Summary of Aida Edemariam's The Wife's Tale

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The attention turned to her. She had tried to concentrate on the unfamiliar shapes of words, and distinguish between the voices. She had tried to stand still, but she was restless. She wished she was out there playing.

#2 The church service was long and tedious, and after it was complete, the women began their feast. They had been cooking for weeks, and the food was delicious.

#3 The next morning, the bride was given a new underdress. Then another, for warmth and volume. The main dress was a mass of soft white muslin edged in red. A necklace, corded black silk wound round with delicate gold chains, so long on her eight-year-old body that its two stubby gold crowns swung well below her waist.

#4 The slave girl, Wulé, walked alongside the bridal party. The second day, the groomsmen made their way to the bridal hut. The silence was deafening. The fourth day, the groomsman told her the story of the cat and the mouse.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Jun 2, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822526723

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Insights on Aida Edemariam's The Wife's Tale

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The attention turned to her. She had tried to concentrate on the unfamiliar shapes of words, and distinguish between the voices. She had tried to stand still, but she was restless. She wished she was out there playing.

#2

The church service was long and tedious, and after it was complete, the women began their feast. They had been cooking for weeks, and the food was delicious.

#3

The next morning, the bride was given a new underdress. Then another, for warmth and volume. The main dress was a mass of soft white muslin edged in red. A necklace, corded black silk wound round with delicate gold chains, so long on her eight-year-old body that its two stubby gold crowns swung well below her waist.

#4

The slave girl, Wulé, walked alongside the bridal party. The second day, the groomsmen made their way to the bridal hut. The silence was deafening. The fourth day, the groomsman told her the story of the cat and the mouse.

#5

The wedding was over, and the little party left the bridal hut and walked into the das. It smelled of incense, food, and stale beer. The reeds and wildflowers that had been strewn across the ground were bruised and limp.

#6

When she heard her name called, she didn’t answer. She was the wife of a big man now, and she didn’t want to come down. She was afraid of her father, who was a fast walker and a fast talker. He was proud, but not too proud to beg.

#7

Yetemegnu’s parents were constantly arguing about her name. Her mother wanted to name her Genet, after the garden of Eden, but her father chose Yetemegnu, or those who believe, because he believed in God.

#8

Tirunesh had