sat down in conversation with Maris Kreizman for Lit Hub’s The Maris Review podcast, where she discussed taking risks while writing her novel: “In some ways the big risk about writing this book, the thing that was exciting but also scary, was deciding to inhabit the point of view of women who had grown up in Nigeria. I don’t really speak Yoruba; I had friends who spoke Yoruba go through. That also made the writing fun, allowing myself to speak with authority and also reminiscing. So much of the book, especially when I was writing in New York and far away from my parents, was thinking about food that I loved and missed and wanted. Those scenes tended to be fun to write.” Lastly, Good Housekeeping selected the novel as a “Best Book to Read This Month,” calling it a “heartwarming, relatable depiction of female friendship loyalty and friendship.” Knopf published the book on June 28, 2022.