Read Around Africa Challenge
Read at least one book by an author from each country in Africa.
Best books from Africa (1154)
1111.
The Lions' Den by Iris Mwanza EN
ZambiaDescription:
Rookie lawyer Grace Zulu does not give up easily. She escaped an arranged marriage to put herself through university. Now she's got her first case. Her client is young Willbess 'Bessy' Mulenga, who has been arrested for offences 'against nature'. Bessy works in a men-only bar, loves to dance, to wear dresses and live freely. But in 1990's Zambia, following your own identity can get you beaten, jailed or even worse. Grace is determined to get Bessy out of custody. Then her terrified, bruised client goes missing without a trace. She knows something bad has happened, and that someone is trying to... continue
1113.
Obligations to the Wounded : Stories by Mubanga Kalimamukwento EN
Description:
In formally adventurous stories rooted in Zambian literary tradition, Obligations to the Wounded explores the expectations and burdens of womanhood in Zambia and for Zambian women living abroad. The collection converses with global social problems through the depiction of games, social media feuds, letters, and folklore to illustrate how girls and women manage religious expectation, migration, loss of language, death, intimate partner violence, and racial discrimination. Although the women and girls inhabiting these pages are separated geographically and by life stage, their shared burdens, cu... continue
1114.
The Furrows : A Novel by Namwali Serpell EN
Description:
Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award • One of the New York Times’ Ten Best Books of the Year • Longlisted for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize “A triumph.”—New York Magazine From one of the most celebrated new voices in American literature, a brilliantly inventive and “enthralling” (Oprah Daily) novel about the eternal bonds of family and the mysteries of love and loss—“already earning its author comparisons to Toni Morrison” (Lit Hub). ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker, Oprah Daily, Time, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, Esquire, Vulture, Ms. Mag... continue
1116.
The Sunbird by Wilbur Smith EN
Description:
In Wilbur Smith's The Sunbird, Dr. Ben Kazin is a brilliant archeologist. Louren Sturvesant is rich, impulsive, and physically imposing, everything Ben is not. Now, the two men--friends, competitors and partners--are searching for the legendary lost city of Opet, built by an Egyptian culture that reached Africa two thousand years ago, then vanished completely. For Ben, the expedition is a chance to prove a controversial thesis. For Louren, it is a chance to spend millions--and make it all back in gold and glory. But what awaits them is an astounding discovery, a siege of terror, and an act of ... continue
1117.
Always Another Country by Sisonke Msimang EN
Description:
An intimate story of exile and homecoming by the South African author whose TED Talk touched millions.
1118.
We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo EN
ZimbabweDescription:
A remarkable literary debut--shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize! The unflinching and powerful story of a young girl's journey out of Zimbabwe and to America. Darling is only ten years old, and yet she must navigate a fragile and violent world. In Zimbabwe, Darling and her friends steal guavas, try to get the baby out of young Chipo's belly, and grasp at memories of Before. Before their homes were destroyed by paramilitary policemen, before the school closed, before the fathers left for dangerous jobs abroad. But Darling has a chance to escape: she has an aunt in America. She travels to this ... continue
1119.
House of Hunger by Dambudzo Marechera EN
Description:
Winner of the Guardian Fiction Prize, 1979 and first published in 1978, The House of Hunger is a selection of interconnected short stories that tell of Zimbabwe in chaos. In a style somewhat reminiscent of Joyce's Dubliners, the stories deal with psychological and social alienation. Dambudzo Marechera's work is not material typically associated with African literature. His stories are psychologically, rather than politically, motivated as his depictions of living in exile and outsiderhood show.
1120.
Smouldering Charcoal by Paul Tiyambe Zeleza EN
Description:
This powerful first novel chronicles the lives of two families: the first, poor, working-class and ill-educated, is compared to a young politically aware college student and her journalist fiance.