Review: His Only Wife

His Only Wife had been on my radar before it was published back in September 2020 and before Reese Witherspoon chose Peace Adzo Medie's debut novel for her book club. I had started reading it months ago but had to set it aside. I tried again as an audiobook and listened through to the end in almost no time at all.

Here's the book description:

Afi Tekple is a young seamstress whose life is narrowing rapidly. She lives in a small town in Ghana with her widowed mother, spending much of her time in her uncle Pious’s house with his many wives and children. Then one day she is offered a life-changing opportunity—a proposal of marriage from the wealthy family of Elikem Ganyo, a man she doesn’t truly know. She acquiesces, but soon realizes that Elikem is not quite the catch he seemed. He sends a stand-in to his own wedding, and only weeks after Afi is married and installed in a plush apartment in the capital city of Accra does she meet her new husband. It turns out that he is in love with another woman, whom his family disapproves of; Afi is supposed to win him back on their behalf. But it is Accra that eventually wins Afi’s heart and gives her a life of independence that she never could have imagined for herself.

I think part of what made me put the book down so many months ago after only a chapter or so is how slow the story is to start (and, honestly, it doesn't really pick up the pace at all). There's so much backstory and I felt like I was being told everything instead of being actively engaged and shown the story. It made it really hard to start caring about the characters when you're plopped in the middle of the action and then have a whole bunch of history to get through before the story carries on.

One of the most difficult things about reading this book was constantly having to remind myself that my culture is not the same as Afi's and my normal is not her normal. I was often finding myself frustrated at how she had to bow down to her elders and her husband. I'm all for showing respect for those in your life but it really bothers me when someone's voice is being minimized and their concerns aren't being addressed because she's just supposed to go along with what her husband wants - even if that's spending almost all his time with his mistress and not his wife. I tried really hard not to let that affect me but I have a feeling those emotions got the better of me and I couldn't help but be annoyed and frustrated throughout the story.

If I had realized that this novel would skew more literary than contemporary, I may have given it a pass. I respect that literary novels have their place in the world but that place is not often on my reading list. I like my stories with a Happily Ever After (and a clear direction) and this one had an ending I wasn't quite expecting. It is fitting and there is a lot of promise but I fear for what could happen and derail Afi's plans. 

I think His Only Wife falls into the category of a good read but not one for me. I found myself wanting to see how the story ended but I wasn't actually all that invested. I'd encourage others to pick it up if they're intrigued and I'm really interested to see what other readers thought of Peace Adzo Medie's novel. Will I read what she writes next? Quite possibly. I think there's potential for her stories to get even better and I look forward to hearing what she publishes next.

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the Canadian distributor, Thomas Allen & Sons, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*