Lisa's Reviews > His Only Wife

The cover of my edition of His Only Wife by Ghanaian author Peace Adzo Medie includes comments from Wayetu Moore that it's 'hilarious, a gem of a debut' and from Kirkus Reviews that it's 'a Crazy Rich Asians for West Africa, with a healthy splash of feminism.' Cosmopolitan says it's 'a fierce and funny study of modern womanhood within Ghanaian culture'. I was in the mood for a book that was 'hilarious', but TBH while there were some droll moments, I finished His Only Wife feeling more saddened than amused. Here we are in the 21st century yet — if this book represents things as they are — then even in sophisticated modern cities in Ghana, women are still made miserable by African polygamous patriarchy, and senior women in extended families are complicit in perpetuating it.

The first part of the book shows Afi bewildered but dutiful. Her mother has agreed to Aunty's demand that Afi be stitched up in an arranged marriage which is intended to separate the groom from an existing relationship which doesn't meet with Aunty's approval. The power relationship here is an important element in the story: Aunty is wealthy and Afi's widowed mother is financially dependent on her. Her husband was over-generous to the extended family who then failed to help at all when he died and left his wife and daughter Afi penniless. Afi's arranged marriage is intended to restore their place in society and make them financially secure.

So Afi leaves her mother and her friends in Ho for life in the capital, Accra. Eli and his family have multiple properties, but Afi is marooned not in his house but in an apartment block. He doesn't come to see her for weeks, and gorgeous though the apartment is, once her mother goes home to Ho, Afi is lonely and anxious. Her mother's hopes and Aunty's expectations weigh heavily on her. It is her duty to make Eli happy so that he will eject Muna and the child Ivy so that she can move into what will be the marital home. As Eli's absence lengthens, Afi gets bored and wants to resume her career in dress design. Contrary to the blurb, she is not just a seamstress, she is a dress designer, with ambitions to open her own boutique. (Fashion is a Big Deal in Ghana.)

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2021/09/01/h...