Afi is a seamstress from a humble village in Ho, Ghana, whose family has promised marriage to the son of a wealthy entrepreneur.
His name is Elikem Ganyo, affectionately called Eli by all who know him. Eli is devastatingly handsome, he’s rich, he’s tall and – well he’s a bit too busy. In fact, he’s so busy he’s absent at his own wedding and in the first two months of his marriage! There is also another small matter – Eli already has a wife.
“Elikem married me in absentia; he did not come to our wedding.”
His Only Wife opens up and we are thrust into the midst of a traditional marriage ceremony. The food barrels are ready, guests are waiting, and Afi is being prepped and primed for the ceremony about to take place. Yet the unease she’s feeling is more than just wedding day jitters. Afi is anxious as hell; she’s about to enter into a marriage she had no say in; a wedding where her groom is AWOL. The ceremony (and marriage) has been planned by outside agents to appease her mother’s benefactor, Eli’s mother who’s simply referred to as “Auntie” throughout the book. In fact, the whole community in the village in Ho are relying on Afi “making good” with this marriage. Afi’s feelings seem to be a minute detail in the larger picture.
A husband in absentia
Days after the ceremony Afi is whisked away to Accra, not by her new husband as one would expect, but by her mother where she is to begin her life as Mrs. Ganyo. Any woman would be excited to be the wife of one of Ghana’s most loved men and an addition to the most esteemed family in Accra. But what is marriage when your own husband hasn’t even been in the same room as you yet or hasn’t laid eyes on you or held your hand? And what is love when you’re denied access to your marital home? That’s right, Afi is made to wait weeks whilst stowed away in a plush hotel somewhere all the while being told to ” be patient” and just enjoy her new life.
In chapter four when Eli finally steps into the scene via the threshold of Afi’s hotel room, we come to discover he’s actually a very pleasant guy; from their first encounter, he’s seemingly kind and affectionate to her. Not only is the description of him very generous, his work ethic, his lovemaking, his mannerisms in fact everything we are told about him is so sexy that from the outside looking in, even I had to catch my breath.
View this post on Instagram
His other wife or his only wife?
Eli and Afi finally settle into a pattern that initially seems to work. Eli’s “other wife” may seem out of Afi’s peripheral vision, but who knows if she’s out of the picture altogether? Afi’s shyness slowly unravels as she takes to being Eli’s wife – cooking his meals, cleaning after him, allowing him to shower her with affection, and sleeping with him at night.
“How can I be a good wife with no husband by my side?”
She even accepts his busy work schedule and her inlaws strutting in and out of her home (that she was finally allowed to move into) at their will. In return, Afi is allowed to pursue a career in fashion. She eventually acquires a storefront in an affluent area in Accra, where she opens her fashion house. The couple finally has a son – Selorm, who Afi is sure or at least hopeful will finally put rumours to bed, cement her place firmly in the Ganyo family, and take up every inch of Eli’s heart so there is no room for anyone else.
Enjoying this? You may also want to read: Book Review | The Returnees
So, the question is, is Afi and Eli Ganyo’s marriage everlasting? Is Afi his only wide, or just his other wife? I would hate to ruin it for you so you would have to read His Only Wife yourself!
From family to feminism
What was most beautiful to see whilst reading His Only Wife was the personal journey Afi embarks on. At the beginning of the book, we meet a timid and anxious bride to be who is unable to advocate for herself. When she first arrives in Accra, from Ho she is more or less like a puppet with far too many people controlling her thoughts and actions. In contrast, Afi’s last moments in the book paints a woman who has shaken off the shackles of other people’s opinions and has taken control of her life. I must commend Peace Adzo Medie, the author for this theme of feminism that gradually flowers throughout the course of the story. especially as the story is set in a country like Ghana, where going against the grain is anything but celebrated.
The other obvious themes are love, marriage, culture, poverty, wealth and family. Although the themes are serious, there is a lot of humour to be found between the lines.
Unapologetically Ghanaian
What I also loved was just how unapologetically Ghanaian the book is (I’m biased, I know.) It was also refreshing to move away from the Akan-centrism that so often characterises Ghanaian literature. I felt like Afi’s world also gave me access to Ewe culture.
I will repeat this again, although Eli is a deeply flawed character (in fact they all are, which made the characters so complex and believable) for the most part, I found him sexy! Yes I am speaking this passionately about a made-up person in a book, and yes Eli, like Afi, was also a puppet on his mother’s string, but chai! The author describes the heck out of him! It’s not just his looks, but his mannerisms. In fact, Eli seems like a formidable man, until I realise how terribly he has treated Afi!
A well-written story?
There are some books that come your way that just embrace you as you flip its pages. The characters and places are all so familiar without being predictable, and as a reader you find yourself nestling comfortably between the paragraphs. This is how His Only Wife made me feel. I enjoyed exploring pockets of Accra and Ho whilst I read and felt like I wasn’t yet ready to leave Afi when the story drew to a close. In short – I was invested.
Despite how much I enjoyed the story, there are a few elements that annoyed me. For example, there was Tɔgã Pious, Afi’s cantankerous and self-serving uncle whose presence only every soured things for Afi. I could feel myself tense up whenever he entered the scene (and yes. Pious is his name). There there is Yaya. She’s Eli’s swank and seemingly free-spirited sister and the youngest of the Ganyo clan, who despite her apparent enlightenment and trendiness failed to deviate from the family’s toxic allegiance to its matriarch who Afi simply referred to as “Aunty”.
To conclude, I would recommend His Only Wife for anyone looking for a bit of drama, a dash of humour, some woman empowerment, and a measure of heartbreak. Go for it – you won’t regret it!
