The Teller of Secrets

by Bisi Adjapon

A precocious African girl, whose sexual curiosity brings unexpected heartbreak, wishes frogs will turn her into a man. Will she ever find a way to love herself again and become the extraordinary woman she hoped to be?
Esi is a feisty half-Nigerian girl growing up in Ghana, with occasional visits to her family in Lagos. When curiosity about her womanhood leads to a burning punishment from her stepmother, Esi begins to question the hypocrisy of adults around her and the restrictions they place on girls.


Moving between Ghana and Nigeria, this heartwarming story of a girl beating a path to self-actualization amidst political upheaval in Rawlings' Ghana and strained relationships between her ancestral countries.


OF WOMEN AND FROGS is a heartwarming, soulful coming-of-age tale. Explore girlhood with the inquisitive, unflappable Esi as she journeys through the trials of becoming a woman to find her best self.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Africa, Feminism, Nigeria, Historical, Ghana

347 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2018

About the author

Author of The Teller of Secrets. Top 10 Amazon Editors' Choice, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Pop Sugar, Ms. Magazine, ALA, American Booksellers Association, Globe and Mail, Mail and Guardian, BiblioLifestyle, Book Buzz. DAUGHTER IN EXILE will be released January 31, 2023

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audio version of “The Teller of Secrets”. Anniwaa Buachie narrates, and she is fantastic. Her voice range kept me listening to this story.

I have mixed feelings about this one. It’s advertised as “a tale of self-discovery and feminist awakening”. I found the feminist pieces a bit overwrought at times. I enjoyed the “coming of age” part because the novel’s narrator, Esi, is maturing during a politically stormy time in 1960s Ghana and Nigeria.

Esi’s mother went away when she was 4. She’s raised by her father, who is a headmaster at a school, and her half-sisters and stepmother. Author Adjapon uses Esi to expose the patriarchy abuses at that time. But Adjapon also shows how women are horrible to each other. Esi endures harsh treatment as her sexuality blooms. The women in her life do not help her understand her body and all its changes. I was more horrified by how she was treated by women than by the men in her life. Her father is overbearing and demanding, but her sisters and stepmother are physically abusive.

Esi has a spunky voice. She sees inequities everywhere. She goes to boarding schools and she discerns the attitude differences for men and women. When she enters university, her eyes widen even more. Men have power and ability to succeed and do what they want, while women are subjugated. Esi encounters the politics of racism, women’s rights, divorce, and abortion.

I mostly enjoyed being in the head of Esi as she grew up. Some of her anger due to the inequities she saw or endured was frustrating. There’s a lot of anger and frustration in this novel.

The historical fiction pieces of the story were interesting to me, as Adjapon weaved it into Esi’s life. Some of the feminist anger was a bit overboard for me. Other reviewers attribute Adjapon’s lack of focus on all the issues she introduced. Maybe that is it; too many concepts that were lightly touched.

[Elohor Egbordi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've not laughed this much in a while and I have this book to thank for this. Esi's story is very relatable but I must confess I love how real she was in the book and how much she grew, much like most of us, to question the patriarchy and become her truest self.

I'm so happy!

[Henrietta]

If you just don’t mind walking in on a group of people and their lives for a few years or days then cool
But either than that this was very anticlimactic
I have many questions and a lot of things seemed a bit out of place
Why did she catch her dad in bed with someone else ? What was the consequence?
Okay her dad suddenly seeming patriarchal was kinda weird because he was championing her education
Also that was to what end ?
Well I get that education might still not be able to save people from ingrained culture and upbringing and I was really annoyed that Esi could not save herself from countless abortions
And what was the point of her mother’s death really ?
A lot of things left me asking “so what ?”
Like her girl-girl relationship at school

Also Esi seemed very very naive and it was unreal
I mean which planet was she hiding that the other people around her knew these things she was seemingly so ignorant about???

Well I did like the interplay of the politics at the time of the setting of the story even though things like that trip through Togo into heightened tension and then left me feeling bereft

( the narrator couldn’t even pronounce Hohoe properly; c’mon)
I think the narration helped me get through the book quickly but that was my only misgiving about it

Generally it was all very underwhelming because I was hungry for something that kept promising to come and never did

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this book. it started out with such promise, but after reading close to half of it, I gave up - mostly because Esi, the main character began to feel less unique, and more forced - her observations and interpretations of her life and what was happening around her were not believable, and it read as though she was a much older woman trying hard to be a 9 year old. Its also was not believable to me that a father would bring his daughter along when he snuck out to meet his girlfriend, leaving his wife at home, and, let Esi sleep in the bed where they were having sex. In the end, it all felt forced and ridiculous, I was not engaged, and simply did not care enough to keep reading.

