Popular African Magical Realism Books
Find magical realism books written by authors from Africa for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (33)
11.
Noches de Seda by Aicha Bassry ES
MoroccoDescription:
Aïcha Bassry nos sumerge en un relato misterioso –que, por otra parte, nunca pierde su conexión vivencial–, con elementos que nos evocan nociones subliminales del realismo mágico, entre la superstición y lo onírico, rayanas a la novela hispanoamericana (no es casualidad que Isabel Allende sea una de sus escritoras predilectas), teñida amargamente de un marcado carácter poético. […] Aïcha Bassry nos transmite con la intensidad de una fértil narradora, audaz y directa, cuidando la expresión al detalle pero sin renunciar al severo compromiso que exige el arte de escribir; convirtiendo el mero hec... continue
12.
Of Water and the Spirit—Ritual, Magic, and Initiation in the Life of an African Shaman by Malidoma Patrice Somé EN
Country: Africa / 
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso
Description:
Maliodoma Patrice Some was born in a Dagara Village, however he was soon to be abducted to a Jesuit school, where he remained for the next fifteen years, being harshly indoctrinated into european ways of thought and worship. The story tells of his return to his people, his hard initiation back into those people, which lead to his desire to convey their knowledge to the world. Of Water and the Spirit is the result of that desire; it is a sharing of living African traditions, offered in compassion for those struggling with our contemporary crisis of the spirit.
13.
Os Transparentes by Ondjaki PT
AngolaDescription:
Ondjaki, o escritor angolano já bem conhecido do público por obras como o assobiador (2002), quantas madrugadas tem a noite (2004), os da minha rua (2007), AvóDezanove e o segredo do soviético (2008), entre outros títulos, sempre colocou Angola, e em particular Luanda, de onde é natural, no centro da sua escrita. Com o presente romance, de novo aparece Luanda - a Luanda atual do pós- guerra, das especificidades do seu regime democrático, do «progresso», dos grandes negócios, do «desenrasca» - como pano de fundo de uma história que é um prodígio da imaginação e um retrato social de uma riqueza ... continue
14.
Sie wäre König by Wayétu Moore DE
LiberiaDescription:
»Nicht ein einziges Mädchen gab es bei den Vai, das so war wie Gbessa, deren Fluch nicht nur in der Unfähigkeit zu sterben bestand, sondern auch darin, wie der Tod sie verhöhnte ...« 1831: Im westafrikanischen Lai wird die rothaarige Gbessa von ihrer Dorfgemeinschaft verstoßen, weil sie eine Hexe sein soll. Auf einer Plantage in Virginia muss der junge Sklave June Dey die Flucht antreten, da in ihm eine Kraft steckt, die die Aufseher in Angst und Schrecken versetzt. Und in den Blue Mountains von Jamaika kann Norman Aragon auf magische Weise den Fängen sein... continue
15.
Sleepwalking Land by Mia Couto EN
Country: Africa / 
Mozambique
Mozambique
Description:
"On almost every page of this witty magical realist whodunit, we sense Couto's delight on those places where language slips officialdom's asphyxiating grasp."--The New York Times Book Review on The Last Flight of the Flamingo "The most prominent of the younger generation of writers in Portuguese-speaking Africa, Couto passionately and sensitively describes everyday life in poverty-stricken Mozambique."--Guardian (London) "Quite unlike anything else I have read from Africa."--Doris Lessing As the civil war rages in 1980s Mozambique, an old man and a young boy, refugees from the war, seek shelte... continue
16.
The Age of Magic : A Novel by Ben Okri EN
NigeriaDescription:
In this enchanting novel from the Booker Prize–winning author, a group of world-weary travelers discover the meaning of life in a mysterious Swiss mountain village. The Age of Magic has begun. Unveil your eyes. Eight weary filmmakers, traveling from Paris to Basel, arrive at a small Swiss hotel on the shores of a luminous lake. Above them, strewn with lights that twinkle in the darkness, looms the towering Rigi mountain. Over the course of three days and two nights, the travelers will find themselves drawn into the mystery of the mountain reflected in the lake. One by one, they will be disturb... continue
17.
The Arch and the Butterfly by Muhammed Achaari EN
Description:
Preparing to leave for work one morning, Youssef al-Firsiwi finds a mysterious letter has been slipped under his door. In a single line, he learns that his only son, Yacine, whom he believed to be studying engineering in Paris, has been killed in Afghanistan fighting with the Islamist resistance. His comfortable life as a leftist journalist shattered, Youssef loses both his sense of smell and his sense of self. He and his wife divorce and he becomes involved with a new woman. He turns for support to his friends Ahmad and Ibrahim, themselves enmeshed in ever-more complex real estate deals and h... continue
18.
The Book of Chameleons by José Eduardo Agualusa EN
Description:
Felix Ventura is a man with an unusual occupation. If your lineage isn't sufficiently distinguished, he'll change that for you. If your family history isn't quite as glorious as you'd like, he can make you a new one. Felix Ventura is a seller of pasts.
19.
The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years : A Novel by Shubnum Khan EN
Country: Africa / 
South Africa
South Africa
Description:
A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITOR'S CHOICE "Rich and swoony...an ambitious delight, with rich characters and some exceptionally lovely writing...This is the start of a major career." -- The New York Times Book Review AN INDIE NEXT PICK A LIBRARY READS PICK “A dark and heady dream of a book” (Alix E. Harrow) about a ruined mansion by the sea, the djinn that haunts it, and a curious girl who unearths the tragedy that happened there a hundred years previous Akbar Manzil was once a grand estate off the coast of South Africa. Nearly a century later, it stands in ruins: an isolated boardinghouse f... continue
20.
The Epic of Askia Mohammed by Nouhou Malio EN
NigerDescription:
Askia Mohammed is the most famous leader in the history of the Songhay Empire, which reached its apogee during his reign in 1493-1528. Songhay, approximately halfway between the present-day cities of Timbuktu in Mali and Niamey in Niger, became a political force beginning in 1463, under the leadership of Sonni Ali Ber. By the time of his death in 1492, the foundation had been laid for the development under Askia Mohammed of a complex system of administration, a well-equipped army and navy, and a network of large government-owned farms. The present rendition of the epic was narrated by the grio... continue