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<div class="text-justify">I finally got back my desire to read again. For any bibliophile, it can be a struggle to pick up a book and read or scroll to your mobile library. Often, this can be due to a lack of time. I recently got a new job as a business Analyst for an insurance brokerage firm and I have been navigating the documentation, and the settling-in hurdle for the past few weeks. I also got a few weeks of holiday, so I was able to catch up on some reading. I was randomly strolling through my (x) Twitter feed when I saw a post by someone of a book. I was interested as it was a local novel, plus it had a pretty interesting title. I tasked the person to read with me, and so began the journey a few months ago. I have been saying that I wanted to read more books by local authors, so this was a perfect pick. Almost every day for the last few months; anytime I am commuting back from work, there I was, staring at my phone, enjoying this book. Those evenings were something I always looked forward to. I finally finished the book a few days ago, and now I have decided to put pen to paper; or should I say, hand to keyboard and write a review of it.</div>

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- Author - Lola Shoneyin
- Title - The Secrets Life of Baba Segi's Wives
- Genre - Play, Fiction
- Published - 2010

#### ABOUT THE BOOK 

<div class="text-justify">The story is about an overweight Nigerian man prone to flatulence coupled with his chauvinistic nature. He is polygamous in nature, and so marries four wives. The story unfolds as, Baba Segi (the protagonist) adds a new bride (Bolanle), the fourth, into the fold. She is a graduate, the only educated one in the entire household, and as expected, her introduction isn't fully welcomed by the household. The story revolves around the secret lives these women lived, as opposed to the type of life they portray to their husband. The revelation at the end is quite an unexpected one. The first wife seems to have been leading a different life and even ropes the other wives in with her. A story plagued with, the themes of love, betrayal, Child abuse, patriarchy, etc. The book won the PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Literary Award in 2011 and the ANA Ken Saro-Wiwa Prose Prize in the same year.</div>

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<div class="text-justify">Every single time I was reading this while commuting, I was always grinning. It was a joy read. For one reason. it was totally relatable. Maybe not the 21st-century Nigeria, but It definitely had that N<i>Nigerianess</i> in it. The author touched on the oppression and prejudice suffered by women. How they are deprived of education and relegated to the back seat of their own life. How they are abused, raped, and turned into "baby makers". Everybody should be a women's rights activist. The book evoked all the emotions for me. One moment I was smiling and grinding, the next minute, I felt disgusted and appalled at the horror meted at women. A very evocative piece. I did enjoy reading this, and it surely has kindled the flames of reading again.</div>