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".
71.
As Long As Trees Take Root in the Earth : And Other Poems by Alain Mabanckou EN
Country: Africa / 
Congo, Democratic Republic of
Congo, Democratic Republic of
Description:
A hopeful, music-infused poetry collection from Congolese poet Alain Mabanckou. These compelling poems by novelist and essayist Alain Mabanckou conjure nostalgia for an African childhood where the fauna, flora, sounds, and smells evoke snapshots of a life forever gone. Mabanckou's poetry is frank and forthright, urging his compatriots to no longer be held hostage by the civil wars and political upheavals that have ravaged their country and to embrace a new era of self-determination where the village roosters can sing again. These music-infused texts, beautifully translated by Nancy Naomi Carls... continue
72.
As She Was Discovering Tigony by Olympe Bhely-Quenum EN
BeninDescription:
Dorcas Keurléonan-Moricet is a brilliant white geophysicist posted on assignment in Africa. She falls in love with a young African man, Ségué n’Di, and enters into an extramarital affair with him. In her professional work, she discovers deposits of minerals of inestimable worth. Reading the current age of globalization and neoliberalism as one in which the riches of Africa are again being cynically exploited by multinational companies—including her own—Keurléonan-Moricet’s views and her life gradually change. As the popular resistance against the dictatorial regime in power grows, she comes to... continue
73.
Auma's Long Run by Eucabeth Odhiambo EN
KenyaDescription:
Auma loves to run. In her small Kenyan village, she's a track star with big dreams. A track scholarship could allow her to attend high school and maybe even become a doctor. But a strange new sickness called AIDS is ravaging the village, and when her father becomes ill, Auma's family needs her help at home. Soon more people are getting sick—even dying—and no one knows why. Now Auma faces a difficult choice. Should she stay to support her struggling family or leave to pursue her own future? Auma knows her family is depending on her, but leaving might be the only way to find the answers to quest... continue
74.
Autobiography of the Lower East Side : A Novel in Short Stories by Rashidah Ismaili EN
Description:
"This well established poet makes a brilliant debut in fiction with these complex, poetically detailed, interrelated stories of Blacks from Africa, the Caribbean and the USA who converge and form an artistic community in the early 1960s in the most easterly regions of Alphabet City ." -David Henderson, author of 'Scuse Me While I Kiss the Sky "Ismaili charts the lower East side just prior to the turbulent, revolutionary Sixties, when the influence of Leroi Jones and the Black Arts Movement signaled a cultural sea-change. Her characters persevere through desertion, loss, abandonment and betraya... continue
75.
Avenues by Train by Farai Mudzingwa EN
ZimbabweDescription:
When seven-year-old Jedza witnesses a tragic incident involving a train and the death of his close boyhood friend in his hometown Miner’s Drift, he is convinced that his life is haunted. Now in his mid-20s, Jedza is a down-and-out electrician, moving to Harare in the hopes that he will escape the darkness and superstitions of the small town. But living in the shadowy restless atmosphere of the Avenues with its mysterious pools of water rising under msasa trees, he is tormented by the disappearance of his sister and their early encounters with ancestral spirits, the shapeshifting power of the n... continue
76.
Awu's Story : A Novel by Justine Mintsa EN
GabonDescription:
At the dawn of the twenty-first century, villages in the Fang region of northern Gabon must grapple with the clash of tradition and the evolution of customs throughout modern Africa. With this tension in the background, the passionate, deft, and creative seamstress Awu marries Obame, after he and his beloved wife, Bella, have been unable to conceive. Because all three are reluctant participants in this arrangement, theirs is an emotionally fraught existence. Through heartbreaking and disastrous events, Awu grapples with long-standing Fang customs that counter her desire to take full control of... continue
77.
Aya of Yop City by Marguerite Abouet, Clément Oubrerie EN
Country: Africa / 
Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast
Description:
“[Aya] wittily delves into both the political and the pop during an enchanted era when anything seemed possible.” —Vibe Vixen The original Drawn & Quarterly volume of Aya debuted last year to much critical acclaim, receiving a Quill Award nomination and praise for its accessibility and for the rare portrait of a warm, vibrant Africa it presents. This continuation of the dynamic story by Marguerite Abouet and Clément Oubrerie returns to Africa’s Ivory Coast in the late 1970s, where life in Yop City is as dramatic as ever. Oubrerie’s artwork synchronizes perfectly with Abouet’s funny and lighthe... continue
78.
Aya: Life in Yop City by Marguerite Abouet, Clément Oubrerie EN
Country: Africa / Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast
Description:
"Aya is an irresistible comedy, a couple of love stories and a tale for becoming African. It's essential reading." -Joann Sfar, cartoonist of The Rabbi's Cat Ivory Coast, 1978. It's a golden time, and the nation, too-an oasis of affluence and stability in West Africa-seems fueled by something wondrous. Aya is loosely based upon Marguerite Abouet's youth in Yop City. It is the story of the studious and clear-sighted nineteen-year-old Aya, her easygoing friends Adjoua and Bintou, and their meddling relatives and neighbors. It's a wryly funny, breezy account of the simple pleasures and private tr... continue
79.
Baby Beluga by Raffi EN
EgyptDescription:
Raffi's most popular and beloved song about the "little white whale on the go" is available in a sturdy board book edition--just the right size for babies and toddlers! Singing supports and encourages even the youngest child's speech and listening skills, which makes Baby Beluga perfect for early learning. Join this adorable baby whale in a busy day at sea, culminating in a warm mother-child bedtime ending. With its delightful illustrations, this is the ideal sing-along for a whole new generation of readers.
80.
Baby Goes to Market by Atinuke EN
NigeriaDescription:
Join Baby and his doting mama at a bustling southwest Nigerian marketplace for a bright, bouncy read-aloud offering a gentle introduction to numbers. Market is very crowded. Mama is very busy. Baby is very curious. When Baby and Mama go to the market, Baby is so adorable that the banana seller gives him six bananas. Baby eats one and puts five in the basket, but Mama doesn’t notice. As Mama and Baby wend their way through the stalls, cheeky Baby collects five oranges, four biscuits, three ears of sweet corn, two pieces of coconut . . . until Mama notices that her basket is getting very heavy! ... continue