A REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB PICK A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR A Time Magazine Must-Read Book of 2020 One of BuzzFeed’s “29 Books We Couldn’t Put Down This Year” A Must-Read Novel: The New York Times Book Review * BuzzFeed * Marie Claire * Parade * Travel + Leisure * Ms. Magazine * Bustle * The Millions * Book Riot * Christian Science Monitor * HelloGiggles “[A] … Christian Science Monitor * HelloGiggles
“[A] mesmerizing debut novel.”
—The New York Times Book Review
“A story that kept me tied to the page, told in masterful, seamless prose.”
—BuzzFeed
“I love this book so much I turned the pages so fast . . . It’s all about the search for independence and being true to yourself and who you really are.”
—Reese Witherspoon
Afi Tekple is a young seamstress in Ghana. She is smart; she is pretty; and she has been convinced by her mother to marry a man she does not know. Afi knows who he is, of course—Elikem is a wealthy businessman whose mother has chosen Afi in the hopes that she will distract him from his relationship with a woman his family claims is inappropriate. But Afi is not prepared for the shift her life takes when she is moved from her small hometown of Ho to live in Accra, Ghana’s gleaming capital, a place of wealth and sophistication where she has days of nothing to do but cook meals for a man who may or may not show up to eat them. She has agreed to this marriage in order to give her mother the financial security she desperately needs, and so she must see it through. Or maybe not?
His Only Wife is a witty, smart, and moving debut novel about a brave young woman traversing the minefield of modern life with its taboos and injustices, living in a world of men who want their wives to be beautiful, to be good cooks and mothers, to be women who respect their husbands and grant them forbearance. And in Afi, Peace Medie has created a delightfully spunky and relatable heroine who just may break all the rules.
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This is Peace Adzo Medie’s impressive first novel, which follows follows twenty-one-year-old seamstress Afi, from a family in grinding poverty. She gets an apparent Cinderella deal when a wealthy woman who contributes a lot of the neighborhood poor arranges a marriage between Afi to her handsome son Eli, a wealthy businessman.
But as days go by and Afi hasn’t actually met her husband, but hears of him always elsewhere, and with another woman (whom his mother despises), that Afi begins to realize that she is not a Cinderella, and she takes the first steps toward directing her own life.
I’m far too ignorant about Ghanan history and culture to comment on how accurate the depiction was, but it felt realistic in all its details, especially the influence of all the African Aunties and Uncles. These intense familial relationships matched others readings I’ve done, conveying a strong sense of authenticity—especially with respect to the portrayal of wealthy, strong men, who are deemed the absolute monarchs of their families, and yet they are still cowed by their mothers and aunties.
This seeming contradiction is met with in numerous other cultures in which extended family is the strongest binding between people, particularly people with one foot in traditional culture and another in contemporary ways. Unfortunately, equally common is the trend of families selling their daughters into situations that general gossip acknowledges as potentially troubling, out of sheer financial necessity.
It’s not that the daughters are hated. The depiction of conversations with elders, close family friends, and the various neighbors that Afi meets, seem to be a realistic depiction of the layers of culture, tradition, vs. need and ambition.
Yes, it’s often pointed out that it’s always young women who are sacrificed to these marriages intended to (as it was said in the eighteenth century) “bring up” the family, but on the other hand it’s the young men who are sacrificed on the battlefield.
Medie’s novel enlightens the reader as we follow Afi in her bid to take charge of her life, creating an unforgettable read.
After reading, I was a bit perplexed by the blurb on the cover: “A hilarious, page-turning, sharply realized portrait of modern womanhood …” I didn’t find this hilarious, and I love to laugh. (Maybe it’s just me.) Then Kirkus called it “A Crazy Rich Asians for West Africa.” Again, I felt this was rather misleading; aside from there being a wedding in a culture other than White American, I don’t see much basis for comparison.
This book is about a young Ghanan woman named Afi who is given in an arranged marriage to a young man who is desperately in love with someone else (his family is trying to tug him away from her). It reminds me a good deal of *The Girl with the Louding Voice* (by Abi Daré), about another young African woman (Adunni) who copes with a wretched marriage and eventually escapes, with a plot that relocates her from a rural area in Nigeria to a metropolis, and ends in a woman’s self-actualization and autonomy.
