Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

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

6 reviews

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

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

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

 
I really enjoyed The Secret Lives Of Baba Segi’s Wives. One of the things that stood out for me was fabulous storytelling which felt strongly linked to an oral storytelling tradition, something no doubt enhanced by my listening to the wonderful audiobook.

Baba Segi, his three wives, and their children live harmoniously, until he introduces a fourth wife to the household, one who is younger and college educated. The three other wives are resentful and determine to get rid of Bolanle, convinced that she thinks she is better than them, and that she is stealing their husband’s time and attention. Meanwhile she seems unable to conceive which is a problem because he values children above all else. As the novel unfolds we learn the backstories of all four women and get to the bottom of Bolanle’s infertility.

This is a story that covers a lot of very heavy topics - domestic abuse, rape, and the death of a child - yet it didn’t feel like an overly heavy read. The heaviness was balanced by humour, frank, sarcastic and sexually open conversations, and a general over-the-top, soap opera like vibe. I couldn’t help admiring the resourcefulness of the women as they sought to gain what they wanted and develop some agency in their lives, while at the same time abhorring some of their actions. Polygamous marriages are not common in the West and I think the author did a great job in portraying the reality, the good and the bad, and why women might consent to entering one.

The story was very much rooted in the Nigerian culture, yet many of its points regarding gender roles and male-female relationships are more universal. Overall this is surprisingly entertaining, while still leaving the reader with something to think about. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Child death, Domestic abuse, and Rape

hkburke2's review against another edition

dark emotional funny 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

4.25

Such VIVID writing - each character has such a distinct voice. I love a book that slowly unfurls motivations and back story that "makes it make sense." Great listen. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny

Moderate: Rape, Car accident, Gaslighting, Medical content, Abortion, Infertility, Infidelity, Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Grief

lemerrier's review

challenging emotional funny informative sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Infertility, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, and Slavery