His Only Wife
When Afi agrees to an arranged marriage with a wealthy man she has never met, she thinks she understands the rules she must play by in her home of Ghana. But she just might break them all in this must-read, captivating tale that questions issues of independence and identity. A Reese’s Book Club pick.
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Readers say *His Only Wife* offers an engaging portrait of Afi Tekple’s journey through a complex marriage in Ghana, highlighting rich cultural insigh...
The setting is Ghana. The main character is Afi Tekple. She moves to Accra, the capital of Ghana. She agrees to the marriage of a rich man to help her mother with financial security, but her husband is absent most of the time. After her marriage, she finds out that her husband has a girlfriend who won't leave. Apparently this woman had a child with him who died, and now has a second child. She refuses to be manipulated and wants the other woman OUT. However, she finds Muna, the other woman, by chance at a beach house. She realizes her husband has been lying to her all the time and really loves Muna. He only married her to appease his mother. She finally takes their child and moves out. She pursues a career in fashion design.
4.25 stars
Infuriating. Witty. Unlike anything else I've read. When I first read the blurb for His Only Wife I knew I wanted to read it. Afi is a young woman who finds herself in the most bizarre marital situation I may have ever heard of, but sadly is probably more common than I'm aware. But this bizarre marriage leads her on a journey of self-discovery and growth, and it was a joy to witness her transformation.
Medie's dry but honest writing style made this novel shine. From the first sentence I was enamored. I had to know what happened to Afi, and I couldn't stop turning pages until I found out. She's a character you can't help rooting for; her happiness was all that mattered to me. There's so much I want to talk about, but--and I feel like I've said this a lot lately--this is another book that I think works better if you go in blindly. I'd only read the blurb before I started it, avoiding early reviews. I wanted to form my own opinions, and I'm happy I did. It's also hard to avoid spoilers, so this will be a short review.
The family of Eli, Afi's new husband, expects a lot from Afi. They've arranged this marriage as kind of a last-ditch effort to "save" Eli from a woman he's in love with that they don't approve of. They've left Afi in the dark for the most part, but she agrees to the marriage out of a feeling of obligation to take care of her mother and extended family. And it's there in the dark that this story starts and where all the obstacles originate.
If this story would have ended differently, this would be a different review. For me, so much depended on how things wrapped up for Afi, and if I wouldn't have been satisfied by the conclusion, it would have dampened my whole experience. However, being satisfied doesn't mean that it wasn't emotional and impactful. I feel like Afi's story will be one that I remember for a long time. Diverse and empowering, it's a story the world needs to hear.
Thank you to the publisher, Algonquin Books, for the advanced copy.
#popsugarreadingchallenge2020 (prompt #40a)
Infuriating. Witty. Unlike anything else I've read. When I first read the blurb for His Only Wife I knew I wanted to read it. Afi is a young woman who finds herself in the most bizarre marital situation I may have ever heard of, but sadly is probably more common than I'm aware. But this bizarre marriage leads her on a journey of self-discovery and growth, and it was a joy to witness her transformation.
Medie's dry but honest writing style made this novel shine. From the first sentence I was enamored. I had to know what happened to Afi, and I couldn't stop turning pages until I found out. She's a character you can't help rooting for; her happiness was all that mattered to me. There's so much I want to talk about, but--and I feel like I've said this a lot lately--this is another book that I think works better if you go in blindly. I'd only read the blurb before I started it, avoiding early reviews. I wanted to form my own opinions, and I'm happy I did. It's also hard to avoid spoilers, so this will be a short review.
The family of Eli, Afi's new husband, expects a lot from Afi. They've arranged this marriage as kind of a last-ditch effort to "save" Eli from a woman he's in love with that they don't approve of. They've left Afi in the dark for the most part, but she agrees to the marriage out of a feeling of obligation to take care of her mother and extended family. And it's there in the dark that this story starts and where all the obstacles originate.
If this story would have ended differently, this would be a different review. For me, so much depended on how things wrapped up for Afi, and if I wouldn't have been satisfied by the conclusion, it would have dampened my whole experience. However, being satisfied doesn't mean that it wasn't emotional and impactful. I feel like Afi's story will be one that I remember for a long time. Diverse and empowering, it's a story the world needs to hear.
Thank you to the publisher, Algonquin Books, for the advanced copy.
#popsugarreadingchallenge2020 (prompt #40a)
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