At times, the pacing felt a bit uneven, but I thought the writing was good, with a clear, coherent voice that was observant and sometimes dryly witty. “Before the guests arrived, my Uncle Pious, who was my toga, my late father’s oldest brother, deposited his bulk into a chair, beaming, as though he was the one to be married. He was flanked by his two younger brothers, my uncles Bright and Excellent. Toga Pious’s chiseled face, with bushy eyebrows that grew in every direction, did not match his soft body.” “It wasn’t easy being the key to other people’s happiness, their victory, and their vindication.”
I read this for one of my bookclubs. Overall, an enjoyable read, and I felt I was immersed in Ghana. I always appreciate the opportunity to temporarily step into someone else’s very different shoes.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. It has been published in September 2020.
“His Only Wife” by Peace Adzo Medie is a modern drama telling the story of Afi Tekple, a young woman who consents to an arranged marriage with a wealthy man who’s already in love with another woman his family disapproves of.
The story is narrated in first person by the protagonist, the titular “Only Wife” and relays Afi’s gradual adjustment to all the changes this marriage has brought into her life and her progressive realization of what her new position really means.
This novel has given me mixed feelings. On the one hand, I loved how the author managed to give a new twist to the trite story of the cheating husband by turning the wife herself into the “other woman” (by the time Afi comes into the picture, Elikem has been living with his girlfriend for years and they’ve already had two daughters together).
On the other hand, I couldn’t help but feeling that Afi’s heartache is of her own making: even though she was pressured into marrying Elikem, she still went along with it and was fully aware of the situation she was putting herself in, but then acts all surprised and shocked when she gets exactly what she bargained for: a rich husband who won’t let her want for anything, except for love.
“He wants to marry me?” she had asked, on receiving her proposal not from the man himself, but from his family. And she’d been answered, “He *will* want to marry you!”. Building on such a premise, how can she honestly claim she didn’t know what she was getting into? And yet, she annoyingly spends the whole novel complaining about what should have been painfully clear from the start: that Elikem doesn’t love her and isn’t going to be faithful to her.
I also find it extremely creepy when the protagonist tries to convince her husband that his girlfriend’s only surviving daughter should be taken away from her supposedly unfit mother and be brought into Afi and Elikem’s house to be raised by the two of them. That sounds like the plot of a whole different drama novel to me, one where Afi stars as the villain, the infamous Wicked Stepmother. Her arrogance when she calls the child – whom she’s never even met! – her “stepdaughter” is insufferable!
Anyway, one thing I loved about this novel is the vibrant way the life in a Ghanaian rural village and, later on, in the city of Accra, is depicted. It’s clear the author knows what she’s writing about, and she can really paint a true-to-life picture of it for the reader. I also appreciate that the narrator of the audiobook has made the effort to learn the correct pronunciation for most of the words and names in ewe (even though some of them end up sounding pretty unrecognizable).
The pacing was a bit slow for my taste–way too much space in the novel is devoted to the protagonist’s self-pitying inner dialogue or to pointless gossiping conversations reported word by word, rather than people actually *doing* things.
The ending was disappointing in itself, as it’s totally unsurprising and hopelessly anticlimactic.
I think I’d have enjoyed the story much more if it had been Moona’s story, rather than Afi’s. Moona sounds like a much more interesting, less whiny person.
I love this book so much I turned the pages so fast… It’s all about the search for independence and being true to yourself and who you really are.
A hilarious, page-turning, sharply realized portrait of modern womanhood in the most infuriating of circumstances. A gem of a debut.
I loved this story!!! This book was written out of the box and proved that women can break free from cultural norms. Kudos to this author!!!
