The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives
Summary
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The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives by Lola Shoneyin
To the dismay of her ambitious mother, Bolanle marries into a polygamous family, where she is the fourth wife of a rich, rotund patriarch, Baba Segi. She is a graduate and therefore a great prize, but even graduates must produce children and her husband's persistent bellyache is a sign that things are not as they should be.
A Rabelaisian picture of polygamous marriage,comically capturing the physical realities of ordinary Nigerian life-- Giles Foden
A funny and moving story told with love and compassion ... a jewel of a novel -- Petina Gappah
Riotous... this debut novel is a real eye-opener: a deft, compelling and unsettling tale. -- Ailin Quinlan * Irish Examiner *
This deft, lightly spun story packs quite a punch. Shoneyin's unravelling of a family is rooted in and flavoured by Nigeria, but speaks more widely. It is a book you'll want to eat in a sitting - and then start again -- Diran Adebayo
This first novel is a compelling, unsettling tale of a polygamous household and the women within Baba Segi's walls. Shoneyin's sharply written portrait of a family and a nation gripped by the past, yet surging into modernity, manages to be funny, disconcerting and violent all at once. An utterly gripping read. -- Patricia Duncker
A rich debut... an engrossing and beautifully written domestic tale of polygamy and rivalry set in her native Nigeria. * Harper's Bazaar *
Riveting... a truly compelling tale... -- Davina Morris * The Voice *
An engrossing portrayal of a polygamous household... a rich portrait of a family on the verge of collapse. -- Yasmin Sulaiman * The List *
An insightful and compelling tale set within a polygamous household * Pride *
A novel of clamorous intensity. With such Chaucerian tumult, one expects comedy and there is certainly some humour here, but much pain too... Shoneyin's language is that of a poet, both extravagant and exact... Well-structured and with a gratifying resolution. -- Jane Housham * Guardian *
Exquisitely written... Shoneyin's prose is by turns violent, evocative, witty, humane and gripping. -- Danuta Kean * Mslexia *
A bodacious first novel -- Bernadine Evaristo * Wasafiri *
A funny and moving story told with love and compassion ... a jewel of a novel -- Petina Gappah
Riotous... this debut novel is a real eye-opener: a deft, compelling and unsettling tale. -- Ailin Quinlan * Irish Examiner *
This deft, lightly spun story packs quite a punch. Shoneyin's unravelling of a family is rooted in and flavoured by Nigeria, but speaks more widely. It is a book you'll want to eat in a sitting - and then start again -- Diran Adebayo
This first novel is a compelling, unsettling tale of a polygamous household and the women within Baba Segi's walls. Shoneyin's sharply written portrait of a family and a nation gripped by the past, yet surging into modernity, manages to be funny, disconcerting and violent all at once. An utterly gripping read. -- Patricia Duncker
A rich debut... an engrossing and beautifully written domestic tale of polygamy and rivalry set in her native Nigeria. * Harper's Bazaar *
Riveting... a truly compelling tale... -- Davina Morris * The Voice *
An engrossing portrayal of a polygamous household... a rich portrait of a family on the verge of collapse. -- Yasmin Sulaiman * The List *
An insightful and compelling tale set within a polygamous household * Pride *
A novel of clamorous intensity. With such Chaucerian tumult, one expects comedy and there is certainly some humour here, but much pain too... Shoneyin's language is that of a poet, both extravagant and exact... Well-structured and with a gratifying resolution. -- Jane Housham * Guardian *
Exquisitely written... Shoneyin's prose is by turns violent, evocative, witty, humane and gripping. -- Danuta Kean * Mslexia *
A bodacious first novel -- Bernadine Evaristo * Wasafiri *
Lola Shoneyin has published three collections of poems and a children's book. The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives is her debut novel. In 2014 she was named on the Hay Festival's Africa39 list of 39 Sub-Saharan African writers aged under 40. Shoneyin is the director of Ake Arts and Book Festival. She lives in Lagos, Nigeria.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781846687495 |
| ISBN 10 | 1846687497 |
| Title | The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives |
| Author | Lola Shoneyin |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Profile Books Ltd |
| Year published | 2011-01-06 |
| Number of pages | 256 |
| Prizes | Winner of PEN Oakland-Josephine Miles Literary Award 2011 (UK), Short-listed for Nigeria Prize for Literature 2012 (UK), Long-listed for Orange Prize 2011 (UK) |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |