Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives, The

Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives, The
Lola Shoneyin
RRP:
NZ$ 22.99
Our Price:
NZ$ 18.39
Paperback
h198 x 129mm - 272pg
3 Dec 2020 UK
International import eta 7-19 days
9781788167581
Out Of Stock
Currently no stock in-store, stock is sourced to your order
To the dismay of her overbearingly ambitious mother, Bolanle marries into a polygamous family, where she is the fourth wife of a rich, rotund patriarch, Baba Segi. She is a graduate and therefore a great prize, but even graduates must produce children and her husband's persistent bellyache is a sign that things are not as they should be. Bolanle is too educated for the 'white garment conmen' Baba Segi would usually go to for fertility advice, so he takes her to hospital to discover the cause of her barrenness. Weaving the voices of Baba Segi and his four competing wives into a portrait of a clamorous household of twelve, Lola Shoneyin evokes an extraordinary Nigerian family in splashes of vibrant colour.
A Rabelaisian picture of polygamous marriage,comically capturing the physical realities of ordinary Nigerian life. -- Giles Foden A funny and moving story told with love and compassion ... a jewel of a novel -- Petina Gappah Riotous... this debut novel is a real eye-opener: a deft, compelling and unsettling tale. -- Ailin Quinlan Irish Examiner This deft, lightly spun story packs quite a punch. Shoneyin's unravelling of a family is rooted in and flavoured by Nigeria, but speaks more widely. It is a book you'll want to eat in a sitting - and then start again -- Diran Adebayo This first novel is a compelling, unsettling tale of a polygamous household and the women within Baba Segi's walls. Shoneyin's sharply written portrait of a family and a nation gripped by the past, yet surging into modernity, manages to be funny, disconcerting and violent all at once. An utterly gripping read. -- Patricia Duncker A rich debut... an engrossing and beautifully written domestic tale of polygamy and rivalry set in her native Nigeria. Harper's Bazaar Riveting... a truly compelling tale... -- Davina Morris The Voice An engrossing portrayal of a polygamous household... a rich portrait of a family on the verge of collapse. -- Yasmin Sulaiman The List An insightful and compelling tale set within a polygamous household Pride A novel of clamorous intensity. With such Chaucerian tumult, one expects comedy and there is certainly some humour here, but much pain too... Shoneyin's language is that of a poet, both extravagant and exact... Well-structured and with a gratifying resolution. -- Jane Housham Guardian Exquisitely written... Shoneyin's prose is by turns violent, evocative, witty, humane and gripping. -- Danuta Kean Mslexia A bodacious first novel -- Bernadine Evaristo Wasafiri
Lola Shoneyin has published three collections of poems. The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives is her debut novel. Having lived in London and the South East for several years, Shoneyin has recently moved to Abuja, Nigeria, and teaches drama and English at a local school.
Status: Active
ISBN-13: 9781788167581
Published: 3 Dec 2020
Published In: United Kingdom
Imprint: Profile Books
Publisher: Profile Books
Format: Paperback
Height: 198mm
Width: 129mm
Spine: 16mm
Weight: 230g
Pages: 272

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