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Back to topThe Secret Lives of the Four Wives: A Novel (Paperback)
July 2010 Indie Next List
“There is nothing quite so tantalizing as a glimpse into another culture. With disarming wit and grace, Shoneyin tells the story of a modern Nigerian man and his four wives, the latest of whom, Bolanle, is causing no end of disruption in the household. Deeply political without being corrosive, this is an intimate and compassionate view of social life in Nigeria. Lola Shoneyin has penned a splendid first novel!”
— Jennie Turner-Collins, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Cincinnati, OH
Description
African-born poet Lola Shoneyin sheds a fascinating light on the little-known world of polygamy in modern-day Nigeria, in her powerful and thought-provoking debut novel, The Secret Lives of the Four Wives (previously titled The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives). Fans of The 19th Wife and HBO’s Big Love will be enthralled by this riveting tale of a prosperous African family thrown into turmoil when the patriarch adds a young, well-educated fourth wife into the mix who threatens to expose the other wives’ deepest, darkest secrets.
“Alternately funny, shocking, and sad . . . a complex depiction of family and culture in modern-day Nigeria.
—Sacramento Book Review
“A magical writer. . . . [A] delicious story.”—Huffington Post
About the Author
In addition to her award-winning novel, The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives, Lola Shoneyin has written three volumes of poetry, So All the Time I Was Sitting on an Egg, Song of a Riverbird, and For the Love of Flight, as well as three children’s books: Mayowa and the Masquerade; Do As You Are Told, Baji; and Iyaji, the Housegirl. Shoneyin is the founder of Book Buzz Foundation, which organizes the Ake Arts & Book Festival. She also runs Ouida Books, a publishing house and one of the most vibrant bookstores in Nigeria. Shoneyin lives in Lagos, Nigeria.