[Phyllis | Mocha Drop · Rating 2 out of 5]

Essentially The Teller of Secrets is a coming-of-age story in which the unfairness, double standards, and gender bias against girls/women shape a young girl’s worldview. She witnesses her father’s infidelity, the segregation of household chores divided by gender, the scorn/rejection/shame of women who bear children outside of wedlock with no repercussions for the men who impregnate them. In this 1960-ish Ghanaian world, the central character, Esi, despite being raised in a two-parent household, is taught nothing about sex (aside from avoiding boys) and puberty (and what to expect regarding physical changes in her body), or concepts of self-pleasure. The novel spent a lot of time illustrating how the sexually repressed, patriarchal culture leads to broken families, confusion surrounding romance/sex/love, a woman’s worth is the ability to attract a husband, the emphasis on women to remain virgins until marriage, sexual exploitation/rape, and misguided sexual experimentation within genders.

While I surmise we, the readers, would/will admire the progression of her journey from girlhood to womanhood, I was a bit disturbed with the depth and frequency of trauma inflicted upon Esi, but I went along for the sake of the story. Aside from that, it was an interesting cultural read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced review copy of this book.

[Lizzie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really, really, really wanted to like this book because I think the author is fabulous! But I didn’t like it at all - I actually left it on a table of shared books at the resort I was staying at to pass it on.

While I appreciate that the book was trying to be uber-feminist, progressive, and provocative with sex and sexuality being discussed and experienced in a variety of ways by women in the story (both by choice and forced violence), I think lots of the story lines were just left hanging and there was too much effort to try and weave in what was happening in Ghana historically in the background. Esi was punished with ginger in her “under canoe” after she was sexually assaulted by her peer, which is pretty much expected given the time period in Ghana - the thought that women bring their own demise is common reality and theme. But from that point on - I got lost in how Esi’s sexual evolution proceeded. How plausible is it that Esi and Kayode just wantonly had sex under her grandparents’ roof with her family in knowledge of it!? In a Nigerian home?? Really? I can understand wanted to keep Rudolph in any way she could even though she knows she settled and didn’t really love him - issues of self-esteem and doing what is expected as a wife, daughter, mother, sister, etc (roles). The topic of abortion is an important one to bring up in an African context in order to strike up intelligible discourse about it - but I feel it was dealt with quite quickly and in a passed over way.

Overall, I just felt like I have no clue how the characters themselves felt they evolved - everyone just seemed stuck where they were

[Hyomi Carty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful. I inhaled this book in a single day. Bisi is a wizard when it comes to manipulating words to create vivid, sensory experiences. Once she pulls you into the scene with a multitude of earthy scents, tones, and textures, Esi becomes that much more intimate and familiar to the reader. I appreciated the complexity of the protagonist--she was likable in some ways and incredibly frustrating in others, much like any human being. She was flawed, she was believable, she was real. Bisi effortlessly wove important social commentary into her poignant tale--that of the gross double standards present in gender norms and the blatant hypocrisy and sexism surrounding sexuality and sexual expression. Bisi's work is important and timely, and I cannot wait to see what else she has in store!

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book. Overall, I did like it. I do think that I have read too many of these "coming of age" books lately where the female characters all seem to blend together. I also feel like time jumped around really weirdly in this book. This was a good book. I enjoyed the story. I had a hard time relating and felt like Esi didn't mature a lot throughout the book. I had a hard time figuring out how old she was as time jumped forward in odd "bursts" at times.

3/5 stars

[Onome · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a good read. The author explored the life of a young Ghanaian and Nigerian girl growing up under a strict father and a step mother in Ghana. We watch Esi grow up and see how she navigates life as a young girl trying to own her sexuality and individuality.

Well, it had some highs and many lows for me. First, I felt that the narrator was older than 12 years old and when she got older, rather than see growth, she kind of either went on a downward spiral or just became flat out boring.

Her father who was the beacon of light and advocate for education, who loved his daughters so much could not defend them from the abuse of men. Maybe the author wants to show that education does not truly erase fundamentalism of cultures. And when I thought the book should have ended, it didn't and the end fell short of excitement or even surprise. It was quite bland for me.

