THE SECRET LIVES OF BABA SEGI'S WIVES Paperback – 3 December 2020

Funny, real ... I discovered the author through this book. It has a french version but I should admit it, it’s way better in English.

Great blend of comedy and drama. This is my first African fiction. Motivated to read more now. Looking forward to read more from Lola.

The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives by Lola Shoneyin- 4🌟Content warnings: Rape, Child death, Domestic abuse, Body shaming, InfertilityWhen I began this book, I gave up on it two times before I gave it one final try and I am surprised to have loved this book. It is not the type of a story that I usually read and I didn’t see myself ever enjoying this story but it was one that I liked reading because it was beautifully written and near the end it got really better.--“The truth, they say, cannot hide itself forever. Even if it conceals itself at the bottom of a well, one day, drought will reveal it.”--Baba Segi has married another woman, Bolanle, she’s educated and she’s not the woman the other wives expected to be, now they have less nights with their husband because he has to spend his night with Bolanle as well. The only problem comes when Bolanle can’t get pregnant, that is when the other three wives decide it is time, they must teach her a lesson but, in this process, they bring to light a huge secret…I must say, I loved these women, not the way they behaved with each other but individually they were strong women, all of them having gone through some difficulty and they were beautifully carved out characters. I disliked they were when it came to their household, that really got on my nerves sometimes…This book is a perfect balance of humour and of the dark topics and I loved that aspect of this book, nothing is overbearing in this book and the most hilarious scene is the hospital scene, it had me laughing out loud. I loved the way the family dynamics are portrayed in the books and that Lola’s characters in this book were so different, all of them and it is quite surprising how all the POV’s were so different and versatile.--“A real woman must always do the things she wants to do, and in her own time too. You must never allow yourself to be rushed into doing things you're not ready for.”--I loved how we were given the back stories of each of the wife and Baba Segi too. While the backstory of Baba Segi was a little disheartening, it still didn’t warm me upto him and his character was still the one I truly disliked throughout the book because his patriarchal thoughts really frustrated me… when we are initially introduced to these wives and Baba Segi (who is very frustrating) so initially the main question was why would these women, who seemed to have such strong opinions, marry him, even Bolanle for that matter but then as you move forward you are given the reasons and wow, that part is so insightful and beautifully written.My only reason for giving it one less star would be for the fact that the change between some of the POV’s got really confusing to me and because sometimes the characters really got on my nerves.Overall, honestly, I’m still thinking about how this book ended because I can’t believe the way Shoneyin has put an end to it, I did not expect the secret and I was blown away by how serenely this book has come to an end. I would recommend this book for sure because it's an amazing story and it brings to light some very important topics. I’m floored… and I’m so excited to hear that this is going to turn into a Netflix show and I cannot wait! It would be so amazing to watch this!--“The choices we have to make in this world are hard and bitter. Sometimes we have no choices at all.”--