Turn left out of the lift or at the top of the stairs and go through the arch.
What's it about
Meet the man of the house: Plump and prosperous, he has seven children, but his desire for more just might be his undoing.
And his wives: The first will stop at nothing to rule the house. The second is shy and timid - her life is shadowed by fear. The third is a schemer with crimson lips and expensive tastes. And the fourth doesn't know it, but she has the power to unmask them all.
About the author
Lola Shoneyin has published three collections of poems. The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives is her first novel. Having lived in London and the South East for for several years, Lola Shoneyin now in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, where she teaches drama and English at a local school.
More information on Lola's website.
What Lola says about her book
The Guardian
BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour
BBC World Services' The Strand
What they say about it
A funny and moving story told with love and compassion ...
a jewel of a novel.
Pettina Gappah
This deft, lightly spun story packs quite a punch.
Diran Adebayo
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… engrossing and beautifully written. Harpers Bazaar
Rabelaisian… comically capturing the physical realities of ordinary Nigerian life.
Giles Foden
Riveting… truly compelling. The Voice
A rich portrait… a real eye opener: a deft, compelling and unsettling tale. Irish Examiner
Vividly written with a poet's eye, this novel reveals its secrets with humour, verve and poignancy.
Beverly Naidoo
Reviews
From South Africa The Orange Prize Project
The Mimi Magazine The Nigerian Voice Be warned spoilers in this one.
First Impressions
Only just started reading TSLoBSW on the way back from the July's Black Reading Group meeting. Loving it already - it draws you in, with its wonderful descriptive style of writing. I cannot understand why a woman - any woman would want to be in such a relationship, but my mind is agog with the fact that 1 in 3 women in Nigeria is in such a marriage. That is millions & millions of people. I think that this book is going to take us on a fascinating journey. The response to the selection of this book for the group has been totally positive, so many people in the book group are looking forward to having their say on the topic of polygamous marriages.
The question that is fresh in my mind from today's discussion, is an issue that this book also shares with the July read. It is, should we expect more of books that have been picked out? This too is a book that was listed for the Orange Prize. Are we guaranteed a more satisfying read, because others have already indicated that this book is better than others? What does being long-listed or shortlisted for one of the big literature prizes mean for the reader?
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