#44: Many Different Faces
A Review of Mifa Adejumo's When Was The Last Time You Cried?
When Was The Last Time You Cried is a collection of 7 riveting short stories. From thriller to heartbreaking romance, fluffy romance, and sensual adult scenes, this book has it all. Published this year, it is the author’s third collection of short stories. He also writes a bi-weekly newsletter.
"And as long as I tell myself: happy people always cry, then maybe every tear is worth a smile."
Greetings, once again dear reader👋🏽👋🏽
I hope you are doing well and taking good care of yourself.
Welcome to another edition of this spectacular newsletter.
Today’s newsletter is a guest feature by Yomi Damola, a content writer and copywriter who used to get lost in the world of stories and now creates her own world of stories to get lost in.
When Was The Last Time You Cried and The Man I Have Always Loved were my favourite stories. The first one begins with a couple’s seemingly mundane conversation until you get to the unusual twist. This story shows one of the many ways the human mind deals with loss. In The Man I Have Always Loved, Theo and Lizzy are exes who seem to have different views on what happened in their relationship, but everything is not as it seems. There are three sides to a story and in this story, we have Theo’s side, Lizzy’s side, and the truth.
In Shattered Pieces of His Heart, Kazim is in a dilemma; he is stuck between being filial or completely ruining his chances with a girl he deems himself lucky to even be in contact with. I Was Never Truly There For You is a love story that explores the puppy love between teenagers, Osas and Ada. It is a story of first loves and what happens when real life comes into the mix. Her Little Yellow POS Cubicle is about Sandra, a POS operator, and her crush on a handsome customer.
She Was The Light Of His World is a story about the bonds between siblings, friends, and lovers. The only thing that kept Andrew from fulfilling his darkest urges was thinking about Violet, his sister. Then he lost her. To Find Your Hidden Trauma is about Alexis, a sex worker who loves her job and her relationship with the people in her life.
At first, I skimmed through the first story barely interested in the couple's mundane conversation until I noticed the unusual twist. From there it led to a series of engaging stories, some about everyday life, others about experiences some have had in one way or the other. Each story left me with either of these questions: what happens next? Why did this happen? The collection piqued my curiosity and I yearned for each story to be longer, maybe even a book on its own. Every reader is sure to enjoy at least one of these stories.
Have you read this book? What did you think about it? Kindly leave a comment.
If you read this book after reading this review, do come back and share.
#43: Grief Is Messy
Someday, Maybe is a story about grief. It follows Eve as she grieves her husband, Quentine, who died unexpectedly. Her friends and family urge her to move on but she’s not ready; instead, she goes down memory lane trying to figure out what led her husband to suicide. The book is the author’s debut novel, published in 2022.
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Such a kind review of my work! I appreciate you Yomi. I can tell you how heartwarming it feels to see that you enjoyed the stories. Thank you kindly!!