The Secret Lives Of The Four Wives by Lola Shoneyin-Book Review

Book Review Time!! 
As humanity battles with COVID-19 and the thought of staying indoors have become a chore for so many people, I have solidly relied on books to alleviate boredom.

Not just any book but books filled with so many "wow" moments. I am just saying I need a sweet escape during this pandemic and books like - The Secret Lives of The Four Wives by Lola Shoneyin has been a good companion.

If you are in need of a book you can't put down even for a toilet break, then you should pick up The Secret Lives of the Four Wives because it is filled with intrigue and loads of drama. 

The book is basically about a man, his four wives, and a secret that is bound to make you say WHAT!! 

 Most books I read growing up bordered on childlessness, polygamy, and how women are perceived in society. However, this book is laden with so many themes which makes it wholesome. Themes such as Self-discovery, Forgiveness, Womanhood amongst others fitted perfectly in the narrative. Hereby opening the reader to a sea of knowledge.

 I describe Lola Shoneyin as a generous author because she did well to give the reader point of view of the various characters. The reader is given a back story of why a character chooses a certain path or reaction. We get to see the strength in the weakness of a particular character and vice versa.

Who is my fav character? 

There is an array of interesting characters. It felt like I knew them because of how insightful each character's personal journeys were narrated. 

Each of the wives completely different.
  Iya Segi which is the first wife of the household is one you can interpret as daring. She is a mastermind and can come off as controlling. 

Iya Tope the second wife likes playing in the background. Although withdrawn she is quite observant. 

Iya Femi's character is one we are all so familiar with. The sharp-tongued lady who sees herself superior to all and also very selfish. Although Iya Femi is the third wife she was the one who greatly rebelled against the addition of a new wife to the household. In as much as Iya Femi was rude and conniving, she was such a mama bear and if life had dealt with her easily she would have been better but then again, so is the case for all the other wives.

 Bolanle is the fourth wife of Baba Segi. Notice how she is addressed by her name Bolanle and not Iya which is a Yoruba word for mother.  Bolanle did not birth any children so she had to keep bearing her name. This goes a long way to show how much value the African society placed on children. 

Bolanle was sort of the centre of focus in this book. It is amazing how a university graduate would throw her hands in the air and decide to marry a man who had three wives. Bolanle according to the narrative was a child that showed so much promise and her getting married to Baba Segi came as a surprise. 

Bolanle being a victim of rape at the age of fifteen was eaten up by this gruesome experience that she lost herself. Her journey was a very brave one.

Baba Segi is my favourite character. This may seem odd but I found this particular character fascinating. Although Baba Segi has some pretty disgusting habits, he is, however, a character I like. This admiration is largely owed to the writer. I appreciate how the vulnerable side of Baba Segi was showed. This is something that we do not have the opportunity to see very often. In society, men mask their emotions and the movies and books have carried on with this narrative for far too long. We could see how Baba Segi struggled to be ' the man' as society dictates and also the struggle of just being human.

The most attractive trait of Baba Segi is his forgiving nature. Baba Segi's entire system rebels against bad energy. Anytime there is a piece of bad news or someone offends him, his entire system reacts to it. He has to quickly poop. This serves as a release for him. Its almost as if he passes out the bad energy into the toilet. I really liked this character.

The biggest lesson I learned from this book is that we should try to not be too hard on ourselves.

Have you read this book? Do you plan on reading this book? Do well to leave a comment so that we can discuss it. Check out my book review on YouTube below!