Africa is, of course, a huge continent of many countries and cultures, and one thread to cover all of it may be inadequate. It is a starting point.

Here is a place to recommend and discuss the literature of the continent. I'd like us to avoid just listing titles as happens so often here on LT, so please tell us a little about the book (perhaps setting or basic plot) and perhaps the viewpoint or something about the author. I think this might encourage a bit more conversation.

Recently, someone asked me if I knew any Moroccan authors and these are the two I mentioned to him.
Tahar Ben Jelloun is Moroccan but now lives in France. His novel This Blinding Absence of Light won the Dublin/Impac Award a few years ago. It's the story of the imprisonment of a group of soldiers (unwitting participants in an assassination attempt of the king) in a remote underground, desert prison. It is a horribly bleak story of survival which I found strangely compelling. I also have a copy of his Racism Explained to My Daughter.

Laila Lalami is also Moroccan, now living in the US. Her novel, Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits is about what makes people risk their lives to pursue a better life. While her novel is the story of a group of North Africans crowded into a small boat headed for Spain and, hopefully, a better life, she chooses to focus on four or five people specifically. This is a short book, a first novel that I was very impressed with.

I would like to recommend two Egyptian authors: Ahdaf Soueif and Naguib Mahfouz. Mahfouz is obviously the better known, having won the Nobel prize in 1988.

While some of Mahfouz's work has not resonated with me, I am a fan of his Cairo Trilogy (Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, and Sugar Street). Following a Muslim family through the first half of the 20th century, it traces the effects of colonialism and modernity on three generations. Particularly striking is the contrast between the conservative treatment of the women at home versus the self-indulgence of the father outside the walls of the home.

I have read two excellent novels by Soueif--The Map of Love and In the Eye of the Sun. The Map of Love moves between a contemporary romance between an American journalist and an Egyptian-American conductor, and the journalist's great-grandparents, an English woman and an Egyptian. In the Eye of the Sun is about an upper-class Egyptian woman who moves to England for her graduate studies and becomes involved with an Englishman. Soueif is a journalist and focuses on political and feminist themes. These books really resonated with me.

Paul Bowles wrote an outstanding book from a recording of an illiterate maghreb (Moroccan) who he called Driss Ben Hamed Charadi. The book was called A Life Full of Holes and is well worth a look.

I would also recommend:
A Man of the People and Things Fall Apart (especially the latter), by Chinua Achebe

Allah is Not Obliged by Ahmadou Kourouma

Two books I really liked that don't appear to have been widely read are:
The Return of the Water Spirit about post-colonial Angola
The Belly of the Atlantic about dreams of emigrating to Europe from Senegal.

Finally, is it naughty to recommend Albert Camus and J.M.Coetzee in this thread?

Message edited by its author, Mar 9, 2007, 2:23am.

Achebe is Nigerian, yes? What about Kourouma?
I'm visualizing a map of Africa and placing authors and books as they're mentioned.

As a note of interest, the professor (African politics) who asked me about Moroccan fiction wanted to avoid Paul Bowles. The same professor who told me he almost never reads fiction, highly recommended By the Sea by Zanzibar author Abdulrazak-Gurnah. Anyone read it? It seems I have a reader's copy of his Desertion somewhere in the house.

Countries of Africa:

* Algeria * Angola *Benin *Botswana *Burkina Faso * Burundi *Cameroon * Cape Verde * Central African Rep * Chad * Congo * Dem. Rep. Congo (Zaire) *Djibouti * Egypt *Equatorial Guinea *Eritrea *Ethiopia * Gabon * Gambia * Ghana * Guinea Bissau * Guinea * Ivory Coast * Kenya * Lesotho * Liberia * Libya * Madagascar * Malawi * Mali * Mauritania * Mauritius * Morocco * Mozambique * Namibia * Niger * Nigeria * Reunion * Rwanda * São Tomé and Principe * Senegel * Seychelles * Sierra Leone * Somalia * South Africa * Sudan * Swaziland * Tanzania * Togo * Tunisia * Uganda * Zambia * Zanzibar * Zimbabwe

Message edited by its author, Mar 9, 2007, 8:52am.

As a note of interest, the professor (African politics) who asked me about Moroccan fiction wanted to avoid Paul Bowles.

Paul Bowles is a wonderful writer. No, his fiction will not help you write a dissertation on African history, but to dismiss it like that is ridiculous. I suppose the same professor would be horrified at the idea of anyone reading Joseph Conrad.

#5 But if the professor wanted to read Moroccan fiction why would he want to read Bowles? Bowles is an American writer. It's not really abouy whether he is good or not.

A couple of Nigerian writers worth exploring are Ben Okri, who won the Booker Prize in 1991 with The Famished Road. His work could be described as African magic realism, although he dislikes the term.
And, Wole Soyinka, who won the Nobel Prize in 1986.

A good Kenyan writer is Ngugi wa Thiong'o - his early work was published as James Ngugi. His work is often political in nature, which hasn't always gone down well with the authorities in Kenya.

yes, jargoneer, I think you are right, the professor was interested in native writers. I'm sure Bowles is indeed an excellent writer, as, of course, is Conrad.

I have the most recent Thiong'o novel, it's huge which is why I haven't read it yet.

Is there really an African Magical Realism? South African/Afrikaans author Etienne van Herdeen uses magical realism in The Long Silence of Mario Salviati, I thought it was rather unusual at the time.

