English books from Africa
Recommended English books (825)
Travel the world without leaving your chair.
If you speak English here are some English books from Africa for the next part of the "Read Around The World Challenge".
431.
Shadows of Your Black Memory by Donato Ndongo-Bidyogo EN
Country: Africa / 
Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea
Description:
Set during the last years of Spanish rule in Equatorial Guinea, Shadows of Your Black Memory presents the voice of a young African man reflecting on his childhood. Through the idealistic eyes of the nameless protagonist, Donato Ndongo portrays the cultural conflicts between Africa and Spain, ancestral worship competing with Catholicism, and tradition giving way to modernity. The backdrop of a nation moving toward a troubled independence parallels the young man's internal struggle to define his own identity. Now in paperback, Shadows of Your Black Memory masterfully exposes the cultural fissure... continue
432.
She Plays with the Darkness : A Novel by Zakes Mda EN
Country: Africa / 
South Africa
South Africa
Description:
In a mountain village in Lesotho, the beautiful Dikosha lives for, setting herself apart from her fellow villagers. Her brother, Radisene, struggles amid political upheaval to find a life for himself. As the years pass, Radisene's fortunes rise and fall in the city, while Dikosha remains in the village, never leaving and never aging.
433.
She Would Be King by Wayétu Moore EN
LiberiaDescription:
Wayetu Moore is an inspiration . . . her book is a gift Imbolo Mbue The book is unforgettable . . . irresistibly evocative and fierce. She Would Be King is a masterfully wrought alternate history of magical black resistance Star Tribune This novel dazzles with beauty and transcendent, transformative humanity Sarah Jessica Parker In the west African village of Lai, red-haired Gbessa is cursed at birth and exiled on suspicion of being a witch. Bitten by a viper and left for dead, she survives to discover a new life with a group of African American settlers in the colony of Monrovia. Then Gbessa ... continue
434.
Shelf Life : Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller by Nadia Wassef EN
EgyptDescription:
The warm and winning story of opening a modern bookstore where there were none, Shelf Life: Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller recounts Nadia Wassef’s troubles and triumphs as a founder and manager of Cairo-based Diwan The streets of Cairo make strange music. The echoing calls to prayer; the raging insults hurled between drivers; the steady crescendo of horns honking; the shouts of street vendors; the television sets and radios blaring from every sidewalk. Nadia Wassef knows this song by heart. In 2002, with her sister, Hind, and their friend, Nihal, she founded Diwan, a fiercely independent boo... continue
435.
Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon by Wole Talabi EN
NigeriaDescription:
Shigidi is a disgruntled and demotivated nightmare god in the Orisha spirit company, reluctantly answering prayers of his few remaining believers to maintain his existence long enough to find his next drink. When he meets Nneoma, a sort-of succubus with a long and secretive past, everything changes for him. Together, they attempt to break free of his obligations and the restrictions that have bound him to his godhood and navigate the parameters of their new relationship in the shadow of her past. But the elder gods that run the Orisha spirit company have other plans for Shigidi, and they are n... continue
436.
Shubeik Lubeik by Deena Mohamed EN
Description:
A brilliantly original debut graphic novel that imagines a fantastical alternate Cairo where wishes really do come true. Shubeik Lubeik—a fairy tale rhyme that means “your wish is my command” in Arabic—is the story of three people who are navigating a world where wishes are literally for sale. “The mythic qualities of Mohamed’s world bring our own world into sharper focus . . . Mohamed’s humor often feels like a protest, as do the thick and assertive lines of her drawings . . . The effect is gritty, brazen, and full of spunk.”—The New Yorker Three wishes that are sold at an unassuming kiosk in... continue
437.
Shut Up You're Pretty by Ta Mutonji, Tea Mutonji EN
Country: Africa / 
Congo, Democratic Republic of
Congo, Democratic Republic of
Description:
A high-wire collection of darkly humorous stories about a young woman floating in and out of her skin, trying on identities imposed on her by others.
438.
Silence Is My Mother Tongue : A Novel by Sulaiman Addonia EN
EritreaDescription:
A sensuous, textured novel of life in a refugee camp, long-listed for the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction On a hill overlooking a refugee camp in Sudan, a young man strings up bedsheets that, in an act of imaginative resilience, will serve as a screen in his silent cinema. From the cinema he can see all the comings and goings in the camp, especially those of two new arrivals: a girl named Saba, and her mute brother, Hagos. For these siblings, adapting to life in the camp is not easy. Saba mourns the future she lost when she was forced to abandon school, while Hagos, scorned for his inabilit... continue
439.
Silence of the Chagos by Shenaz Patel EN
MauritiusDescription:
Based on a true, still-unfolding story, Silence of the Chagos is a powerful exploration of cultural identity, the concept of home, and above all the neverending desire for justice. Shenaz Patel draws on the lives of exiled Chagossians in this tragic example of 20th century political oppression. Every afternoon a woman in a red headscarf walks to the end of the quay and looks out over the water, fixing her gaze “back there”: to Diego Garcia, one of the small islands forming the Chagos archipelago in the Indian Ocean. With no explanation, no forewarning, and only an hour to pack their belongings... continue
440.
Silence of the Horizons by Mbarek Ould Beyrouk EN
Country: Africa / 
Mauritania
Mauritania
Description:
SILENCE OF THE HORIZONS by Mbarek Ould Beyrouk (short version) A young Mauritanian man flees the scene of a crime to hide out in the Sahara with his friend who conducts tours for wealthy European families eager to discover the "real" desert. As he regales the tourists' children with tales of djinns and far-off worlds, he must grapple with his own moral conscience in this existential psychological thriller that resonates with Albert Camus' classic novel, The Stranger and Antoine de St. Exupéry's memoir, Wind, Sand and Stars.