Words leave imprints in your mind like footprints in the sand...
beach reading
starry skies to read under
reading in nature
  • Location: Nigeria

The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives

The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives

Why a Booktrail?

2000s: A story of a Nigerian family

  • ISBN: 978-1846687495
  • Genre: Fiction

What you need to know before your trail

To the dismay of her ambitious mother, Bolanle marries into a polygamous family, where she is the fourth wife of a rich, rotund patriarch, Baba Segi. She is a graduate and therefore a great prize, but even graduates must produce children and her husband’s persistent bellyache is a sign that things are not as they should be. Bolanle is too educated for the ‘white garment conmen’ Baba Segi would usually go to for fertility advice, so he takes her to hospital to discover the cause of her barrenness.

Weaving the voices of Baba Segi and his four competing wives into a portrait of a clamorous household of twelve, Lola Shoneyin evokes an extraordinary Nigerian family in splashes of vibrant colour.

Travel Guide

Travel BookTrail style to Fictional Ayikara, Nigeria

map of Nigeria

map of Nigeria

Set in the fictional town of Ayikara

“It wasn’t a specific place but when you asked for direction, people looked away from their twirling wrists. There were three reasons for this. First, absolutely, no one wanted to admit to knowing where it was, in case their neighbours were listening. Second, Ayikara didn’t have distinct boundaries. Last, Ayikara was more than four or five parallel streets laced by lasciviousness: it was a spirit”.

BookTrail Boarding Pass: The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives

Destination:Nigeria, “Ayikara”   Author/guide:  Lola Shoneyin Departure Time: 2000s

Back to Results

Featured Book

Nephthys

1891: Sister. Rival. Protector. The spellbinding story of a forgotten daughter and a forgotten goddess.

Read more