What do readers think of The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives by Lola Shoneyin? Write your own review.

The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives was a First Impressions book from BookBrowse. It is by a Nigerian author, Lola Shoneyin and about a family in Nigeria. A man, Baba Segi has four wives. Each wife is name Iya and then the name of their oldest child, Iya Segi, Iya Tope, Iya Femi and his newest wife Bolanle. She is not named for a child as she has not had a child yet. The story is about the family and its struggles. Each wife have a secret that is part of the story. The secrets come out in various chapters as you read the book. Each secret is hidden from Baba Segi while he nominally knows all as the father. With the addition of the newest wife, previous secrets are exposed. Each step taken by a wife has ramifications that cause a whole series of other secrets to be exposed. The ending has a kick, which always makes a novel more interesting.

Lola Shoneyin's debut novel is one of passion and secrecy, fear and love, strength and weakness. Each characteristic played out over time in equal amounts in all characters.

I found the parts about the Nigeria that were shown in the books to be fascinating and horrifying. The accepted treatment of women in another culture never fails to make me grateful for the culture I have been raised in.

The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives takes place in present day Nigeria and tells the story of Baba Segi and his four wives and seven children. Much of the novel is narrated by Bolanle, the last wife. Her entrance into the family causes turmoil above and beyond the usual upheaval that occurs when a new wife is taken, as it exposes a secret that will change the family forever.

While the novel is set in an unfamiliar world, both geographically and culturally, the author makes you feel as though you know these people because the stories they live out and the emotions they display are common to people the world over. And because each of the women has a fully developed back-story that explains how they came to participate in the marriage, the reader easily understands why they act the way they do. Apart from the fact that the characters seem to jump off the page, the machinations of the family are fascinating. In particular, the first wife, Iya Segi, is wickedly Machiavellian in her running of the household, although her attempt to insure her place of superiority amongst the wives ultimately ends in tragedy for her.

Apart from the richly drawn characters, the author spins a gripping story that kept my attention throughout until the poignant ending. When I finished this book, I felt as though I were returning from a far-off world and while I’m glad to be home, I thoroughly enjoyed the journey.

Lola Shoneyin's The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives provided a realistic peek into the lives of 4 Nigerian women and the husband they share. I enjoyed getting to know the 4 women and their stories; how they each ended up married to Baba Segi and why. I also felt I received a small insight into the everyday Nigerian's life. Although, I found the use of local terms and language a little difficult to follow.
I felt myself loosing interest in the middle of the book. But I was glad that I finished the book in order to discern the secrets of each woman.

Overall, I would recommend the book. It did make me want to read some more books about Nigeria and the lives of the people there.

The story surrounds the impact the addition of a fourth wife, Bolanle, has on Baba Segi's household. Bolanle is university educated, something the other wives are not. Not all is as it seems as jealousy and a family secret threaten them all. The book was a little difficult to read, as the chapters are written in first person from the view of each of the wives, and it is not always easy to determine which wife is "speaking".

As I was initially introduced to the first three wives of Baba Segi, I did not really like them or care about them. Once they each told their story and how they became a wife of Baba Segi, I found some compassion for them, especially Iya Tope, who showed kindness to Bolanle.

The attitude toward Bolanle by the wives was not well developed enough for me and the "secrets" were too predictable.

I think book clubs would have much to discuss with this book with the different emotional themes.

Although enjoyable, this book didn't provide enough depth of the characters--it left me feeling rather unattached. It was a quick read which left me wishing that I had gotten more emotionally invested in the story. Some book clubs may enjoy it for a light summer read, but I prefer a little more to chew on!

The women who tell the story in The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives seem vaguely familiar! They demonstrate some of the worst traits that women can have – not unlike the TV reality series that some enjoy. As a huge fan of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and her unforgettable novels (Purple Hibiscus and Half a Yellow Sun), I looked forward to discovering another great African writer and learning more about Nigeria. What disappointed me about this book, although at times amusing, was how very little I learned. I also found it a tad difficult to identify the various ‘voices’ telling the story. Although not a bad read, to me it bordered on being ‘pulp’fiction. It’s not a book I would chose for the book discussion groups I lead.

The author presents the story of Baba Segi and his four wives by having each chapter narrated from the point of view of the different characters. It was interesting the way all the different narratives wove into an over all story. The author writes in a very descriptive, lyrical style. I especially liked her description of Baba Segi as a “flatulent pig”. It fitted him perfectly. However, there was way too much other detailed description of the workings of the characters’ digestive systems and bodily fluids. I think this book would have been better condensed into a short story form.