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

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I was never bored while reading this, but as soon as I finished I wondered how I was not constantly bored. I mention place because Peace Adzo Medie accomplishes a wonderful pull-and-push between the two main geographic settings in the story: the big city (Accra) and the country town (Ho) where many of the central characters are from. There are also many shadow places in this story: the childhood home of Afi (our narrator), which represents her immediate family’s former status when her father was living; the various offices and business locations of Afi’s husband, Eli; and the shadow homes that Eli shares with his mysterious partner, Muna. This “other relationship” is one of the central tensions of this story, and it is mostly described through a host of misinformation from Eli’s family, the Ganyos. A fierce and funny debut novel . . . A deeply engrossing chronicle of contemporary Ghanaian womanhood.” A modern tale of one woman discovering her own sense of purpose in Ghana amidst family drama, expectations, and marriage. I'm not one who automatically goes for domestic stories, so extremely pleased to say that this was such a fantastic read.

Let’s first talk about the beginning of the novel at Afi’s wedding where the groom is a no-show. What did that say about Eli’s interest in this marriage? Afi does not have much. Her father is dead, her mother struggles to support her, her large extended family neglects her, and she is not gifted enough at schoolwork to get into a university. What she does have is her good looks, a good upbringing, and a talent for sewing and design. She is married to the son of her mother's wealthy benefactor, a marriage in absentia, but the marriage is just another move in the ongoing battle between Eli and his family. Eli loves a woman his family will not accept, and the marriage is their power move to get him to leave the other woman once and for all. 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.This post is for those who’ve been finding it difficult to read as of late; I’m not entirely sure what’s in the air, but whatever is floating around isn’t conducive to getting through a book. Eventually, Afi and Eli get closer— but mainly through a physical connection. Afi is convinced she’s in love with Eli but do you think Eli ever truly loved her? Now, for my less profane thoughts: His Only Wife is an enthralling story about two Ghanian families, one love triangle, and the people and places caught in between them. His Only Wifeis 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. His Only Wife Book Club Questions In her latest book, writer and professor Peace Adzo Medie puts a wonderfully contemporary spin on a fairytale trope. Set in Medie’s native Ghana, “His Only Wife” begins with a familiar premise: A sweet but poor young woman marries a prince – well, in this case, he’s a handsome, wealthy businessman. Against this familiar plot, Medie explores the complexities that strong women face as they learn to effectively navigate a patriarchal society.

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 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. 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. 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. He finally does appear and melts Afi’s heart. He is so much more than she imagines – and the young woman falls in love with her prince. Though their initial meeting goes well, Eli leaves again, giving no indication of when he might return. In the meantime, he suggests that Afi might want to enroll in school to help her fill her days. Learning of her skills as a seamstress and her interest in fashion, he sends his sister around to take Afi to the city’s design schools.The publisher's summary of this book describes it as "Crazy Rich Asians of Africa". I read that after chapter 4, when I was trying to figure out why this was not hitting for me. I don't know if I would have read His Only Wife if I had read that at the outset of the book. Personal choice. If you enjoyed Crazy Rich Asians, you'll probably enjoy this book. Her character development is kind of rushed. At the end she finally seems to get her act together, but by then I was no longer enjoying her narrative.

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