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".
481.
Surviving the Slaughter : The Ordeal of a Rwandan Refugee in Zaire by Marie Beatrice Umutesi EN
RwandaDescription:
In this firsthand account of inexplicable brutality, day-to-day suffering, and survival, Marie Beatrice Umutesi sheds light on ""the other genocide"" that targeted the Hutu refugees of Rwanda after the victory of the Rwandan Patriotic Front in 1994. Umutesi's documentation of these years provides the world a history that is still widely unknown. Available in English for the first time, this poignant autobiography is more than a testimony to the lives and humanity lost; it is a call for those responsible for the atrocious crimes - and the devastating silence - to be held accountable.
482.
Swimming Home by Deborah Levy EN
Country: Africa / 
South Africa
South Africa
Description:
Swimming Home is a subversive page-turner, a merciless gaze at the insidious harm that depression can have on apparently stable, well-turned-out people. Set in a summer villa, the story is tautly structured, taking place over a single week in which a group of beautiful, flawed tourists on the French Riviera come loose at the seams.
483.
Taduno’s song by Odafe Atogun EN
NigeriaDescription:
A stunning debut from a new voice in Nigerian literature: a mesmerizing, Kafkaesque narrative, informed by the life of musical superstar Fela Kuti. The day a stained brown envelope arrives from Lagos, the exiled musician Taduno knows that the time has come to return home. Arriving back in Nigeria full of hope, he soon discovers that his people no longer recognize or remember him or his music, and that his girlfriend, Lela, has disappeared, abducted by government agents. As Taduno unravels the mystery of his lost life and searches for his lost love, he must face a difficult decision: to fight f... continue
484.
Tales of Tenderness and Power by Bessie Head EN
Country: Africa / South Africa
South Africa
Description:
This is an anthology of stories, personal observations and historic legends. It reflects the author's fascination with Africa's people and their history as well as her identification with individuals and their conflicting emotions.
485.
Talismano by Abdelwahab Meddeb EN
TunisiaDescription:
Talismano is a novelistic exploration of writing seen as a hallucinatory journey through half-remembered, half-imagined cities—in particular, the city of Tunis, both as it is now, and as it once was. Walking and writing, journey and journal, mirror one another to produce a calligraphic, magical work: a palimpsest of various languages and cultures, highlighting Abdelwahab Meddeb's beguiling mastery of both the Western and Islamic traditions. Meddeb's journey is first and foremost a sensual one, almost decadent, where the narrator luxuriates in the Tunis of his memories and intercuts these impre... continue
486.
Teaching My Mother how to Give Birth by Warsan Shire EN
KenyaDescription:
"Arts Council England"--Page facing title page.
487.
Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith EN
ZimbabweDescription:
The second book in the multi-million copy bestselling No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series The one where Precious gains a new family Mma Ramotswe of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is hoping to set up home with Mr J.L.B. Maketoni. But first she must deal with his scheming, misbehaving maid. She also has to confront the most difficult case of her career so far: that of an American who went missing ten years ago, and about whom all leads have long since dried up. Then there are not one, but two sudden additions to Mma's family . . . 'One of the most memorable heroines in any modern fiction' N... continue
488.
That Hair by Djaimilia Pereira De Almeida EN
AngolaDescription:
A Best Translation of the Year at World Literature Today That Hair is a family album of sorts that touches upon the universal subjects of racism, feminism, colonialism, immigration, identity and memory. Finalist for the 2021 PEN Translation Prize “The story of my curly hair,” says Mila, the narrator of Djaimilia Pereira de Almeida’s autobiographically inspired tragicomedy, “intersects with the story of at least two countries and, by extension, the underlying story of the relations among several continents: a geopolitics.” Mila is the Luanda-born daughter of a black Angolan mother and a white P... continue
Eritrea490.
The African Child by Camara Laye EN
GuineaDescription:
It tells the story of a young African child, Baba, growing up in Guinea.