18.3 C
New York
November 7, 2024
1st Afrika
ARTS & CULTURE

Best Contemporary African Books

The Memory of Love

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Memory of Love
Aminatta Forna (2010)
Forna’s memoir, The Devil That Danced on the Water, was a daughter’s search for the truth of a murdered father’s last days, and for a country – Sierra Leone – lost to civil war. In this, her second novel, she takes the reader to Freetown in peacetime – in 1969 and the present day. An English psychologist, Adrian Lockheart, hears the confessions of a dying man, Elias Cole. What unfolds is an unforgettable love story, a tale of complicity, betrayal and trauma that perhaps does more to tell us about this bitter conflict – and to make that telling stick – than any work of non-fiction can

Lyrics Alley

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lyrics Alley

Leila Aboulela (2010)
Set in mid-50s, pre-independence Sudan, Aboulela’s third novel takes us on a journey to Egypt and postwar Britain as we follow the life of Nur, the cosmopolitan son of a powerful businessman, who finds his dreams dashed following an accident. This is also the story of the conflict between Nur’s traditional mother and the city-bred Egyptian co-wife whose arrival threatens the stability of the family. Though set mostly in the world of the northern Sudanese, Aboulela’s gentle, poetic prose is a perfect counterpoint to the time of turmoil and upheaval she chronicles

The Hairdresser of Harare

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Hairdresser of Harare

Tendai Huchu (2010)
This glorious book defies classification with its astute sociopolitical commentary nestling inside the appealing, often comic story of a young woman who will not accept defeat. With a light touch and real skill, Huchu takes us through the life-sapping economic realities of contemporary Harare via the story of Vimbai, the hairdresser, as she struggles to make a home for herself and her young son. She’s lost a beloved brother to the diaspora and when a new (male) stylist joins the salon, it looks as if she will soon lose her best clients, maybe even her job

Looking for Transwonderland

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking for Transwonderland

Noo Saro-Wiwa (2012)
With this memoir, Noo Saro-Wiwa, daughter of the murdered environmental and political activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, establishes herself as a pioneer in contemporary travel writing – Africa as seen by Africans. Travelling from the mayhem of Lagos across Nigeria, she brings family history and the sometimes conflicted eye of an African raised away from the motherland to look at this vast, fascinating land. Only one who calls the country home could write such an honest account of contemporary Nigeria

Beneath the Lion’s Gaze

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beneath the Lion’s Gaze
Maaza Mengiste (2010)
Set in the years of the red terror (the period of upheaval following the violent communist revolution in Ethiopia) in the 1970s, Mengiste’s novel follows the lives of two brothers and their father: Dawit, the student revolutionary, his elder brother, Yonas, who seeks solace in tradition and prayer, and their father, Hailu, a surgeon who is summoned to save the life of a young woman who has been horrifically tortured by the secret police. His task is to heal her just enough to send her back to prison. The choices he makes will change the course of the family’s life

ForColoredGirls-1
Ntozake Shange – Though her first play — for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf — was her greatest success, Shange continues to weave black and feminist themes into poetic, often non-narrative pieces. Other plays include from okra to greens and Savannahland.

Related posts

The Reason Every Book About Africa Has The Same Cover—And It’s Not Pretty

Jide Adesina

Africa’s Tourism Boom: Unlocking the Continent’s Untapped Potential

Eniola Oladele

Yassmine Attia: Brilliant Tunisian Woman Wins International Caen Debate Prize.

Jide Adesina

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Read More