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A Review of The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives

The document provides a review and summary of the novel "The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives" by Lola Shoneyin. It discusses how the novel depicts complex issues in society through the story of a man with four wives. It highlights how the arrival of the fourth wife, Bolanle, leads to the unraveling of secrets about the man and his marriages. The review praises Shoneyin's vivid writing style and how she is able to describe characters and their feelings in a way that engages the reader's imagination. It also notes how the multiple narrative technique and glimpses into the characters' pasts make them feel realistic and humorous at times in their storytelling. The reviewer was glad they

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Nicholas Benita
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1K views1 page

A Review of The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives

The document provides a review and summary of the novel "The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives" by Lola Shoneyin. It discusses how the novel depicts complex issues in society through the story of a man with four wives. It highlights how the arrival of the fourth wife, Bolanle, leads to the unraveling of secrets about the man and his marriages. The review praises Shoneyin's vivid writing style and how she is able to describe characters and their feelings in a way that engages the reader's imagination. It also notes how the multiple narrative technique and glimpses into the characters' pasts make them feel realistic and humorous at times in their storytelling. The reviewer was glad they

Uploaded by

Nicholas Benita
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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“Only a foolish woman leans heavily on a man’s promises.

” These were Iya Segi’s mother’s words to Iya


Segi when she was much younger. Are these wise words? Well, I can’t say but I agree with her. It was
one of the sayings that stuck with me even after I had dropped the book.

The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives by Lola Shoneyin tells the story of a man and his four wives. He
prides himself in the fact that he’s able to father children and his wives all adore him, or so we are made
to think. It is the arrival of his fourth wife, Bolanle, that leads us to unravel dangerous secrets and we
realize that things may not always be what they seem to be.

Lola was able to successfully portray various issues in the society within a few pages. In this book, there
is complexity, hypocrisy and a plethora of agendas. The novel is real and thrilling in that it managed to
depict so many angles of real life all in one narrative; we see the dangers of polygamy, issue of rape,
domestic violence, effect of early/arranged marriage, among many other issues.

Shoneyin has a way with words. She is able to coherently describe every activity and feeling of a
character perfectly that your imagination goes to work, making you feel as though you were also there.
The book is set in modern day which makes it all the more relatable. The writing is lively but a bit raw so
a certain age range might not be able to read it just yet. The multiple narrative technique used is not so
confusing, once you get the hang of it. This was Lola’s first novel, but she has complete control of her
story and style.

In the book, we are able to see the past lives of the characters, the choices and events that led them to
their present life. Some of them were manhandled as kids, others had a rough childhood. This also
enables us to see how some of their parents’ decisions and actions influenced what each character grew
up to become. The characters are humorous and believable so much that when they are narrating their
stories, they say things like, “if you think I was going to do that…then you haven’t been following” and
“help me say amen”, making it seem like they were talking directly to the reader, which is kind of
humorous if you ask me.

I had been meaning to read this book for a while now and I’m glad I finally got around to it. Truth be
told, I couldn’t put down this book until it was finished and I smiled at the ending. This book had me
visualizing how Bolanle’s life must have played out after leaving Baba Segi’s house. That’s the effect of a
good book, it stays with you even after the intended message has been relayed. In all, it was a good read
and worth the six hours of my day!

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