Description

Named one of the five best dark comedy novels of all time by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction
Coming soon to Netflix

‘Comic, tragic, topical and entertaining in equal measure’ – Bernardine Evaristo

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 considered a great prize in Nigeria, but even graduates must produce children and her husband’s persistent bellyache is a sign that things are not as they should be. She only wants to escape to a quiet life, but the others disapprove of the newest, youngest, cleverest addition to the family. Treated with respect by her husband, she is viewed with suspicion by her seniors – who fear she may unlock their well-guarded secret.

Through the voices of Baba Segi and his four wives, Lola Shoneyin weaves a vibrant story of love, secrets and a family like every other – happy and unhappy, truthful and not, sometimes kind, sometimes competitive, always bound by blood, and the past.

Publisher Review

Comic, tragic, topical and entertaining in equal measure -- Bernardine Evaristo Heavy issues, but her touch is so skillful that she finds redeeming features in even her wickedest characters, and comedy even in violence and cruelty * Guardian * A funny and moving story told with love and compassion ... a jewel of a novel -- Petina Gappah A Rabelaisian picture of polygamous marriage, comically capturing the physical realities of ordinary Nigerian life. -- Giles Foden 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 Riotous... this debut novel is a real eye-opener: a deft, compelling and unsettling tale. -- Ailin Quinlan * Irish Examiner *