Reviews tagging 'Child death'

The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives by Lola Shoneyin

21 reviews

bookishevy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I saw this book on Instagram last month and, after reading the synonsis, had to have it. The audiobook did not disappoint. 

The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives tells the story of Baba Segi,  an uneducated but hardworking patriarch in Nigeria. Baba Segi has three wives: Iya Segi, Iya Trope and Iya Femi, and seven children. As the title suggests, each of these women has secrets. It's not until he introduces a fourth wife, the college educated Bolanle, that these secrets start to unravel. 

The relationships between these wives are made even more complex when Bolanle enters the picture because she's so different from the others. She's educated, and they immediately see her as a threat they need to remove. Baba Segi leaves his wives to their own devices. As long as the chores are done, he's fed, and they are sexually available to him on their night he's happy. He's completely unaware of the battle for supremacy taking place under his roof. 

I loved this story. I was going to get a physical copy, but after reading reviews of the audiobook, I downloaded it immediately. Author Shoneyin narrates and performs all of her characters, and I was thoroughly entertained. Each woman tells of how she became Baba Segi's wife and gives her perspective on what it's like living in a polygamist household - how a fourth wife means less time for each of them, having sex with a man who doesn't do foreplay, the pressure of not only giving him children but a male heir - and shares her feelings on the other wives. Every woman has a past, even one as naive as Bolanle. They each have their reasons for being his wife and doing what they do to maintain their marriages and keep a roof over their children's heads. But the first three wives share a secret, and when it comes out, I dare you not to howl with laughter. It's just too good. The hypocrisy, the sabotaging, the betrayal, the drama. 

If you enjoy Nigerian soap operas, you would love this audiobook. Shoneyin is great in all of the roles, and her Baba Segi is especially hilarious. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Child death and Domestic abuse

irie_e's review

emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Rape

Moderate: Abortion and Grief

lalam04's review

adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I laughed so hard! Iya Femi's manipulation of bible verses to fit her agenda is too funny! Also, what a vindictive and vicious woman!

There are some dark themes in it, but it's overall a funny read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, and Child death

danielnski's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Infertility

Moderate: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Abandonment, Sexism, and Child death

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

oliviamarieja's review

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Rape, Child death, and Sexual violence

alisair's review

dark emotional funny sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Thisread was truly enjoyable. I really loved that you got a chance to read the perspective of each wife as well as their husband. It allowed you to gain more insight on their childhood, and their background before they met their husband. You got the full essence of what their lives were like before and their traumatic experiences that molded their current personality. This also impacted the decisions they made within their lives. It was very fast paced and well written. I didn't necessarily love all the characters but I understood them. However, this book has some very triggering topics about abuse, so I would read with caution.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Infertility, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Grief, Kidnapping, Self harm, Vomit, Child death, Death, and Child abuse

canascorner's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Sexism, Bullying, Misogyny, and Rape

Moderate: Child death, Death, Sexual content, Blood, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

smiti_nathan's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

I  listened to this as an audiobook, and it blew me away. The author, Lola Shoneyin, did an excellent job narrating the novel and her oration brought it to life for me. It's a quick-paced book that I enjoyed on a long-haul plane ride. My favorite part of the book was how she built up the complexity and humanity of her main characters, especially all four of Baba Segi's wives, and a few side characters. Many of the backstories were heartbreaking (i.e., TW for graphic sexual assault), and the author did a fantastic job of balancing heartbreak, tragedy, humor, and hope. The ending was quite satisfying.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Child death, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Sexism

Minor: Police brutality

ninamanon's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

What a cleverly crafted story! I enjoyed every inch of it, every point of view, every insight into all the characters. Even if you want to, you can’t hate any of them. The most heinous acts are motivated by the most tragic backstory’s. 
What’s so brilliant about this book is that even with the multitude of characters, it was never very hard to distinguish them. 
This is a tale about making the most of the hand you were dealt, and maybe above all, humbleness. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Excrement, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Blood, Infertility, Sexism, Alcoholism, Grief, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Abortion, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Violence, Vomit, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Classism, Cursing, and Death

jjjreads's review

dark informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Classism, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Ableism, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, and Vomit