His Only Wife

by Peace Adzo Medie

With spot on characterizations of deeply involved extended families and realistic depictions of how money can change everything, Peace Adzo Medi conjures a Cinderella story just right for 2021. – Time

“Ma, I don’t know him; what if I don’t like him?”  … She sighed with her whole torso and then locked eyes with me.  “Afi, don’t forget who you are.  You are not an actress and this is not a romance film.  This is real life.  This is our life.  You will get to know him and like him.  That is how it is.”

His Only Wife starts out as a fairy tale – a Ghanaian Cinderella story.   Afi Tekple, a beautiful young seamstress is plucked from obscurity into a life of unbelievable wealth and privilege.  Elikem Ganyo’s family don’t approve of his Liberian girlfriend and have chosen Afi to lure him away from “That woman”. This is her chance to offer her family financial security and to fulfil her dream of moving to the big city of Accra and owning her own boutique.  But what no-one saw coming – including Afi herself – was that she might find the strength to stand up to the family or that she might actually fall in love with her husband and want to be his only wife…

On the one hand it’s a funny story about infuriatingly meddling extended family members, marriage and Ghanaian customs and on the other it’s a heartfelt look at an independent young woman who grows up to know her own mind and choose her own destiny against what is expected of her.

Medie gives Afi a voice that winningly combines insecurity, wisdom and dignity… The dramas of Afi’s marriage and various family conflicts offer an entertaining plot, rich with humour but it is the story of the strong woman in a challenging and changing world that will capture readers’ hearts.  – Shelf Awareness