Books from Congo
19 popular congolese books
Travel the world without leaving your chair.
The target of the Read Around The World Challenge is to read at least one book written by an author from each and every country in the world.
All books that are listed here as part of the "Read Around Africa Challenge" were written by authors from Congo.
Find a great book for the next part of your reading journey around the world from this book list. The following popular books have been recommended so far.
1.
African Psycho : A Novel by Alain Mabanckou EN
Description:
Its title recalls Bret Easton Ellis’s infamous book, but while Ellis’s narrator was a blank slate, African Psycho’s protagonist is a quivering mass of lies, neuroses, and relentless internal chatter. Gregoire Nakobomayo, a petty criminal, has decided to kill his girlfriend Germaine. He’s planned the crime for some time, but still, the act of murder requires a bit of psychological and logistical preparation. Luckily, he has a mentor to call on, the far more accomplished serial killer Angoualima. The fact that Angoualima is dead doesn’t prevent Gregoire from holding lengthy conversations with hi... continue
3.
Black Bazar by Alain Mabanckou ES
Description:
El protagonista de Black bazar es un dandi africano de nuestros tiempos, enamorado de los cuellos de camisa italianos y de los zapatos Weston, que descubre su vocación de escritor a raíz de una pena de amor. Navegando entre la endecha y la irrisión, esboza con exuberancia un cuadro sin concesiones del mundo que le rodea. Alternando el tono burlesco y el patético, Mabanckou presta su voz a toda una galería de personajes asombrosos que ilustran, cada uno a su manera, la miseria y la grandeza de la condición humana. Una novela de una elocuencia endiablada que huye de los tópicos y los prejuicios,... continue
4.
Black Moses : A Novel by Alain Mabanckou EN
Description:
The "heart-breaking" (New York Times Book Review), rollicking, award-winning novel that has been described as "Oliver Twist in 1970s Africa" (Les Inrockuptibles) "One of the most compelling books you'll read in any language this year." —Rolling Stone Winner of the Hurston-Wright Legacy Award Longlisted for the Man Booker International Prize Shortlisted for the Albertine Prize Shortlisted for the Aspen Words Literary Prize Longlisted for the PEN Translation Prize Greeted with wildly enthusiastic reviews on publication, Alain Mabanckou's riotous novel begins in an orphanage in 1970s Congo-Brazza... continue
5.
Broken Glass by Alain Mabanckou EN
Description:
Set in a Congolese bar called Credit Gone West, tells the story of a former teacher who is charged with documenting the stories of the bar's partrons.
6.
Celles qui subissent : Nouvelles by Ohoulou m’Onsonguet FR
Description:
Ce recueil de nouvelles brosse le tableau des discriminations et des difficultés que rencontrent les femmes africaines en général et congolaises en particulier. A l'époque où l'on parle de l'émancipation des femmes, ces dernières restent encore soumises au silence. Malgré la loi, la société pèse encore très lourd sur les veuves qui sont dépossédées de l'héritage du mari au profit d'une belle-famille cupide. Au sein de certains foyers, non seulement les filles vivent le calvaire, avec des parents qui préfèrent nettement leurs frères mais elles doivent aussi subir des abus de la part des pères, ... continue
7.
In the Shadow of Freedom by Tchicaya Missamou EN
Description:
FROM POVERTY TO WEALTH, FROM AFRICA TO AMERICA, AND FROM CHILD SOLDIER TO U.S. MARINE Born into the Congolese wilderness, Tchicaya Missamou became a child soldier at age 11. As a horrific civil war loomed across his country, Tchicaya began using his militia connections to ferry jewels, cash, computers, and white diplomats out of the country. By 17, he was rich. By 18, he was a hunted man, his house destroyed, his family brutalized in front of him by his own militia. By 19, he’d left behind everything he’d ever known, escaping to Europe and, eventually, to America. Incredibly, that was only the... continue
8.
Johnny Mad Dog : A Novel by Emmanuel Dongala EN
Description:
Life During Wartime, As Seen Through the Eyes of Two Congolese Teenagers Set amid the chaos of West Africa's civil wars, Emmanuel Dongala's striking novel tells the story of two teenagers growing up while rival ethnic groups fight for control of their country. At age sixteen, Johnny is a member of the Death Dealers, a rebel faction bent on seizing power. Even as he is drawn into the rebels' program of terror, Johnny Mad Dog, as he calls himself, retains his youthful exuberance--searching for girls, good times, and adventure. Sixteen-year-old Laokolé, for her part, dreams of finishing high scho... continue
9.
Letter to Jimmy by Alain Mabanckou EN
Description:
Written on the twentieth anniversary of James Baldwin’s death, Letter to Jimmy is African writer Alain Mabanckou’s ode to his literary hero and an effort to place Baldwin’s life in context within the greater African diaspora. Beginning with a chance encounter with a beggar wandering along a Santa Monica beach—a man whose ragged clothes and unsteady gait remind the author of a character out of one of James Baldwin’s novels— Mabanckou uses his own experiences as an African living in the US as a launching pad to take readers on a fascinating tour of James Baldwin’s life. As Mabanckou reads Baldwi... continue
10.
Little Boys Come from the Stars by Emmanuel Boundzéki Dongala EN
Description:
Sardonic, subtle, and sweetly scathing, Little Boys Come from the Stars is satire at its best. Set in an unnamed country in equatorial Africa, it tells the story of Michel, a precocious teen dubbed Matapari (“trouble”) because of his extraordinary birth. Though his father is a reclusive scholar, his mother a pious though confused Catholic, and his uncle a shameless opportunist determined to gain power in the shifting politics of their post-colonial nation, Matapari remains an unsullied child who wears Reeboks, drinks Coke, reads Japanese comics, and watches Rambo. But when his family becomes t... continue