His Only Wife

"Elikem married me in absentia; he did not come to our wedding." Afi Tekple is a young seamstress whose life is narrowing rapidly.

She lives in a small town in Ghana with her widowed mother, spending much of her time in her uncle Pious's house with his many wives and children.

Then one day she is offered a life-changing opportunity--a proposal of marriage from the wealthy family of Elikem Ganyo, a man she doesn't truly know.

She acquiesces, but soon realizes that Elikem is not quite the catch he seemed.

He sends a stand-in to his own wedding, and only weeks after Afi is married and installed in a plush apartment in the capital city of Accra does she meet her new husband.

It turns out that he is in love with another woman, whom his family disapproves of; Afi is supposed to win him back on their behalf.

But it is Accra that eventually wins Afi's heart and gives her a life of independence that she never could have imagined for herself. A brilliant scholar and a fierce advocate for women's rights, author Peace Adzo Medie infuses her debut novel with intelligence and humor.

For readers of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Candice Carty-Williams, His Only Wife is the story of an indomitable and relatable heroine that illuminates what it means to be a woman in a rapidly changing world.