Synopsis: 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.

A brilliant scholar and a fierce advocate for women’s rights, author Peace Adzo Medie infuses her debut novel with intelligence and humor. For readers of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Candice Carty-Williams, His Only Wife is the story of an indomitable and relatable heroine that illuminates what it means to be a woman in a rapidly changing world.

Infuriating. Witty. Unlike anything else I’ve read. When I first read the blurb for His Only Wife, I knew I wanted to read it. Afi is a young woman who finds herself in the most bizarre marital situation I may have ever heard of, but sadly is probably more common than I’m aware. But this bizarre marriage leads her on a journey of self-discovery and growth, and it was a joy to witness her transformation.

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

Peace Adzo Medie, His Only Wife

Medie’s dry but honest writing style made this novel shine. From the first sentence, I was enamored. I had to know what happened to Afi, and I couldn’t stop turning pages until I found out. She’s a character you can’t help rooting for; her happiness was all that mattered to me. There’s so much I want to talk about, but—and I feel like I’ve said this a lot lately—this is another book that I think works better if you go in blindly. I’d only read the blurb before I started it, avoiding early reviews. I wanted to form my own opinions, and I’m happy I did. It’s also hard to avoid spoilers, so this will be a short review.

The family of Eli, Afi’s new husband, expects a lot from Afi. They’ve arranged this marriage as kind of a last-ditch effort to “save” Eli from a woman he’s in love with that they don’t approve of. They’ve left Afi in the dark for the most part, but she agrees to the marriage out of a feeling of obligation to take care of her mother and extended family. And it’s there in the dark that this story starts and where all the obstacles originate.