The Secret Lives of the Four Wives
Release date: 2010 / 280 pages
Synopsis (from the back cover): 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…
First Sentence: I didn’t just happen upon this room; I dreamed of the pale green walls before I arrived.
Review: This novel is so original — quite funny, yet heartbreakingly sad at other times. At times, I did struggle to become fully invested in the characters, but Shoneyin’s luminous writing was well worth any initial distance I felt:
“To take my mind off the awkwardness, I looked outside through the tinted glass doors. At that moment, a blazing sun ray struck the darkened glass and filtered into the room through a small chip. The chip broke the beam with its jagged edges and scattered embers all over the room. One landed on my foot like a fallen firefly. Then the sun crept behind a cloud and everything dissolved into hot air. But the chip remained, secretly concealing its radiance behind the small crack, shaped like the tick of a tentative hand.”
Changing the perspective from character to character throughout the novel disconnected me from the momentum of the narrative, and I would have preferred one point of view — probably because there was only one truly sympathetic character. So, spending time reading the other, less likeable characters’ motivation disrupted my enjoyment at times.
On the other hand, the reader does need to learn about the wives’ secret fairly early in order to create suspense. So, although I did love Shoneyin’s writing and found the premise highly entertaining, I was less engaged with the characters than I would have liked. I also would have preferred more about the setting, the culture, the norms of the village and country, as well.
However, overall I do recommend this novel based on the writing alone – this is one novel I will not forget any time soon!
So, if you are interested, please leave me a comment and I will choose a winner by the weekend!
Tuesday, July 5th: A Few More Pages
Wednesday, July 6th: Book Journey
Thursday, July 7th: Rundpinne
Monday, July 11th: A Bookish Way of Life
Tuesday, July 12th: Chick With Books
Wednesday, July 13th: That’s What She Read
Tuesday, July 19th: Savvy Verse & Wit
Thursday, July 21st: Book Club Classics!
Friday, July 22nd: Peeking Between the Pages
Monday, July 25th: In the Next Room
Tuesday, July 26th: As I turn the pages
Wednesday, July 27th: Reading Through Life
Thanks for the giveaway
I am fascinated by the polygamous lifestyle. Although I do enjoy reading the perspectives of different characters, like yourself, I like reading about culture, setting…
I enjoyed reading your review for this book and would love to win a copy.
I ordered this book for the fiction collection at the public library where I work–and it just came in! Looking forward to reading it and thought it might be a good selection for our library book group–which I also organize. Thanks for the review!
Enjoyed your review. I think this would make a good read for a library group. Like you I enjoy reading of the culter. This should be a good book and look forward to reading it.
Count me in! I’d love to read this one. Thanks for the chance to win a copy.
Sounds like a good book. I’d like to read it.
Truly enjoy your reviews. Helps make book club selections and I belong to two such groups.
I look forward to getting to know the characters in this book.
Sounds interesting!
This book keeps popping up on lists everywhere recently, and my interest is piqued! This sounds like a great discussion-provoking book for any one of my three book discussion groups. Please enter my name; your reviews are always “right on!”
I almost entered this contest before I realized I have this book with a slightly different title: The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives. Any idea why they would change the title?
I’d love a chance at winning this book…it sounds really interesting. Thanks for the entry in your giveaway.
Sandee61
Muzzley56[at]aol[dot]com
I thought this sounded great, and now I’m curious whether the continual change of view character to character would throw me like it did you. Please count me in. Thank you!
nfmgirl AT gmail DOT com
I would love to read this! Thanks for the giveaway!
I too am fascinated by the polyganous lifestyle and have never read about it in other cultures. Please count me in also!!!
This book has received many favorable reviews.
Thank you for the giveaway.
jgoffice(at)cox(dot)net
not sure if you chose a winnr yet… I love the sound of this book. I can’t wait to read it.
Sounds like a great read! Please include me in the Giveaway! Thank you!
Good question, Gwendolyn! I’m sure there would be a marketing reason behind the change? Anyone else know why?
If it is not too late, please enter me in the giveaway – this book sounds like a great read!
Thanks for this great giveaway. Sounds memorable.
It’s always good when you can recommend a novel based on gorgeous writing!
Thanks for being a part of the tour.