Sunday, October 15, 2017

The First Wife: A Tale Of Polygamy by Paulina Chiziane



About this book:
Summary
Series/Trilogy/Stand-Alone, etcStand Alone
Release DateJuly 26, 2016 (First published 2002)
Page Count494
EditionPaperback
Genre(s)Women's Fiction, Culture-Africa, Feminism
Date(s) Read: 5/3/17-5/19/17
Rating 4.5/5   


This book was originally written in Portuguese by Paulina Chiziane then translated by David Brookshaw.

I happened to be walking around my favorite little used book store, Julia's Coffee & Books, then I happen to see this little short green book (short in height, not pages of course. As noted above). I take the book, along with others I had picked up along the way to look through. I finally get to this one, read a few pages and notice it's written almost poetically, and, it was beautifully written! Well, although I debated back and forth whether I wanted to get this book or not, there was just something that would not let me put this book back. I knew there was a chance of it making me mad and at some points, it did, but it wasn't always what I thought it would be. It was the wife, Rami, that sometimes made me mad with her going back and forth about what she should do. The more I read, the more I began to realize the why of why she did what she did and believed how she did. 

The culture and beliefs of men and women of the area, held a lot of beliefs many of us, in many parts of the world are just not used to seeing. We know it exists, but when you actually see or read about it, sometimes, reality just slaps you in the face and this book is that slap! 

The reason I gave this book a 4.5/5 stars is because some things were quite repetitive and could have been left out. Much of it seemed like it was just fillers and I found myself getting frustrated for those reasons and part of the reason it took me so long to get through it and why I kept getting bored. The other reason? Well, I am still not in much of a reading mood. I just read when I felt like it, some days I read more than others. Sometimes, I may only read a paragraph or a page then close the book and wouldn't pick it up for a couple of days. 

Saying all of that, I do think this is my favorite book of the year. Not because it was giving all the wonderful feels that normally favorite books give but because it made me think about my own life in some areas. Opened my eyes to other things that go on in this world or, maybe help me to remember/realize, things in our country aren't perfect, women sometimes get treated like dirt and we still have along, long, long way to go, we have also come a long way as well (and not just with women's rights but also in race relations & human rights as a whole). That, dear people, is why I have to put this down as one of my favorites! Anything that can make me realize things about myself and how things could be better or worse, is a great reason to add it to My Favorite Things/Reads!



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