Read Around Africa Challenge
Read at least one book by an author from each country in Africa.
Best books from Africa (1155)
791.
Inside the Hotel Rwanda: The Surprising True Story ... and Why It Matters Today by Edouard Kayihura EN
RwandaDescription:
In 2004, the Academy Award–nominated movie Hotel Rwanda lionized hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina for single-handedly saving the lives of all who sought refuge in the Hotel des Milles Collines during Rwanda's genocide against the Tutsi in 1994. Because of the film, the real-life Rusesabagina has been compared to Oskar Schindler, but unbeknownst to the public, the hotel's refugees don't endorse Rusesabagina's version of the events. In the wake of Hotel Rwanda's international success, Rusesabagina is one of the most well-known Rwandans and now the smiling face of the very Hutu Power groups who dr... continue
792.
Miraculée : Une découverte de Dieu au coeur du génocide rwandais by Immaculée Ilibagiza FR
Description:
En avril 1994 commence le génocide des Tutsis au Rwanda. Le 7 avril, Immaculée Ilibagiza quitte la maison pour se réfugier chez le pasteur du village mais ne reverra jamais ses parents et son frère adorés. Le nom d'Immaculée figure sur une liste de morts. Des centaines de Hutus ont une priorité : la trouver et la tuer. Cachée dans une minuscule salle de bains durant quatre-vingt-onze jours, elle prie sans relâche et remet sa vie et celle de ses sept compagnes entre les mains de dieu. Dans ce témoignage bouleversant, les miracles qui jalonnent le parcours de la jeune femme frappent autant que l... continue
793.
Coeur tambour by Scholastique Mukasonga FR
Description:
"Personne ne savait plus trop qui était cette présumée princesse africaine appelée Nyabinghi. Son nom était venu s'échouer sur les plages de la Jamaïque en d'étranges circonstances... Le 12 décembre 1935, peu de temps avant l'invasion de l'Ethiopie par l'Italie fasciste, paraissait dans le journal Jamaïca Times un article intitulé "Une société secrète pour détruire les Blancs" : vingt millions de nègres, au nom d'une mystérieuse reine appelée Nya-Binghi, allaient déferler sur l'Europe et l'Amérique, Nya-Binghi signifiant "mort aux Blancs". Les rastas, qui adoptèrent le nom de nyabinghi, n'avai... continue
794.
Sister Deborah by Scholastique Mukasonga FR
Description:
A sharp and playful critique of colonialism from the leading voice of French-Rwandan literature, animated by memories, archival specters, and powerful women “In sentences of great beauty and restraint, Mukasonga rescues a million souls from the collective noun ‘genocide,’ returning them to us as individual human beings.” — Zadie Smith In a 4-part narrative brimming with historical asides, alluring anecdotes, and murky questions left in the margins of colonial records, Sister Deborah heralds “a life that is more alive” as it explores the tensions and myths of Rwanda’s past. When time-worn ances... continue
795.
The Eternal Audience of One by Rémy Ngamije EN
Description:
"Reminiscent of Zadie Smith and Michael Chabon, this ... coming-of-age tale follows a young man who is forced to flee his homeland of Rwanda during the Civil War and make sense of his reality"--
796.
Surviving the Slaughter : The Ordeal of a Rwandan Refugee in Zaire by Marie Beatrice Umutesi EN
Description:
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.
797.
Kibogos Himmelfahrt : Roman | Ein moderner Mythos, die literarische Karambolage all der konkurrierenden Geschichten in einem kolonisierten Land by Scholastique Mukasonga DE
Description:
Ein wunderbarer Ruanda-Roman voller kleiner Legenden, Mythen und Abenteuererzählungen in einem Ton, der zum Teil an die Evangelien erinnert, zum Teil an eine Art zentralafrikanische Odyssee, der manchmal aber auch ganz leicht ist, umgangssprachlich und heiter das sehr komplexe koloniale und postkoloniale Gefüge beschreibt, das ja derzeit auch in Europa eine vermehrte kritische Aufarbeitung erfährt. Kurzum, Mukasongas Romane, sie hat mehrere geschrieben und bei Gallimard in Frankreich veröffentlicht, einen weiteren werden wir vermutlich im Frühjhar oder Herbst 2025 bringen, sind literarisch fas... continue
798.
NATIVE DANCE : An African Story by GERVÁSIO KAISER EN
Country: Africa / 
Sao Tome and Principe
Sao Tome and Principe
Description:
Settlers are ruling the islands. Makengo takes care of Tino, a native child a bully beats up, and this help brings trouble. It turns out the price Makengo pays comes along with a dance with Tino's mother and her change toward him. Relish voices of native Africans from the fingers of a gifted African writer.
799.
Dolorosa Raiz De Micondo by Conceição Lima PT
Country: Africa / Sao Tome and Principe
Sao Tome and Principe
Description:
Nesta coletânea de 27, o micondó, árvore considerada sagrada em regiões da África, simboliza origem, casa, morada ancestral. A evocação de tais raízes é dolorosa devido a acontecimentos históricos, como a escravidão e a colonização, que imprimiram feridas e rupturas na identidade nacional, e na própria poetisa, cujos antepassados foram trazidos à força para o arquipélago africano e mais tarde enviados para outras terras como escravos. Embora a dor seja uma constante em seus versos, o sentimento que os perpassa é o da sutil esperança de que a mesma memória que resgata os fatos traumáticos ajude... continue
800.
Pé de Perfume : Ylang-Ylang by Olinda Beja PT
Country: Africa / Sao Tome and Principe
Sao Tome and Principe
Description:
Sobre o livro: (...) as estórias de "Pé-de-Perfume", marcadas fortemente pelo cunho da tradição africana da narração oral, são transversalmente habitadas por Poesia, ou não fosse Olinda Beja um grande poeta, seja na função da linguagem, nas imagens sugeridas pelo desenho dos cenários ou pela postura dos personagens. Ao mesmo tempo, os contos curtos são encabeçados por epígrafes proverbiais nas duas línguas, santomense e portuguesa, como que anunciando uma lição final das estórias que assumem, assim, muita vez, o perfil de fábulas. A certos animais marinhos ou terrestres emblemáticos do arquipé... continue