They will teach her instead, they vow, and open their husbands eyes to this wicked wind who has upturned the tranquility of their home.īolanle’s mother worked hard to educate her daughter and save her from a life of polygamy and dependence. How dare she offer to teach them to read. How dare she not know her place, they whisper. Jealous and resentful of this interloper who is stealing their husband’s attention, Baba’s three wives, begin to plan her downfall. All is well in this patriarchal home, until Baba arrives with wife number four, a quiet, college-educated, young woman named Bolanle. When Baba Segi woke up with a bellyache for the sixth day in a row, he knew it was time to do something drastic about his fourth wife’s childlessness.įor Baba Segi, his collection of wives and gaggle of children are a symbol of prosperity, success, and a validation of his manhood. The Secret lives of Baba Segi Wives book By Lola Shoneyin With an Introduction by Biyi Bandele Read more ‘A great book, that bespeaks a great, brave, kind, human spirit’ John Updike ‘The writer in whose company the prison walls fell down’ Nelson Mandela ‘His courage and generosity are made manifest in the work’ Toni Morrison This arresting parable of a proud but powerless man witnessing the ruin of his people begins Achebe’s landmark trilogy of works chronicling the fate of one African community, continued in Arrow of God and No Longer at Ease. With his world thrown radically off-balance he can only hurtle towards tragedy.įirst published in 1958, Chinua Achebe’s stark, coolly ironic novel reshaped both African and world literature, and has sold over ten million copies in forty-five languages. Then Okonkwo returns from exile to find missionaries and colonial governors have arrived in the village. But when he accidentally kills a clansman, things begin to fall apart. Okonkwo is the greatest wrestler and warrior alive, and his fame spreads throughout West Africa like a bush-fire in the harmattan.

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