Afi’s life is far from perfect – her father died when she was young, her extended family all but abandoned her and her mother, and while design is her passion, she hardly makes anything as a seamstress in Ghana. She seems content with her circumstances, until her family arranges a marriage for her. It seems that Elikem Ganyo has been living with a woman his family disapproves of and they need Afi to resolve this situation. Aunty had done so much for her family after her father’s passing, how could she say no?

For the betterment of her family, she commits to becoming the best wife possible. After her husband chooses not to attend their wedding, sending a stand-in as a replacement, Elikem also fails to move Afi into his home, setting her up in a nearby flat. They speak on the phone regularly, but Elikem makes no effort to see Afi in person for quite some time. Once he does begin visiting her flat regularly, their relationship gradually begins to blossom. In the meantime, Afi begins studying design and Eli supports her dream of opening her own boutique. If only he supported her enough to leave the other woman…a thought that nags at Afi daily. Afi’s love for her husband and the city of Accra has transformed her to the core, encouraging her to find her voice and lean into her independence. What the means for her marriage remains to be seen.

Man, this was an emotional rollercoaster. I feel like I was rooting for all involved characters at some point. Which is crazy considering how incredibly different all of these characters were. Despite their similarities, they all made very different choices and adjusted to their lives in unique ways. And I have to say, their character development was remarkable – all of them.

I like how relatable it was. While I have very little knowledge of Ghana and cannot even stand the idea of being forced into an arranged marriage, I can still put myself in Afi’s shoes. The author did an impeccable job of communicating the ups and downs; the raw feelings of a woman trying to find her place in the world. I have also never read an ending before the was such a beautiful disaster – it is like everyone wins, but literally no one does at the same time.

It is Afi’s wedding day and preparations are underway. She is surrounded by family and friends and future in-laws who are presenting many gifts to her relatives. There is much joy it would seem, but Afi has anxiety. There is one missing participant: the groom. Eli is on a business trip of sorts, one he shares with the woman he loves and their child. With a stand-in groom, Eli’s family celebrates the “union” and ushers their newest member to Accra where she is set up in a lovely apartment. There she will await her husband with a slight disadvantage. His other woman is ensconced in his house with no plans to move. Afi’s family, in need of money and social position, along with Eli’s family who possess them, are insisting she be patient and do everything to win his favor so he will leave the unacceptable partner. Afi does her share; soon she is pregnant. However, there is no sign of a church wedding or an invitation to move into his house. All are surprised to find that she is not a pushover. She wants acceptance in her personal and professional lives and issues an ultimatum. Success lies in her own hands and how well she plays the families. Peace Adzo Medie has given us a protagonist to admire and cheer on, often using humor to describe the situations in which she finds herself and the characters that surround her.

"I'd never had a white person do anything for me before. What a day."

This is Peace Adzo Medie's first novel, and it's a strong debut. The novel follows twenty-one-year-old Afi, who marries Eli, the son of a wealthy woman who has helped Afi's family in the past. Medie does a great job highlighting not only the cultural aspects of Ghana, but also the disparities between men and women, wealthy and poor, and those who follow social and patriarchal norms and those who don't. Afi started out as irritating, but I grew to love her and her spirit as the novel progressed; it was refreshing to watch her business acumen and design skills grow. The ending is surprisingly satisfying too.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley.
Twenty-one year old Afi finds herself in the middle of a family drama when she agrees to married the son of a wealthy woman who went of her way to provide support to Afi and her mother after Afi's father died. She enters the marriage willingly, despite never having met her intended before, and despite knowing that her husband-to-be is in another relationship and has a child from that relationship. Afi's mission is to convince her husband to leave the other woman of whom his mother does not approve, but things get off to a discouraging start. Her husband does not attend their wedding and does not show up at the luxury apartment in which she is installed after their marriage for quite some time.
When he finally arrives, the two find that they have a lot in common and eventually fall in love. He supports Afi in her desire to learn fashion design and to build a business and a house for her mother. Unfortunately, the other woman remains a presence in their life and Afia eventually takes a stand. Even after she is successful in achieving what she demands, their happiness is not a given.
This book does a lot to highlight disparities between the wealthy and the poor and between expectations placed upon men versus women. It also does a good job depicting the landscape of life in the parts of Ghana featured in the story, both in the physical sense and in the social sense, for example, Eli's relationship with his mother, Afi's relationship with her hair, the constant presence of house staff in the wealthy households, and the demands that Afi's uncle places on her once she becomes the wife of a wealthy man. I lived for some time in Ghana and the depictions transported me back there.
Eli is painted as a complex character. He values Afi's abilities as a capable business woman, for example, when she thanks him for helping her to build a house for her mother, he says "I think you would have built this house even if you had never met me." At the same time, he expects her to accept his adultery because he is the man of the house. When Afi asks "How would you feel if I cheated on you?" he responds, "You know it's not the same thing."
Most of the other characters in the book are less nuanced. Afi's mother, Afi's uncle, Eli's mother, and his siblings seem single-minded in purpose and one-dimensional, perhaps in part because a lot of their interactions are told in summary instead of in full-blown scenes ,which is unfortunate since Medie shows herself very capable of compelling scene and character descriptions.
Afi's cousin, Mawusi, and her neighbor, Evelyn, are fun, colorful characters with their own development course. They offer Afi advice and provide some humor to the story.
The message from this book was mixed. While Afi does grow from a young woman who acquiesced to everything into a woman who demanded what she saw was due to her, she seemed to be challenging, not so much the idea that there was another woman, but the fact that Eli would not declare her as the more important woman in his life. In addition, she never took responsibility for her part in the farce--she married him fully aware that he was in love with someone else.
All in all, a quick interesting read that paints a very realistic and entertaining picture of life in Ghana and leaves readers a lot to think about in terms of the complex relationships between men and women.

This was a first time read of this author, Peace Adzo Medie. His Only Wife was very interesting and I for the most part thought it was going to be interesting but felt disappointed. I had a hard time with this story because of the complicated females in the book...and with the men too.

I tried to like the characters, however the main male character angered me the most. I did have some sympathy for the absentia wife. Frankly, this was just not my cup of tea although I thought it was well-written.

I thank Netgalley and Algonquin Books for this ARC in exchange for my fair and honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

2-Stars

A very interesting novel about a woman in Ghana who marries her husband “in absentia” and discovers her husband has another lover. She falls in love with her husband and wants him to give up the other woman. She learns to stand up for her rights against her husband’s family and her husband. The novel is a domestic drama that pursues a modern women’s role in the patriarchy society of Ghana. Afi comes from a poor family and marries into Eli’s wealthy family but won’t let the wealth influence her indomitable spirit. While waiting for her husband to settle his affairs regarding the other woman she pursues her desire to become a fashion designer which enhances her independence. The ending is uplifting and unexpected.