Afi lives in Ghana with her widowed mother relying on the generosity of her uncle Pious. When Afi is asked to marry Eli by a woman named Aunty who has helped her family, she does. Eli is involved with a woman Aunty’s family doesn’t approve and has a daughter with the woman. Aunty and family think marrying Afi will bring Eli back to the family. Afi flourishes in her new home studying to become a fashion designer. Her marriage to Eli is definitely forced and I wished for real emotions inside the marriage. I found the book a bit boring and wished for conflict or something to liven it up. I received a copy from the publisher and all opinions are my own.
Enjoyed this book very much. Just like so many things in real life, I wish it could have ended differently.
I loved this book but it ended too abruptly and I felt the story wasn’t finished.
His Only Wife is a brilliantly written quick read that packs a punch! It has family drama, a controlling Mother-In-Law, manipulation, lies, polygamy, and trust issues. It was captivating and had me laughing one minute and infuriated the next.
Would you marry a man who sends a stand in to his own wedding? You may think that’s an easy question to answer, but sometimes it’s a little more complicated. His Only Wife was a perfect glimpse into one of those more complex scenarios.
In Ho, Ghana, Afi’s father dies when she’s young and the only person willing to help her newly widowed mother, Olivia, is “Aunty” Faustina Ganyo. Fast Forward to when Afi is 21, Aunty, as everyone calls her, comes to Afi and Oliva with a proposal of an arranged marriage between Afi and her son Elikem. Eli is living with a Liberian woman who the family highly disapproves of, and needs Afi to win him over and help send the woman packing.
This story was simply amazing! I loved the writing and the story arc, the characters are well developed, and I felt the pacing was perfect. I love learning about other cultures, which is one reason I love to read. Peace Adzo Medie taught me so much about Ghanian culture, both traditional and contemporary, the strength and struggles of the women and the sacrifices they make, as well the consequences of their choices. She had me so vividly seeing the sights, smelling the scents, and hearing the sounds of Ho and Accra. I loved learning so much Ghanaian terminology. I’m also excited to try some of the traditional dishes mentioned in the story.
I don’t want to say too much about the story because I want people to go into this book knowing as little as possible. However, I do want to touch on some of the characters I loved. I loved Afi. She was both naive and smart. Strong yet vulnerable. I think she’s very relatable and I loved watching her growth throughout the story. Her cousin, Mawusi, always had her back. Then there’s Evelyn. Intelligent, go-getter, independent, says what’s on her mind, and to add something important a friend on Bookstagram (@Vicireads) said, “She put herself first and made her own safety nets.”
The only thing that didn’t work for me was a couple far fetched parts, but I was okay with it since it wasn’t the main focus of the story. There was a part of the story that was focused on twice, that never came to fruition, but I just let myself fill in the blanks and maybe that’s how it was intended to be.
I highly recommend reading this one if you enjoy learning about other cultures, enjoy contemporary women’s lit, and/or family drama.
Many thanks yo Algonquin Books for my review copy, which in no way reflects my review.
Thank you to Algonquin for an advanced complimentary copy and a beautiful finished copy! And for including me on the book tour! I voluntarily reviewed this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
His Only Wife
By: Peace Adzo Medie
REVIEW
His Only Wife by Peace Adzo Medie totally took me by surprise. The synopsis doesn’t sound like my usual reads, but I took a chance on this book anyway. Thank goodness! Afi is a poor seamstress living in Ghana with her mother, depending upon the charity of others to survive. But, Afi has the opportunity to marry Eli, a successful businessman in Accra. It’s not a choice at all for Afi. She must marry Eli for the good of her family. He sends a stand in to their wedding (seriously!).
Afi is nicely kept in her own place in Accra with an absent husband. He is in love with another woman whom he lives with and has a child. Afi is supposed to woo him away from this other woman because Eli’s family dislike her. Poor Afi! The hopes and dreams of so many weigh her down and by no choice of her own. This story is great in that it addresses the expectations placed on women everywhere. Women are not free in their choices because it’s always what society expects versus any personal aspirations.
Afi sacrificed herself in body, spirit, dreams, goals, i.e. everything. Would you do that? Afi shouldn’t have been placed in that situation at all. There are numerous customs, traditions, etc. of other cultures that I will never understand. The plight of women, however, is universal. This book is informative, sharp, humorous and saddening with a heroine to cheer on. Afi is one of my favorite characters ever, and I wish she had a sequel! Well done Peace Adzo Medie! Read this book!
