Synopses & Reviews
When Baba Segi awoke with a bellyache for the sixth day in a row, he knew it was time to do something drastic about his fourth wife's childlessness.
Meet Baba Segi . . .
A plump, vain, and prosperous middle-aged man of robust appetites, Baba Segi is the patriarch of a large household that includes a quartet of wives and seven children. But his desire to possess more just might be his undoing.
And his wives . . .
Iya Segithe bride of Baba Segi's youth, a powerful, vindictive woman who will stop at nothing to protect her favored position as ruler of her husband's home.
Iya TopeBaba Segi's second wife, a shy, timid woman whose decency and lust for life are overshadowed by fear.
Iya Femithe third wife, a scheming woman with crimson lips and expensive tastes who is determined to attain all that she desires, no matter what the cost.
BolanleBabi Segi's fourth and youngest wife, an educated woman wise to life's misfortunes who inspires jealousy in her fellow wives . . . and who harbors a secret that will expose shocking truths about them all.
Synopsis
"Alternately funny, shocking, and sad...a complex depiction of family and culture in modern-day Nigeria.
--Sacramento Book Review
"A magical writer.... A] delicious story."
--Huffington Post
Lola Shoneyin, a fresh and exciting new voice in contemporary fiction, sheds a fascinating light on the little known world of polygamy in modern-day Nigeria, in her fabulously entertaining debut novel, The Secret Lives of the Four Wives. Fans of The 19th Wife and HBO's Big Love will be enthralled by this colorful and captivating tale of a prosperous African family thrown into turmoil when the patriarch adds a young, well-educated fourth wife into the mix who threatens to expose the other wives' deepest, darkest secrets.
Synopsis
African-born poet Lola Shoneyin sheds a fascinating light on the little-known world of polygamy in modern-day Nigeria, in her powerful and thought-provoking debut novel, The Secret Lives of the Four Wives (previously titled The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives). Fans of The 19th Wife and HBO's Big Love will be enthralled by this riveting tale of a prosperous African family thrown into turmoil when the patriarch adds a young, well-educated fourth wife into the mix who threatens to expose the other wives' deepest, darkest secrets.
"Alternately funny, shocking, and sad . . . a complex depiction of family and culture in modern-day Nigeria.
--Sacramento Book Review
"A magical writer. . . . A] delicious story."--Huffington Post
Synopsis
"When Baba Segi woke up with a bellyache for the sixth day in a row, he knew it was time to do something drastic about his fourth wife's childlessness."
For Baba Segi, his collection of wives and gaggle of children are the symbol of prosperity, success and a validation of his manhood. Everything runs smoothly in the patriarchal home, until wife number four intrudes on their cozy family arrangement. Baba's three wives hate Bolanle from the start; she doesn't seem to know her place-at the bottom of the totem pole. And, to top it all, she wants to teach them to read But Bolanle's arrival threatens to do more than simply ruffle feathers. Unwittingly, she's about to expose the wives' long-guarded secret-and they are not going to sit idly by and let her ruin what they've worked so hard to protect.
Longlisted for the Orange Prize, The Secret Lives of Four Wives is Lola Shoneyin's fabulous and entertaining debut novel that brings your students into the little known world of polygamy in modern-day Nigeria.
"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."-Library Journal
Synopsis
"I didn't just happen upon this room; I dreamed of the pale green walls before I arrived."
Attempting to rise above the secrets of her past, Bolanle, a university graduate, marries Baba Segi, who promises her everything in exchange for agreeing to become his fourth wife. Thus she enters into a polygamous world filled with expensive clothes, a generous monthly allowance . . . and three Segi wives who disapprove of the newest, youngest, most educated addition to the family. There's Iya Femi, a fiery vixen with a taste for money; Iya Tope, a shy woman whose kindness is eclipsed by terror; and Iya Segi, the first, most lethal, and merciless of them all.
Bolanle quickly becomes Baba Segi's prized possession . . . until her very presence unlocks a secret that the other wives have long since guarded, and unleashing it could change life as they know it.
Synopsis
“Alternately funny, shocking, and sad…a complex depiction of family and culture in modern-day Nigeria.
—
Sacramento Book Review“A magical writer….[A] delicious story.”
—Huffington Post
Lola Shoneyin, a fresh and exciting new voice in contemporary fiction, sheds a fascinating light on the little known world of polygamy in modern-day Nigeria, in her fabulously entertaining debut novel, The Secret Lives of the Four Wives. Fans of The 19th Wife and HBOs Big Love will be enthralled by this colorful and captivating tale of a prosperous African family thrown into turmoil when the patriarch adds a young, well-educated fourth wife into the mix who threatens to expose the other wives deepest, darkest secrets.
About the Author
Lola Shoneyin's work includes three books of poems: So All the Time I Was Sitting on an Egg (1997), Song of a Riverbird (2002) and For the Love of Flight (2010) and two children's books: Mayowa and the Masquerades (2010) and Iyaji, the Housegirl (2014). Her debut novel, The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives (2010), was long-listed for the 2011 Orange Prize for Fiction and won the PEN Oakland 2011 Josephine Miles Literary Award. After teaching both in Nigeria and abroad for many years, Shoneyin now lives in Lagos, Nigeria and organises the Ake Arts and Book Festival.