What I must say the author did well is the way she shinned the light on the plight of African girls and women. How much of education has not been able to erase the evils of patriarchy from the society.
Good one but could have been a whole lot better.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love historical fiction! However, sometimes historical fiction can be a bit heavy and overwhelming, especially when race, patriarchy, societal pressures, and class issues are involved. However, historical fiction has my heart, and I’m deeply moved by this genre in particular. The Teller of Secrets is no different.

This book was mighty, overwhelming, filled with societal issues, and toxic patriarchy in post-colonial Africa. When I read the last page of this book, all I could say was “wow!” I had stayed up all night to finish this book because I just couldn’t put it down. I didn’t want the story to end, and I could have read about Esi forever!

This book is a coming-of-age story about a young girl named Esi, who is half Nigerian and Ghanian. Right away, when you meet Esi, you are intrigued at her curiosity, her determination, and her tenacity. She may be little, but she is fierce. She has an aggressive self-determination about being her own person, and not letting men, in particular, dictate what she can or cannot do. She believes at an early age that girls/women can do anything they put their hearts and mind to, and doesn’t need to shy away from hard work because she’s a female. She pushes back on hypocrisy, questioning the double standards that men live by in her country, and is aggressively self-determined to live her life on her terms.

I loved that Esi was a fully fleshed out character, who had flaws, who grew and matured, who didn’t always have the best examples or experiences, but persisted anyway to make the best of her situations. As the favorite daughter of her father, Esi is viewed as spoiled by her older siblings and often detested and treated badly by her sisters and stepmother. Her father dotes on her, and goes out of his way to ensure she doesn’t want for anything, which angers and provokes her sisters. Esi knows that she is treated differently, but tries to advocate for her sisters/people/anyone who is not given a fair shake, or treated appropriately. Despite growing up motherless, Esi wants to make her family proud, but also doesn’t want to compromise herself or her values for anyone. However, despite what she knows about herself and what she wants, she faces an uphill battle in the toxic patriarchal societies of Ghana and Nigeria.

As she comes into her own, she understands the complexities that come with being a young adult, being a woman, and also trying to make a name for herself when everything is telling her it’s pointless.

There were many themes expressed in this book that make for great discussion:
- Feminism
- Patriarchal hypocrisy
- Toxic masculinity
- Education
- Womanhood
- Sexuality & exploration
- Identity
- Adulthood
- Family ties
- Culture & tradition
- Classism
- Political unrest
- Gender equality

Adjapon creates this world in which Esi lives in such vivid pictures that I could imagine all the sights and sounds that Esi encountered. The way Adjapon writes, allows you to really sink into Esi, and her story, and allows you to feel what Esi feels. As a reader, I was frustrated at times with Esi and her decisions, but also rooting for her growth and maturity. I was saddened by the patriarchal toxicity she had to deal with in regards to the men in her life, to include her father. I was disappointed in the trajectory she took in certain situations she dealt with in her relationships she had with the men in her life. I was encouraged when she stood up for herself and how she pursued her education/dreams/aspirations/ideas despite having little to no support from her loved ones. I was furious at people who took advantage of her and her naiveté, and was desperate to see some retribution against them.

Reading books about growing up in Africa, especially as a young woman, seems to me to be harsh and violent. There is a delicate balance you have to portray at all times in order to be safe and well cared for. There is violence from the men and women in your family that you have to protect yourself from, and on top of all of that, you have to thrive in ways that doesn’t seem realistic because of the lack of support you have as a woman. You are expected to do all and be all to everyone at all times.

This book shares a host of complexities that women worldwide face on a regular basis, and Adjapon handled these topics with care and attention against the backdrop of political warfare and unrest in both Ghana and Nigeria. Very well done, and I can’t wait to read more from Bisi Adjapon in the future. Her coming of age story is most definitely welcomed in great company with books such as A Girl is a Body of Water by Jennifer Makumbi and The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abi Daré, which both have self-determined MCs who buck against the patriarchy in their own way.

I greatly enjoyed this debut novel, and Bisi Adjapon has gained a new fan! 4.5 stars.

