"It wasn't easy being the key to other people's happiness, their victory, and their vindication."

HIS ONLY WIFE is domestic fiction that showcases family connections and cultures in contemporary Ghana while telling a universal story about a young woman balancing the expectations of two families and finding her place in the world. The writing is descriptive without being heavy — deftly evoking both the rural village life and the big city energy of Accra.

This wasn't an entirely satisfying read for me, but it had a strong sense of place and culture, which I love, and offered lots of themes and food for thought, including the meaning and priorities of marriage, matriarchal manipulation in a world of patriarchal power, community and family, culture and legacy, education and opportunity, gratitude and obligation, socioeconomic disparity, expectation vs reality, security vs independence, and a wealth of material to mine for thoughts on female gendered roles in society and relationships.