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aura_rurubele's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, and Vomit
Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, and Death of parent
Minor: Police brutality and Sexual harassment
It's just so good and phenomenally writtennoahsingh's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infertility, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Racism, Religious bigotry, Car accident, and Abortion
Minor: Addiction, Animal death, Confinement, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Colonisation, and Classism
bookishevy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives tells the story of Baba Segi, an uneducated but hardworking patriarch in Nigeria. Baba Segi has three wives: Iya Segi, Iya Trope and Iya Femi, and seven children. As the title suggests, each of these women has secrets. It's not until he introduces a fourth wife, the college educated Bolanle, that these secrets start to unravel.
The relationships between these wives are made even more complex when Bolanle enters the picture because she's so different from the others. She's educated, and they immediately see her as a threat they need to remove. Baba Segi leaves his wives to their own devices. As long as the chores are done, he's fed, and they are sexually available to him on their night he's happy. He's completely unaware of the battle for supremacy taking place under his roof.
I loved this story. I was going to get a physical copy, but after reading reviews of the audiobook, I downloaded it immediately. Author Shoneyin narrates and performs all of her characters, and I was thoroughly entertained. Each woman tells of how she became Baba Segi's wife and gives her perspective on what it's like living in a polygamist household - how a fourth wife means less time for each of them, having sex with a man who doesn't do foreplay, the pressure of not only giving him children but a male heir - and shares her feelings on the other wives. Every woman has a past, even one as naive as Bolanle. They each have their reasons for being his wife and doing what they do to maintain their marriages and keep a roof over their children's heads. But the first three wives share a secret, and when it comes out, I dare you not to howl with laughter. It's just too good. The hypocrisy, the sabotaging, the betrayal, the drama.
If you enjoy Nigerian soap operas, you would love this audiobook. Shoneyin is great in all of the roles, and her Baba Segi is especially hilarious.
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Child death and Domestic abuse
canascorner's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Infertility, Misogyny, Rape, and Sexism
Moderate: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Blood
ninamanon's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
What’s so brilliant about this book is that even with the multitude of characters, it was never very hard to distinguish them.
This is a tale about making the most of the hand you were dealt, and maybe above all, humbleness.
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
jjjreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed The Secret Lives Of Baba Segi’s Wives. One of the things that stood out for me was fabulous storytelling which felt strongly linked to an oral storytelling tradition, something no doubt enhanced by my listening to the wonderful audiobook.
Baba Segi, his three wives, and their children live harmoniously, until he introduces a fourth wife to the household, one who is younger and college educated. The three other wives are resentful and determine to get rid of Bolanle, convinced that she thinks she is better than them, and that she is stealing their husband’s time and attention. Meanwhile she seems unable to conceive which is a problem because he values children above all else. As the novel unfolds we learn the backstories of all four women and get to the bottom of Bolanle’s infertility.
This is a story that covers a lot of very heavy topics - domestic abuse, rape, and the death of a child - yet it didn’t feel like an overly heavy read. The heaviness was balanced by humour, frank, sarcastic and sexually open conversations, and a general over-the-top, soap opera like vibe. I couldn’t help admiring the resourcefulness of the women as they sought to gain what they wanted and develop some agency in their lives, while at the same time abhorring some of their actions. Polygamous marriages are not common in the West and I think the author did a great job in portraying the reality, the good and the bad, and why women might consent to entering one.
The story was very much rooted in the Nigerian culture, yet many of its points regarding gender roles and male-female relationships are more universal. Overall this is surprisingly entertaining, while still leaving the reader with something to think about.
Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Rape
hkburke2's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Rape, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
2treads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Baba Segi is an obnoxious and entitled man who has placed each wife and child in specific squares in his life and home as if he was setting a chess board, each move is controlled by his whim or so he believes. It is satisfying and sadistically gratifying to see how Shoneyin uses her sharp prose to effect this.
The four wives are compelling and brilliantly unfailingly human, each having been molded by their upbringing and individual disappointments, hardships, and violation. So to see how they in turn have chosen to retaliate is no surprise, though one wishes it wasn't so.
The ending felt a bit curtailed considering the build-up and left me wanting more, whether more of a blow-up to add to the already present drama of the plot or being privy to the altered behaviour of the wives.
Moderate: Domestic abuse
kaylamdean1's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment