His Only Wife Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, Contemporary Ghanaian Women Writers and our BookBrowse Review of His Only Wife.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. How does the opening sentence reflect the rest of the novel? What does it lead you to expect about how Afi and Eli's relationship would develop?
2. How much do Afi's mother and her other relatives influence Afi's decision to marry Eli? Do you think she would have agreed to the union if this pressure were absent? Do you think women in your society are also subject to pressure to get married? If so, where does it come from and what does it look like?
3. Do you think Afi's decision to marry Eli was the right one? Why?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Algonquin Books. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.