The Secret Lives of the Four Wives

by Lola Shoneyin

Overview

African-born poet Lola Shoneyin makes her fiction debut with The Secret Lives of Babi Segi’s Wives, a perceptive, entertaining, and eye-opening novel of polygamy in modern-day Nigeria. The struggles, rivalries, intricate family politics, and the interplay of personalities and relationships within the complex private world of a polygamous union come to life in The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives—BigLove and The 19th Wife set against a contemporary African background.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062002921
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	02/27/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	299
Sales rank:	731,883
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

In addition to her award-winning novel, The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives, Lola Shoneyin has written three volumes of poetry, So All the Time I Was Sitting on an Egg, Song of a Riverbird, and For the Love of Flight, as well as three children’s books: Mayowa and the Masquerade; Do As You Are Told, Baji; and Iyaji, the Housegirl. Shoneyin is the founder of Book Buzz Foundation, which organizes the Ake Arts & Book Festival. She also runs Ouida Books, a publishing house and one of the most vibrant bookstores in Nigeria. Shoneyin lives in Lagos, Nigeria.

Editorial Reviews

Set in contemporary Nigeria, poet Shoneyin's first novel draws us into the complex family dynamics of Baba Segi, his seven children, and his four wives: the controlling Iya Segi, meek and submissive Iya Tope, vindictive Iya Femi, and Bolanle, his university-educated wife. Bolanle's apparent inability to conceive a child sets off a series of events and revelations that significantly impact every member of the household.Verdict Using alternating narration, Shoneyin quickly gains the readers interest in this warts-and-all depiction of a culture that will be unfamiliar to many. Each wife finds her own way to assert her power and desire within the confines of a patriarchal system; in some cases, with disastrous consequences. Book clubs and readers in general interested in exploring dynamic characters and events, and who can tolerate some sex and violence, will find this a strong choice. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 3/15/10.]—Christine DeZelar-Tiedman, Univ. of Minnesota Lib., Minneapolis

Library Journal