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His Only Wife cover art

His Only Wife

By: Peace Adzo Medie
Narrated by: Soneela Nankani
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Summary

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)

What listeners say about His Only Wife

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  • Overall
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    5 out of 5 stars

Powerful

So powerful and example setting story of an internal strong woman that would not settle. Interesting learning about the culture.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Engaging enough but not much to it

First of all I was waiting for the part of the book that explained the American accent of the narrator, This was a book written in the first person who is a Ghanaian woman, set entirely in Ghana. at times the narrator's voice became annoying.
The story itself was quite basic and I found myself irritated by the one dimensional thinking of the main character, who said the same things over and over again throughout the book.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Pleasant but not notable

An enjoyable but relatively light listen and a bit disappointing. I liked the Ghanaian setting and context and humor but a reader with a knowing American college student-type accent really was entirely the wrong match for a story about a Ghanaian woman, set entirely in Ghana. Perhaps a cautious marketing choice for a ‘Reese Witherspoon’ book choice but a disappointing one that isn’t true to the story and grated enough to knock a star.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Good story

It was a great story however my only little niggle is the narration… it’s set in Ghana so it would have been great to hear a Ghanaian narrating with a Ghanaian accent, rather than an American accent. As a Ghanaian, there were times I winced upon certain pronunciations. The story would have felt a lot more authentic if they just for a Ghanaian with the accent to narrate… otherwise it was a good story

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Amazing!

this is 1 of those books which will force you to ignore your Netflix and cancel weekend plans with your people! loved every minute of it!!! the writer really did a great job with the characters, they were all life-like in my head!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic

Really enjoyed it. Once I started I couldn't stop. so descriptive. I felt as though I was there and really connected with the characters.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Unexpected Story about women demanding more

I wasn’t sure what to expect but by the time it was over, I was so happy I read it. At it’s core this book felt like a story about a woman demanding more than what society felt she should be grateful for. I connected so firmly to her desire to be loved the same she loved others and it was so wonderful to listen to. What a great story.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

very entertaining!!

I honestly didn't know how this was going to end! It had many twists and turns and it was very fun to listen to. the narration is really good. it felt like watching a movie.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Very good book

Loved the story sympathetically written. My only criticism would be that the narration should have been done with an Ghanaian narrator not an white sounding American. The characters would have sounded more realistic and give a much authentic feel to the book. Then would have rated excellent book audio book, rather than just good.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Not my first preference of reading

Not a page turner at all. Slow development of story. Very predictable storyline. Not convincing at all.

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