His Only Wife: A Reese's Book Club Pick - 'Bursting with warmth, humour, and richly drawn characters'

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After a wedding sans the groom, Afi moves from her small Ghanian town to Accra, where she is put up in a ritzy condo and carefully looked after. Weeks elapse before Afi meets Elikem in person. In the meantime, Afi uses her newfound connections to enroll in a design school. Afi’s story is compelling, even if its developments are predictable. Unembellished conversations, combined with Afi’s steady internal monologue, help to convey her intentions; her relationships develop at a steady pace. Afi’s charm makes her an empowering example of modern womanhood.

Eli was not there to greed Afi, although he called her every day. Afi explored their neighborhood, went to the mall, talked to the guards to learn the local gossip, and waited for her husband. When he finally showed up over 8 weeks later, he only came for a meal. Although they barely spoke, he asked her what she wanted to do, and she confessed that she wanted to go to fashion school. He left soon after but called her every day from then. The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.This title is an easy, enjoyable and nontraumatic read that I highly recommend to those who appreciate the work(s) of Abi Dare, Yaa Gyasi, Akwaeke Emezi and others. 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 Adzo Medie has created a delightfully spunky and relatable heroine who just may break all the rules. On a trip with two other couples, she overheard a conversation between him and his friends and realized that he was still with Muna and had no plans to leave her. My first book by Peace Adzo Medie but not the last. I bought this when it was on sale and am only just now getting around to reading it. Set in Ghana, this book is kind of a subtle take-down of patriarchal values through the medium of a domestic drama. Our heroine, Afi, is a poor girl with a widowed mother who relies on her selfish uncle for goodwill until she is married to a rich guy who doesn't even bother to show up to the wedding. As we see from the very first addictive sentence in the book, he marries her in absentia. If only the rest of the book had been as fascinating as the setting. I feel guilty about saying that because Medie writes very well, in a flowing style that is easy to read, full of colour but mercifully light on adjectives and linguistic flourishes. I have a feeling if she keeps up this standard, she’ll enjoy a solid fan base in coming years.

Afi, early on, I wondered why Efi didn’t just take her daughter from Muna and get rid of her if the child was what was keeping him with her. Why wasn’t she worried he would take her son when she divorced him? Eli said he loved both her and Muna. This is when Afi realized that Eli would never marry her for real; he wanted two equal wives. His only concession was that she would be the first wife. Afi did not want to be a wife; she wanted to be the only wife. She realized there was nothing wrong with Muna, just that his family didn’t approve of her. When Eli refused to choose only her, Afi asked for a divorce. Library Journal Best Fiction Book of 2020. Reese Witherspoon Book Club choice. New York Times Notable Book Of The Year. Time Magazine Must-Read Book of 2020. The impressive list of accolades for His Only Wife suggest that Peace Ado Medie’s debut novel is a dazzling work of fiction from a bright new talent. When she does meet Eli she immediately (albeit rather inexplicably for the reader) falls in love with him – but this has the effect of making her unwilling to go along with the pretense of being second choice. And this puts her in conflict with: Eli (who insists he will resolve the situation, just not yet); the Ganyo’s (who sympathise with her situation and want the same end as her – but want her to follow their timing); her mother (who feels this is her one chance both to repay her benefactress Aunty plus to gain her own independence from Uncle Pious and build her own house) and Uncle Pious (who cannot understand why Afi, as part of her family obligations, is not sending him copious gifts and agreeing to house and pay school fees for various cousins). I don’t think I’d care much for Ghanian cuisine however. Okro soup might be OK as long as it’s not the version which includes goat meat ( I don’t eat meat) but I’m not enthused by akple, a dish which consists of fermented balls of corn flour, cassava flour, water, and salt, or fufu, a mash of boiled cassava mixed with plantains or cocoyams.

Afi wants to be the only wife to her new husband, Elikem. And should anything the contrary be an optio Afi is in an impossible situation. Eli’s mother, Aunty, helped her family when they were struggling. And by her marrying Eli, it will help Afi’s mother financially. But she’s still forced to marry a man she hardly knows. What would you have done if you were Afi? Afi ends up marrying Eli, moving to Accra to live in a fancy new apartment, having a driver to take her around, starting her apprenticeship as a fashion designer-all while waiting to meet her husband Eli for the first time. Afi is well aware that Eli has another “woman” and a child who he lives with close by, but she is married to him and there are some expectations for a marriage.

