The first wife cover

The first wife

by Paulina Chiziane

In this, a ground-breaking publication in the canon of non-Western women's literary history, Paulina Chiziani -- the first woman from Mozambique ever to publish a novel -- lifts the lid on her country's values and its hypocracies. After 20 years of marriage, Rami discovers that her husband has been living a double -- or rather, a quintuple -- life. After Tony is forced to marry the four other women -- as well as an additional lover -- according to polygamist custom, the rival lovers join together to declare their voices and demand their rights.

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?