His Only Wife

By: Peace Adzo Medie

Narrated by: Soneela Nankani

An Observer, Time Magazine and New York Times Book of the Year.

A Reese Witherspoon's Book Club Pick.

Elikem married me in absentia; he did not come to our wedding.

Afi Tekple is a young seamstress living in a small town in Ghana with her widowed mother. Afi's future doesn't seem to hold much excitement. Until, that is, she is offered a life-changing opportunity - a proposal of marriage from the wealthy family of Elikem Ganyo.

She barely knows Elikem, but that seems a small price to pay for a marriage that could offer her family financial security, as well as the key to the glitzy city lifestyle she's always wanted. But when Afi arrives in Accra, she realises that her fairy-tale ending might not be all that she'd hoped for. Now she must balance the often conflicting roles of wife, daughter, niece and sister-in-law, without losing sight of herself.

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.

©2021 Peace Adzo Medie (P)2021 W F Howes

Critic reviews

"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)

"Mesmerising.... This is not a book to read with one eye on a beach volleyball tournament; it’s a story to soak up in silence, on a long, cloudy afternoon when you have time to think." (New York Times)

"This stirring tale sings when Afi learns to flex her limited power." (Publishers Weekly)

I felt like I was in Ghana!

I kept telling my husband and daughter about the story. I couldn't stop talking about Affy. I felt like I was her. And wanted her to win so much!

Such a great book. The narrator did a wonderful job!

Well entertained

I thoroughly enjoyed the book 🥺🥺
Well done to Efy for choosing herself, Eli wants to have his cathe & Edith

Great story, Horrible narration

Respectfully i find it quite offensive when the narrator cannot pronounce African words. Such a beautiful story but the narration is dreadful.

I was thoroughly entertained

Loved this story , I had a couple of false starts simply because I couldnt get into the book the first few chapters, but when I finally did, I enjoyed this book.
I have lately realized I am very critical of filler content in a book and this did not miss its share of unnecessary info that neither added nor subtracted from the overall story.

First off, I could not imagine marrying a husband who could not be bothered to show up.... I mean, how desperate could I be to agree to such an arrangement? I pitied Afi at some point, but i am glad she grew a spine and left that husband of hers Eli, and his controlling mother. Come to think of it I remember listening to this book and realizing it read a lot like a west african movie, but it was captivating enough to get to the very end. I kept hoping someone would stand up to Eli's domineering mother.

Performance

The performance took some getting used to I nearly quit the book after the first chapter but then I got used to it. I really enjoyed the story.