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September 3, 2020
Peace Adzo Medie's Playlist for Her Novel "His Only Wife"
In the Book Notes series, authors create and discuss a music playlist that relates in some way to their recently published book.
Previous contributors include Jesmyn Ward, Lauren Groff, Bret Easton Ellis, Celeste Ng, T.C. Boyle, Dana Spiotta, Amy Bloom, Aimee Bender, Roxane Gay, and many others.
Peace Adzo Medie’s novel His Only Wife is a smart, poignant, and engaging debut.
The New York Times wrote of the book:
"Peace Adzo Medie’s mesmerizing debut novel lives up to both the power of its first sentence and the promise of its author’s first name. This is not a book to read with one eye on a beach volleyball tournament; it’s a story to soak up in silence, on a long, cloudy afternoon when you have time to think . . . At a time when adventure is scarce, Medie gives you a lot to look forward to, think about and be grateful for."
In her own words, here is Peace Adzo Medie's Book Notes music playlist for her debut novel His Only Wife:
His Only Wife is a novel about many things: independence, obligations to family, class divides. But at the heart of the novel is a love triangle. Afi is married to Eli, who did not show up for their wedding. And Eli is in a relationship with another woman, Muna. Afi and Eli are under pressure from their families to make the marriage work and Afi is determined to be Eli’s only wife. While I don’t listen to music while writing (because I’ve not yet figured out how to sing and dance while writing), I can think of many songs that capture the dynamics of this love triangle, and even some lyrics that sound like they were written by my characters and that I can imagine them singing.
Brandy and Monica, “The Boy is Mine” 1998
This '90s hit perfectly embodies Afi, Eli, and Muna’s relationship. When Brandy and Monica chorus “You need to give it up/Had about enough/It’s not hard to see/The boy is mine,” they might as well be Afi, declaring that she’s the only wife.
Yemi Alade, “Johnny”, 2014
Yemi Alade sings about a man, Johnny, who has cheated on her with multiple women, even impregnating one and promising to marry another. Yet she is still looking for him for reasons I don’t entirely understand. She tells us: “I’m looking for my Johnny/Where is my Johnny?” In this song she is like Afi, who knows she’s not the only one, yet is still wondering where her man is.
Whitney Houston, “How Will I Know”, 1985
In this song, the inimitable Ms. Houston asks, “How will I know if he really loves me?” and echoes the problem that confronts Afi. From the beginning of their relationship, Afi is wondering if Eli likes her, then, if her loves her, and then, if he loves her more than Muna. She is tortured by this, can’t sleep at night. She wants to know if Eli loves her!
Adele, “Set Fire to the Rain,” 2011
Adele’s lyrics express Afi’s longing and how she feels about Eli as their relationship develops: “'Cause there's a side to you/That I never knew, never knew/All the things you'd say/ They were never true, never true/And the games you play/You would always win, always win.” As she gets bolder, Afi is able to tell Eli how she feels and what she thinks about him. But it takes a while for her to get there.
Davido, “Fia,” 2017
The chorus of this track might as well have been written by Eli: “I love you, no mean say, if you say make I put one hand for fia/ Fia fia burn am/ I go put hand for fia ooh.” Davido is singing about the limits of his love. He’s not going to put his hand in fire just because the woman he loves has asked him to. Similarly, Eli eventually makes clear to Afi what the limits of his love are, what he’s willing and unwilling to do for her.
Ebony, “Date Ur Fada,” 2017
Ebony is an immensely talented Ghanaian artiste, who sadly left us too soon. I love her music and her willingness to sing about topics like intimate partner violence and transactional relationships between men and women. In this song she issues a scandalous threat to a man: “If you break my heart I will date your father/you’re gonna be my son, you will call me your mother.” This sounds like a threat that Afi’s friend, Evelyn, would make. Evelyn is Afi’s neighbour and is also, Eli’s brother’s girlfriend. Afi relies on her for advice, which she willingly gives, including telling Afi to love with her head instead of her heart.
Beyoncé, “Irreplaceable,” 2006
This is another song that reminds me of Evelyn, who, I will admit, is a character that I love. She doesn’t hesitate to replace her boyfriend when he begins playing games and laughs unapologetically, a champagne flute in her perfectly manicured hand, while telling Afi about how much better the new boyfriend is.
Peace Adzo Medie is a Ghanaian writer and Senior Lecturer in Gender and International Politics at the University of Bristol in England. Prior to that she was a Research Fellow at the University of Ghana. She has published several short stories, and her book, Global Norms and Local Action: The Campaigns to End Violence Against Women in Africa will be published by Oxford University Press in 2020. She is an award-winning scholar and has been awarded several fellowships. She holds a PhD in Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh and a BA in Geography from the University of Ghana. She was born in Liberia.
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