Author: Peace Adzo Medie
Publisher: Oneworld Publications
Publication Date: 18 March 2021
Pages: 289
Format: eBook - PDF
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Source: ARC via NetGalley
Afi Tekple is a young seamstress living in a small town in Ghana with her widowed mother. Even Afi doesn’t believe her future holds much excitement. Until one day she is offered a life-changing opportunity – a proposal of marriage from the wealthy family of Elikem Ganyo, a man she barely knows. Marriage could be the key to the life she's always wanted, but when she meets Eli, she realises her fairy-tale ending might not be so straightforward. Elikem is not quite the catch he first seemed, and his affections are otherwise engaged. As she balances the often conflicting roles of wife, daughter, niece and sister-in-law, Afi starts to question whether she has made the right choice.
Bursting with warmth and humour, His Only Wife is a witty, smart and moving comedy-of-manners about the search for independence, and the rules that might have to be broken along the way.
His Only Wife was an entertaining and thoughtful character-driven story. The action moved along at a good pace and the characters were well fleshed out. However, I did struggle a bit to accept the depth of Afi and Eli's love. Also, the fact she went in knowing there was already another woman on the scene made it hard for me to accept her attitude later when she presented herself as the wronged party. Sure, his family gave a lot of misleading information, but she didn't enter into the relationship blind. Still, those minor gripes aside, this was a pleasing read that held my attention throughout, and it was interesting to learn more about marriage customs and social expectations in Ghana, since it's a country I know very little about. Recommended for readers of contemporary fiction who enjoy multicultural stories.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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