The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives - by Lola Shoneyin (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

SOON TO BE A NETFLIX SERIES!

Award-winning author Lola Shoneyin delivers an irresistible and entertaining story of marriage, family, power, and heartache set in modern-day Nigeria in her debut novel.

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 a symbol of prosperity, success, and a validation of his manhood. All is well in this patriarchal home, until Baba arrives with wife number four, a quiet, college-educated, young woman named Bolanle. Jealous and resentful of this interloper who is stealing their husband's attention, Baba's three wives, begin to plan her downfall. How dare she not know her place, they whisper. How dare she offer to teach them to read. They will teach her instead, they vow, and open their husbands eyes to this wicked wind who has upturned the tranquility of their home.

Bolanle's mother worked hard to educate her daughter and save her from a life of polygamy and dependence. She cannot understand why her daughter has chosen such a fate. But Bolanle hides a terrible secret--a secret that will unwittingly exposes the deception and lies, secrets and shame upon which Baba Segi's household rests.

A stirring rale of men and women, mothers and children, servitude and independence, The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives illuminates the common threads that connect the experiences of all women: the hardships they bear, their struggle to define themselves, and their fierce desire to protect those they love.

Review Quotes

"Nigerian poet Lola Shoneyin makes her fiction debut with this entertaining novel of modern-day polygamy in Nigeria." - Jet
"Her book is juicy like a beach read, but deeply authentic and grave." - Theurbannews.com
"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
Alternately funny, shocking, and sad, The Secret Lives is a complex depiction of family and culture in modern-day Nigeria. - Sacramento Book Review
"Shoneyin, a magical writer, spins her web of story with deceptively simple elegance. Her novel opens the door wider to a reader's understanding with each chapter. Those who appear to be villains are suddenly revealed as tortured souls. Shoneyin, like all good writers, knows that villains aren't one-dimensional.... Deceptively straightforward, with lines that merited re-reading and being turned like jewels to catch the light, The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives is one of those wonderful books which has brain-building nutrients tucked into the delicious story." - Huffington Post
Shoneyin handles the multiple points of view skillfully, each voice recognizably its own, and knows exactly where she's weaving her plot threads, so that the alternating voices have an actual narrative purpose. This frequently hilarious novel develops moral depth, and everything wraps realistically and satisfyingly, with some sadness, some loss and some hard lessons learned. A frequently hilarious novel, with moral depth, about a Nigerian polygamist, his three wives and seven children and the arrival of his fourth, and university-educated, wife. - Shelf Awareness
Blind acceptance splinters a polygamous marriage in Shoneyin's gripping debut set in modern-day Nigeria....Shoneyin masterfully disentangles four distinct stories, only to subtly expose what is common among them. - Publishers Weekly