His Only Wife by Peace Adzo Medie – 288 pages
ARC from Algonquin Books and Netgally for an honest review
Book Blurb:
Afi Tekple is a young seamstress whose life is narrowing rapidly. She lives in a small town in Ghana with her widowed mother, spending much of her time in her uncle Pious’s house with his many wives and children. Then one day she is offered a life-changing opportunity—a proposal of marriage from the wealthy family of Elikem Ganyo, a man she doesn’t truly know. She acquiesces, but soon realizes that Elikem is not quite the catch he seemed. He sends a stand-in to his own wedding, and only weeks after Afi is married and installed in a plush apartment in the capital city of Accra does she meet her new husband. It turns out that he is in love with another woman, whom his family disapproves of; Afi is supposed to win him back on their behalf. But it is Accra that eventually wins Afi’s heart and gives her a life of independence that she never could have imagined for herself.
My Review: 3.5 stars
His Only Wife by Peace Adzo Medie is a fascinating look into a complicated arranged marriage in Ghana. This book starts with a wow, as the bride is getting married to a groom in absentia. Yes, apparently that’s a thing, not necessarily common, but it happens.
Although her groom Eli, is living with and in love with another woman, his family is certain, that he’ll give up his baby mama and relationship to be with our protagonist, Afi. Afi is not okay with this but is being continually coerced to live with a part-time husband in a rented flat, rather than live in his mansion and what should be her true home.
Much of this story is about a woman learning to speak her voice, and even more importantly it’s about being heard. As the story progresses, we see her get stronger as she realizes what is most important to her. A man, a family? Maybe, but not if the man is not 100% in. I was not surprised by the ending as it felt predictable based on the type of man Eli is.
I am surprised that the meet ups with Abraham didn’t lead to something. I’m not sure why those scenes were in the book as they felt purposeful. Maybe for a sequel? Who knows? Either way, I really enjoyed this Ghanaian tale and look forward to reading something else from this author.
Quotes I liked:
A person who talks so freely about her own life will talk just as freely about yours.”
“If there was one thing I agreed with my mother on, it was that one could never be sure about a person’s intentions, no matter how kind that person seemed.”
“I knew that even though we were surrounded by a large family, we had nobody.”
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