His Only Wife

3.5 Stars

This is a domestic drama set in contemporary Ghana that follows the marriage of Afi to Eli Ganyos. This marriage is much more complicated than most however and you feel for Afi and the sticky situations she finds herself in. I did however find Afi a very empowering character. While things happened to her, she actively challenged them and didn't allow herself the less confrontational happier ending.

I love novels that focus on close intimate relationships like marriages or familial bonds so this book was always going to be a hit with me. This is along a very similar genre line to An American Marriage by Tayari Jones so if you enjoyed that you will certainly enjoy this book. Similarly to that novel it plays around with the traditional structure of a marriage and leaves you feeling like the sanctity of marriage has let the characters down, more than there being bad and good guys in the marriage. A very strong debut and I cannot wait to see what this author will write in the future.

Thanks to the author Peace Adzo Medie, Oneworld Publications and NetGalley for a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

It's crazy the amount of character growth that happens during the two year setting of this book. Afi in the beginning is naïve and petulant, in the middle she's defiant and seen as ungrateful, but at the end she's strong in her convictions and is ready to take control of her life and stop expecting anything from her husband. My favorite part of this book was her friendship with her neighbor who also happened to be her husband's brother's side piece. It helped Afi gain perspective on her situation and her husband's “lover's” perspective. I loved that the other woman was actually the first and was beautiful and strong-willed. I'm also glad that Eli was called out for being selfish and having double standards. I just wish that Tɔgã Pious got his in the end. He was the actual villain in this story. Aunty was nothing compared to him. I also liked that Afi's mother also went through some growth as she realized that Aunty was only kind and generous when she was beneficial. I am curious as to what the point of Abraham's character was. To show Afi had options? Or that she was desirable? Or was he just there to reinforce Yaya's penchant for the pretentious? Not sure.
I enjoyed this one, Reese.