His Only Wife

Books | Fiction / Family Life / Marriage & Divorce

3.6

(391)

Peace Adzo Medie

In this smart, funny Reese's Book Club pick and New York Times Notable Book, a young seamstress in Ghana agrees to an arranged marriage, only to realize that some compromises are too extreme to accept.Get author Peace Adzo Medie's brand new novel, Nightbloom, too!His Only Wife named a must-read novel: The New York Times Book Review * BuzzFeed * Time * Marie Claire * Parade * Travel + Leisure * Ms. * Bustle * The Millions * Book Riot * PopSugar * HelloGiggles * Kirkus Reviews* Good Morning America Afi Tekple is a young seamstress in Ghana. Smart and pretty, she has also been convinced by her mother to marry a man she doesn’t know: a wealthy businessman named Elikem. His family has chosen Afi in the hopes that she will distract him from a current relationship they disapprove of. When Afi is moved from her small hometown to live in Accra, Ghana’s gleaming capital full of wealth and sophistication, she is not prepared for the way her life will change. But she has agreed to this marriage in order to give her mother the financial security she desperately needs, and so Afi must see it through. Or must she? A witty, moving, and smart debut novel, His Only Wife takes place in a world of men who want their wives to be beautiful, to be good cooks and mothers, to grant their husbands forbearance. And in Afi, we meet a delightful, brave, and relatable heroine who just may break all the rules. “[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

Romance

Comedy

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More Details:

Author

Peace Adzo Medie

Pages

304

Publisher

Algonquin Books

Published Date

2020-09-01

ISBN

1643751115 9781643751115

Community ReviewsSee all

""Every marriage is a gamble, even if you've known the person your entire life." <br/><br/>I really enjoyed this debut! It's an interesting setup, and the synopsis caught my attention when I read it. The extended families were pretty stressful to read about at times. I loved seeing Afi grow throughout the story, and I would check out another book by Peace Adzo Medie.<br/><br/>CW - death of a parent, mention of abuse in school"

Emily

"I love this book. I can’t put into words how captivating the storyline is and how much I love the main character. Definitely recommend...I couldn’t put it down once I started reading!"

Heidi Oneil

"I am reading Whisper Network right now. Another great book! How about you?"

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Erika Leger

"I went into this with an open mind since I know nothing about the culture in Ghana. It was a really good read and I couldn't put it down, but something about it didn't ring true. I think it was written with Western audiences in mind because there was a strong female protagonist, but in that society, with her lack of education, would she really have been that strong willed to question her arranged marriage to a wealthy husband because he had another woman? I ask this because apparently multiple wives are not uncommon, according to this book. Would a poor woman really be that upset about a second woman in her husband's life when she was given a life of luxury and did not have to see or even deal with this other woman on any occasion? Plus, she was given almost unlimited freedom to pursue an education and a career. I find myself thinking that if I had been in her situation, I would have just been ok with it, since I had so many opportunities now available to me. She actually had a pretty good relationship/partnership with her husband too, so I am questioning a lot of her decisions. I realize that it sounds like I didn't like this book at all - I really did, but everything about it left me baffled at the end."

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"You can’t eat your cake and have it too. #drama #romance #comedy "