His Only Wife by Peace Adzo Medie

There is no room for objection when Afi Tekple—a poor, young seamstress living in rural Ghana—is asked to marry the wealthy Elikem Ganyo. She and her widowed mother live essentially at the mercy of Elikem’s mother, known in town as Aunty, who provides them with housing and employment. And Afi knows she’s being used: Elikem, who doesn’t even show up for their wedding ceremony, has a Liberian lover detested by his family, and it is up to Afi to convince him to forget her. For some, an arrangement guaranteeing a bit of heartache in exchange for financial security is enough. But Afi, who ultimately falls in love with her often-absent husband despite what she knows, is driven to question her limits as a woman and a wife as she finds the freedom to consider for the first time what she truly wants in life. With spot-on characterizations of deeply involved extended families and realistic depictions of how money can change everything, Peace Adzo Medie conjures a Cinderella story just right for 2020.

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