Peace Adzo Medie writes a timely novel about the strength and sacrifices of women for their family, to gain acceptance of the cultural and social norms, as well as, the cost of life choices.
Young Afi Tekple’s life is about to change. She is given an opportunity of a lifetime – to receive a proposal of marriage to one of the wealthiest families in their small town. Aunty Faustina Ganyo has helped Afi and her widowed mother Olivia, so when this opportunity arose to marry Aunty’s son Elikem, Afi could not refuse such an offer. Though she has never met him, she knows this will help her family greatly.
Afi enters into this marriage with great difficulty – First, Elikem marries Afi with a stand-in and to make matters worse, Elikem is in love with a Liberian woman named Muna. Though she is settled in a luxurious flat in Accra, it would be weeks before she is to see her husband. Afi easily gets comfortable with the luxuries of her new life – out of poverty. Does she continue to sacrifice in order to secure a better future for herself and her family, or is this self-sacrifice costing her own life’s happiness and more?
This was a brilliantly told novel with deep characterization, and a well written heroine of our time that addressed significant cultural references, and the injustices relating to gender, class and wealth.
This was a fascinating read that I highly recommend.
“Since my mother told me that I would be marrying Eli, I had felt as thought I was balancing our two families like a basin of water, which was full to the brim, on my head. It wasn’t easy being the key to other people’s happiness, and their victory, and their vindication.”
His Only Wife is the story of Afi, a poor seamstress in Ghana who we meet on her wedding day. It has been arranged that she’ll marry Eli, the son of the most wealthy woman in town, Aunty. While her mother and family see this as a huge opportunity, Afi isn’t so sure – not only does she not know Eli, he won’t even be at their wedding. But Afi acquiesces, knowing this marriage will help her, her widowed mother and her many relatives. It will also help Aunty because she’s chosen Afi for one purpose – to rid Eli of the other woman who has a hold f his heart.
I loved this book for a lot of reasons. The characters are wonderful and so vividly painted – I could picture them all as if I was watching a movie. I also really enjoyed the setting of the book – I had never read anything about Ghana before. But what really resonated with me was that it’s a book about women and the choices they make based on – and sometimes in spite of – societal expectations and norms. We get to know Afi who struggles to balance a traditional wifely role with what she really wants; her mother who has found a way to survive after losing her husband but is always beholden to someone; Aunty, who holds tight reins over everything from her businesses to her family; her daughter, Yaya, a more modern Ghanan woman; Afi’s best friend, Mawusi, who hopes her schooling will afford her a better life; and Evelyn, the mistress of Eli’s brother who becomes Afi’s friend. They are all trying to navigate their place in a man’s world but in completely different ways.
Peace Adzo Medie is a beautiful writer and the story she tells will draw you in from the start. You’ll root for Afi to get her happily ever after, even if that ends up being something different than she might have expected.
4.5 stars
Thank you to NetGalley, Algonquin Books and the author for an advanced copy to review.
His Only Wife is a gripping story that features a main character finding her true path in life. This is a fast read, featuring vivid and complex characters. I loved learning about the traditions and culture of Ghana.
You feel for Afi and Elikem. You do not always agree with their decisions but you can understand why. The loyalty they both felt that was owned to the family and traditions.
We see how the various women are adopting to the situations and making the best of it. How hard it is for a woman in a society where more than one wife is acceptable to stand on her rights to be the only wife. Afi risk losing everything for herself and her mother by taking a stand for her believes. The ending is not what I would have liked it to be but by far a more realistic one. Both Afi and her mother became a stronger person that would survive whatever curve live throws at them in the future. The only person I really hated was the uncle who absolutely had no redeeming quality and I would have loved for somebody to have thrown it out on the street so he could not cause more harm to wives and children. Even for Elikem’s mother I can find excuses. Yes she was a selfish tyrant that had a tremendous hold over her adult children but at one point she did provide a home and job to Afi’s mother who otherwise would have ended up homeless with her daughter with no future whatsoever.