TW: abortion, genital trauma, sexual partner abuse, execution style killing

Thank you to Harper Collins and the author Bisi Adjapon for this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Mbali (flowahh_) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,75*

[Alfie Numeric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dancing between a 3.5-4 stars, "The Teller of Secrets" is about a Nigerian-Ghanaian girl named Esi as we bear witness to her growth for about a decade. The book takes place in the 1960s and in the backdrop is Ghana going through political turmoil. Esi is the favorite of her father, a strict man who is raising her, her two older sisters and younger brother with extended family as their mother left them. With Esi being her father's favorite, she is taught to be submissive and disciplined. But as she continues to study, she often challenges the misogyny in their culture's patriarchal society. It's getting difficult to settle for what is expected of her as she continues to grow.

The narration of the book matches up with the age that she is speaking from. When you reach towards the end of the book, she speaks with the wisdom and language of a young woman as opposed to the beginning when she starts her story at a young age

There are some parts of the book where it is a bit uncomfortable and it is during those parts where I needed to trust where the story is going. This books also touches upon pretty heavy topics but only focus on resolution for a couple of them. There are a few scenes that were so intense and then continues on as if none those intense scenarios happened. I don't believe it hurt the book as it gave me a sense of "that's how it was back then."

Overall, I enjoyed the book. I found myself emotionally connecting with Esi and was rooting for her through the book.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Check out my review here: http://www.rewritelondon.com/portfoli...

[Chuma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is not playing at all.
She came for the table our "african values" are standing on and hacked it into firewood.
I stan!

[ReadnliftwithShar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from the NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The book started strong but fell flat around the 55% mark. I wanted to love this story but I had a hard time connecting with the storyline. I liked the ending but I don’t feel that I got closure.

[Lauryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s so often the description of a book that tips the scales on my decision to read a book and it can be disappointing to reach the end of the book and go back to the description and feel like there’s a bit of a disconnect. While I very much enjoyed The Teller of Secrets by Bisi Adjapon, I had that sense that there was something I was missing. Then as I went back to double check the novel’s release date, I discovered that it was first published in Nigeria in 2018 under a completely different name – Of Women and Frogs. Learning that The Teller of Secrets is the name the novel was given by its Western publishers (and seeing how the description is very deliberately worded to tie back to the new title), that slight disconnect makes sense. Personally, I would have preferred the original title as that felt like a much more natural fit by the end of the novel, especially in terms of tone.  

Esi straddles many worlds as she grows up during the political upheaval in Ghana through the 1960s and 1970s. Though her father is Ghanaian, her mother was Nigerian… and not her father’s wife. Instead she is brought up by Auntie (her father’s wife) and her older sisters. With Ghana and Africa as a whole changing drastically as they adjust to a post-colonial world, Esi must reconcile the traditions and expectations of her father and the women in her family with what she wants for herself (and what her mother’s family in Nigeria want for her).

For the rest of my review, please visit my blog: https://wp.me/pUEx4-18R

[merrill · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title and blurb are both quite misleading, as the protagonist collects very few secrets and tells only one (1) of her own towards the end that has absolutely no impact on plot or any other character whatsoever

The blurb makes it sound like this novel is a close examination of family dynamics, secrets, and their influence personal development. What this really felt like was the reader simply following the protagonist through her growing up, and the people writing the blurb couldn't come up with a hook that was both acdurate and gripping.

Having read "The First Woman" prior to this really made "Teller of Secrets" fall short, since the themes of growing up, womanhood, secrets and community were handled much better there.

I would have given this book a ⭐⭐⭐ if it hadn't put me in a reading slump that lasted several weeks.

[lou · Rating 5 out of 5]

cant believe i let this be on my tbr for so long. i just finished it and i'm in awe. i went trough so many emotions while reading this, it was beautiful then heartbreaking every few seconds. i'm so mesmerized by the way the author created this story, changing the writing as Esi grew, and everything that comes with that, how she related to her family, her inner thoughts,e tc. an amazing book that i would recommend to anyone. it's difficult to accept that so many women and families have to go through this, but i'm really happy i got to read this, and unforgettable story for sure. just noticed this is my 100th book of the year, so happy with that !!

thank u netgalley and the publishers for giving me access to this e-arc !!!

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great #ownvoices coming of age story featuring a young Nigerian-Ghanaian girl who is grappling with the inequalities women in her country face. I was outraged at the sexual abuse Esi faces from multiple partners that aren't concerned with her safety. I loved that Esi defies her family to pursue her own happiness but the cost of her choices are high. An amazing debut that I very much recommend for fans of Girl with the louding voice. Great on audio narrated by Anniwaa Buachie.

