His Only Wife
𝑃𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝐴𝑑𝑧𝑜 𝑀𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑒

A Ghanaian novel, featuring the main character, Afi. The story begins on her wedding day, and the groom isn’t even there. The premise of the book is that Elly, the main man, has been lured away from the family by an evil woman. His mother thinks that if they can marry him off in a traditional ceremony to a Ghanaian woman, that he will come back to his family and leave the evil woman. Afi, wanting to make her family proud and also honored to be welcomed into this family that comes from wealth and opportunity, agrees to be the good wife that will bring Elly back to where he belongs. She goes into this agreement, not really aware of what she is agreeing to. Therein lies the story, the drama, and it’s good.

I really enjoyed the fact that the book is set in Nigeria. Nigeria is one of my favorite settings for a book. It’s like an additional character that helps the story develop. The culture, the complex family dynamics, and the women of Nigeria really make the book hit for me.

Character development:
I really liked the main character, Afi. This is a bit of a coming of age for her as she learns to find her place and her voice in her new marriage and her new home in Accra. She is pursuing a career in fashion, and with Elly’s connections she jumps right in. The author tells a great story through Afi and Elly, and gives a strong voice to the women in Nigeria. We get the voice of the younger generation, through Afi. But we also get the more traditional Nigerian women’s perspective through Afi’s mom and the extended family. The dynamic between Afi and her mom is really wonderful to see. There is so much care and love, and yet Afi’s need to be on her own grow up is really powerful.

This is the authors debut novel, and I can already tell that she is going to be a must read author for me. If you liked Americanah, Here Comes The Sun, or Patsy, I think you will like this one.

Thanks to Libro.fm for my copy of this excellent novel. I would love to know what you think in the comment section. Did you have the same experience reading this one?