Young Afi Tekple's life is about to change. She is given an opportunity of a lifetime - to receive a proposal of marriage to one of the wealthiest families in their small town. Aunty Faustina Ganyo has helped Afi and her widowed mother Olivia, so when this opportunity arose to marry Aunty's son Elikem, Afi could not refuse such an offer. Though she has never met him, she knows this will help her family greatly. She is Senior Lecturer in gender and international politics at the University of Bristol. Her research examines gender, politics, and conflict in Africa. Her book, Global Norms and Local Action: The Campaigns to End Violence against Women in Africa, was published in March 2020 by Oxford University Press . Her debut novel, His Only Wife, was published in September 2020 by Algonquin Books. About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”: Still, Medie does touch upon relevant issues, such the impact and pressure exerted by family and social expectations, and emphasising the double standards in marriage throughout the course of her narrative. Medie also depicts the sexist attitudes of those in Afi and the Ganyos' circle (a friend of husband says this: “man wasn’t made to be with one woman. You’re a lion, you should have an entire pride!” and I saw red).

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. The opening line, “Elikem married me in absentia; he did not come to our wedding” is gripping and immediately hooks the reader. The protagonist, Afi, is a beautiful woman but of little means and an unpromising. When she is offered an opportunity to marry a man of status and wealth, for her family, she accepts. Phewww okay this ending had me fuming! I mean granted, the Ganyo family drove me crazy throughout this whole book, BUT THE ENDING?? I would’ve allowed Afi to be acquitted from murder, but I guess it was happy for her nonetheless. Part of me wishes that the Liberian woman had also been given a pov, making the novel feel less biased. I also wish that we could have seen more of Afi without the Ganyos (for example scenes while she's studying fashion would have been nice, or even her socialising with more people outside of her apartment).I was enamoured with this book from the beginning. I LOVE books that are set in Ghana and I have such an affinity for Ghana’s culture, I wanted to inhale this book. I felt the premise was strong and the execution equally as strong. I loved that it was contemporary Ghana and a love story. The writer did such a great job of taking us in to the marriage of Eli and Afi and I didn’t want to leave. But like most things, their seemingly perfect marriage is not what it seems. When Afi finally finds her voice and stands up for herself, I cheered! I was completely engrossed in her story. This story does so much to develop characters and describe the culture. 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.

Afi’s mother was worried about her work and home, but Afi had been sending her money and she had almost completed building her own house. This gave partial relief from Aunty’s coldness and the threat of her retaliation. To The Main House 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. I thought that overall, this was fine and was a good enough debut but I wish the author had really taken it “there” with this book. It was begging for more real conflict and more drama that matched the excellence of the set up. As it is, this is a good story about contemporary polygamous relationships and arranged marriages with modern couples in West Africa and one young woman’s courageous journey to discovering her boundaries with love and relationships. 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’s charm makes her an empowering example of modern womanhood . . . Its message bold and its viewpoint appealing, His Only Wife is an inspiring novel.”Bottom line: I could say something about the clear and straightforward writing style, or how this somehow felt both too long and too short, or probably a bunch of other stuff, but what it comes down to is I'm nosy. 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. 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. Peace Adzo Medie writes a timely novel about the strength and sacrifices of women for their family, to gain acceptance of the cultural and social norms, as well as, the cost of life choices. Peace Adzo Medie was born in Liberia and educated in Ghana. She has an MA in International Studies from Ohio University and a PhD in Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh.

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. I have seen some reviewers talk about this book as feminist and it is, but not the way I think people will expect. This is not another story of empowerment, nor is it preaching or advocating. Instead it is a zig zag, an up and down, a maze of a story where Afi begins to understand what is important to her. The women in this book are all different, they have all adapted to a society where even the most privileged of them is subject to the whims of a son or husband or boyfriend. If anything, it is a glimpse of how all kinds of women have adjusted to this kind of world and how they make their way in it. It's a style of novel I like quite a lot, one that opens up a place and time to you, letting you see it in intricate detail. Evelyn advised Afi to get what she needed, a house, a car, and property in her own name. Afi said she would think about it. She moved out of the house into a room in her workshop, a 3-bedroom apartment that she rented from Richard. Uncle PiousThis 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. The favourite son of a wealthy family, employers to many of the community, Eli is also clever and considerate, good in bed, and – get this – he’s even willing to make his own breakfast in the mornings, a cause for consternation for Aki, whose traditional values will come to be tested over the course of an engaging, quietly provocative debut. The very next day after his first visit, Eli called to tell Afi that he arranged for his sister, Yaya, to take her to some of the fashion schools, make an introduction, and help her select one. She and Yaya began spending time together and socializing as well. Colloquial diction and modern amenities help to set the book’s stage, though its descriptions of settings sometimes fall short of their potential. Characters are introduced with speed, and even the story’s main influencers make minor impressions at first. Still, the pieces of the story connect in a seamless way. This is a novel where details about clothing and food fill almost every scene. As always when I read novels set in countries that are unfamiliar, I ended up searching out images of kente cloth ( a highly colourful textile made from strips of silk and cotton with handwoven cloth) and Slit (a long fitted skirt which hugs the body) and the top called a Kaba. The combinations of patterns and colours are stunning.