CW: abortion

[Oreoluwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 ✨

I was really enjoying this from the start. Esi was funny, quirky... But something just shifted halfway and it was a haphazard journey for the rest. Still, this was a good read

[Sharon :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The audiobook narrator was great!!!

[Tosin (booksxnaps) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. A fast paced book. The day I started, I easily got through 50% of the book. I enjoyed the way Bisi told this story and I love how she boldly talked about things Africans typically speak about in hushed tones. It was also nice knowing a bit about Ghana’s history as I’m shit at history in general.

Esi is a half Nigerian Half Ghanaian girl who grew up in Ghana with her father, step mother, step sisters and brother. She narrates a story of her life right from when she was about 7/9 years old. Although I think the author should’ve tried to make her sound a bit more like a kid.


The book centres around her life growing up in Ghana in the 80s , boarding school tales,her relationship with girls and eventually boys. Esi was very aware of her body, she knew what pleased her and what didn’t and I found that a bit interesting because in Africa, women are conditioned to look as sex as something we give a man as opposed to being something we enjoy. I found her father a bit interesting because he would sleep with random women but have a fit about his daughters having boyfriends. Men. Lol

She spoke about some heavy themes but they’re important and need to be spoken about especially here in Africa.

[Smitha Murthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I have read a fair number of African writers over the last 20 years, I am still astonished at my ignorance when it comes to this vast, beautiful continent. For example, I had no idea of the tension between Ghanaians and Nigerians. None at all.

Adjapon traces a young girl’s life from a small town in Ghana to her eventual awakening as a sexually aware young woman who decides on a life that does not involve placing a man as the centerpiece. Not all of this journey is smooth or seamless - reading it, I felt a certain lack of focus. But then, I think we expect too much - if we were to look at our own lives, we wouldn’t find any focus at all.

[Liesl Mulholland · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've read for 2022. Really pulled me in to Ghana and Nigeria. Although I've never been to Nigeria, I definitely could see Ghana, Togo and Benin and the references and journeys there as I spent 6 weeks there years ago and also when she went to Senegal...it was nice because usually I can reference "Western" countries, NY, LA etc. but it was nice to read/listen to this book and truly know and see what was being talked about cuz I'd been there (Ghana, Togo, Benin and Senegal)

The story itself was great...and the ending was perfect...what a great debut novel, looking forward to more from this author!

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to thank NetGalley for the oportuntity to read and enjoy this book. The Teller of Secrets is Bisi Adjapons debut novel and I can't wait to read more from her. The main charactor Esi is so endearing the reader has no choice but to love her. In this book, that takes place in the 1960s Esi lives in, the strongly patriocal , Ghana. She struggles growing up under the care of her father and stepmother and "sisters" , without her biological mothers influence. I loved, even if it was often difficult content, her journey into adulthood.

[Cam's Corner · Rating 5 out of 5]

ya’ll, this book was a whole ass journey. my girl Esi was going through everything imaginable, from puberty to young adulthood 😩

the cover of this book describes it as “a tale of self-discovery & feminist awakening” & I couldn’t agree more.

I would like to add that there is frequent mention of sexual violence & violence against women- those were the things I was underprepared for😬 but besides that, this was a phenomenal read. it was beautiful being a witness to the transformation of Esi & how she learned to speak for herself💜

@bisiadjapon is my new automatic buy for sure!

[TEMI · Rating 5 out of 5]

just a really really good book. very heavy there’s a trigger warning for nearly everything imaginable but it’s really really good

picked it up without reading the synopses, i just really liked the cover. i never read historical fiction but woahwoahwoah it was crazy reading about these events that i’ve literally heard my parents talk about going through

just very interesting to see this person grow throughout all this government corruption and falling victim to the intense misogyny around her a bit idk i’m not wording things well bUT IT’S A GREAT BOOK I CANT WAIT TO SEE MORE FROM THIS AUTHOR

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nigerian-Ghanaian girl growing up in 1960s postcolonial Ghana. such a beautiful, tough book.

[Peta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still have mixed feelings about this messy book. Not a pretty story. Review here ->https://youtu.be/AIZFziHb9x4

[Anya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Little bit of Ghanaian history, lotta bit of the usual coming-of-age stuff that. I. LOVE.