If this sounds too good to be true, you’re not far off the mark. Afi does get a swish apartment in the capital city of Accra, complete with servants and more money than she’s ever had before.Now the ending. So I’m glad Afi left Eli after seeing that his heart is still with the other woman (did we ever learn her name??). But I wanted more. I think it would have been good if the author had an epilogue set in the future so that we know more of what happens to Afi after leaving Eli. The synopsis When Afi confronts Eli about the other woman at the end of the novel, she says to him that he wouldn’t like it if she also saw another man while with Eli. Let’s talk about this double standard that men like Eli try to hold on women. We read the story from Afi’s perspective starting with her wedding day where her husband Eli is a no show. That sets the stage for the kind of dynamic between Afi and Eli. Not only is this an arranged marriage but he can’t find the time to show up to his own wedding day! You really feel for Afi who is put in an impossible situation by wanting to please her mother but also realizing she’s giving up a lot of freedom and a chance for her own love story. Throughout the marriage, from the beginning, Afi is clear what is required of her. She speaks with her mother daily to let her know the details of her marriage and the progress she is making with Eli. Her mother reports to Aunty. When her husband goes to America to get his other family, this is the first time she makes a decision before first consulting her mother or Mawusi. Instead, she went to Evelyn for support. Evelyn

Quotidian spaces and seemingly ordinary conversations lead to fraught disagreements and disconcerting realisations. Afi's flashy new abode is the setting of many tense scenes, with her husband, the Ganyos', her mother. The drama 'caused' by the 'Liberian woman' creates a lot of conflict between Afi and her husband (and the Ganyos in general). As Afi grows tired of her circumstances, of being told to be grateful and to sit tight, she begin to crave autonomy and power in her own marriage. Afi selected to go to Sarah’s fashion school even though it wasn’t grand as she expected, and her driver drove her to and from school every day, waiting for her during the day. She used to send him off during the day until Richard told the driver should wait in case she wanted him to take her somewhere during the day. Afi moves into one of Eli’s many places and is now experiencing a life of luxury. But her focus is still on making Eli happy. What did you think about their first in-person interaction as husband and wife? What. A. Book. This is my sleeper 5 star read of 2020. Peace Adzo Medie as masterfully woven together the unforgettable story of Afi a young girl from Ghana. Afi’s Family has arranged a marriage for her to a wealthy man, Eli. Afi is confused when Eli doesn’t even show up for the wedding ceremony but instead sends his brother as a stand in. Afi and her mother are then relocated to the big city where Afi finds out she’s not living in the marital home nor does she see Eli for weeks. it soon becomes apparent to Afi that Eli‘s family has ulterior motive‘s and that this marriage is meant to throw a wrench in Eli‘s current relationship. but this does not deter Afi she has come to the big city to realize her dream of becoming a fashion designer and is willing to take advantage of her current situation. Afi is a girl on a mission and on her way to succeed she makes many friends and learns many things about herself and the world around her. Elikem married me in absentia; he did not come to our wedding." When I read those words, I thought surely this novel was set in the past because who does that in the present. While the book is set in the past, it's not in the distant past, it's 2014.

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Although Eli and his other wife have a child together, Aki tells us: “And what could she possibly do to Eli if he took the girl away? No judge would side with her if she decided to take the matter to court. And even if one tried to, Eli would only have to slip him a wad of cash for a favourable ruling.” Dignity I’ve never been this conflicted about a book. Feel free to thoroughly curse me out if I say anything in my review that is disrespectful to the culture in the book. I do understand that this book was portraying the reality for a lot of women in Ghana, but I was still very uncomfortable with many parts of the plot. As time passes, and Afi begins studying fashion and bonding with her brother-in-law's lover, she begins to chafe against the constraints imposed by the Ganyos, who time and again tell her not too demand too much from her husband, and remind her—subtly and not—of the advantages brought by her marrying 'upward'. When Afi grows increasingly jealous of the 'Liberian woman', she begins to disregards the Ganyos' and her husband's wishes and demands. This is the literary equivalent of a friend of a friend telling you a two-hour story about people you don't know. And while that wasn't boring, it was like...I'd prefer if someone else were telling me this? Or maybe if I was having a different conversation. Evelyn knew that Richard would never oppose his mother and marry her. She was, like Muna, unacceptable. Eventually, Richard starting dating a woman his family approved of. She knew that her time with him had its limits, and she was seeing a lawyer in addition to Richard. Mother of the Son