The Paul Bowles I mentioned in #3 is the transcription of someone else's story, not Bowles' writing, and is by a native writer (albeit one that couldn't write), with Bowles editting, of course. His own fiction is most definitely as an outsider looking in, albeit one who spent a lot of time in Africa.

Also, in answer to #4, Kourouma is Ivorian.

A few years ago, an American website or company tried to produce a contraversial list of the 100 greatest novels of all time, but only included English books. In response, an African literary group (based in Zimbabwe, I think) produced a list of the 12 greatest african novels of all time. I'll try to find a website with them on. I know they included:
Things Fall Apart
Chaka the Zulu
A book by a Zimbabwean called something like Tsitsi Dambaregba (someone must know what I mean)
And possibly Mia Couto (Mozambique) and Bessie Head (Botswana).

Bessie Head's Maru is in my backpack, and is next on my list. The Heinemann African Writer's Series has done a great job of collecting african authors together, though I must confess to having read some real stinkers.

Finally, I have had 1 message suggesting that Coetzee is african, but Camus isn't. Any other thoughts?

Tsitsi Dangarembga?

Finally, I have had 1 message suggesting that Coetzee is african, but Camus isn't. Any other thoughts?

This seems odd to me. Both were born and raised in Africa. I guess you could discriminate on the basis that Camus had French citizenship and wound up living in France, but it smells of a political test to me, which I hate.

But if the professor wanted to read Moroccan fiction why would he want to read Bowles? Bowles is an American writer.

As depressaholic points out, he also produced versions of oral stories by local storytellers, which I would think would qualify as "Moroccan fiction."

Didn't enjoy the Bessie Head very much, but just read Our Sister Killjoy by Ama Ata Aidoo, which was a mix of prose and poetry, and very, very powerful.

I'm reading a Zanzibarian author at the moment, Abdulrazak Gurnah. I'm reading By the Sea but it seems I have a reader's copy of his Desertion around the house somewhere. Anyone read him before? It's wonderfully written...

I also picked up another book by Tahar Ben Jelloun, this one, The Last Friend alos set in Morocco.

It seems no one has mentioned one of my favorite African writers - Amos Tutuola whose book A Palm Wine Drinkard and My Life in the Bush of Ghosts are both wonderful books. They may be attempts at writing folk tales in the magic realist style, and questionably authentic, but I love them.
Also wonderful, and relatively new is the Whale Caller by a famous writer Zakes Mda.Wonderful and not new is the Nobelist Nadine Gordimer whose anti-apartheid books were powerful.And Coetzee 's Disgrace is one of the most touching and moving stories of the South African racial dilemma.

Thats not the list I saw (which I still can't find) but it includes the same books. Thanks for that Avaland.

I am reading Alan Paton's Cry, the Beloved Country, which was written in and about pre-apartheid South Africa, and is a wonderful read so far (1/3 of the way in). At the other end of the continent, my next book is likely to be Minaret by the Sudanese Leila Aboulela.

I loved Cry, the Beloved Country. Purple Hibiscus is also one of my favorite African books.

Does anyone else think the #1 Ladies Detective Agency series is a bit condescending toward Africans? I really enjoyed the first book, was okay with the second, but by the third I was starting to see the writing a bit differently.

The characters in McCall Smith's books are so kind, and gentle, and honorable I don't think the books are doing harm. They show simple, minimally educated people living good useful and kindly lives with self respect, and independence of spirit. It says often in the books, that they are grateful that Botswana is peaceful, and free, and has riches under the ground. I would have to be a Botswana native to know if the books are condescending or not. I find them cheering.

That's how I used to feel about the characters. For some reason, in the third book, the characters started to feel a little too cute, and maybe a little simple-minded rather than simple. I asked myself if the characters would be as appealing if they were American, and the answer was no. Anyway, thanks for your take on it.

Inspired by some of the great African fiction I have read over the last year or so, I have requested of my advisor to do an independent studies course which has been dubbed, "Special Topics in African Studies." We're hammering out the details now but essentially it will start with a survey of Africa (using the text Africans: The History of the Continent by John Iliffe). I will then take on Aids, gender issues, and oral tradition/literature. Lots of reading (yum!); other confirmed texts are The African AIDS Epidemic: A History also by Iliffe and Infidel a new book by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. I know these are nonfiction but I thought some of you might be interested. Fiction will follow later on.

I cannot understand why anyone liked Disgrace. I cannot see the value in forgiving rape. Was his point the way people waste their lives, her father certainly did.

Love Naguib Mahfouz. The Cairo Trilogy, Midaq Alley and The Beginning and the End are my favorites. Midaq Alley had me laughing and crying. The Beginning and the End was Shakespearean in its tragedy. I have read most of his books but these three are my favorites. Also loved Things Fall Apart by Achebe. Have a copy of No Longer At Ease but have not started it yet.

Sorry, I did not mean for my rant about Disgrace to sound like I was attacking the person(s) above who enjoyed it. I just had such a visceral reaction to the book.

Message edited by its author, May 12, 2007, 7:04pm.

Gautherbelle: i thought Disgrace was a GREAT book. The 'forgiving' of the rape was imo not the real tragedy, but the legacy of injustice in south Africa, and the need the girl had to stay there on her farm, and accept any humiliation in order to do it. I think a book can be great without being enjoyable. Think of Crime and Punishment.

Sorry but we will have to agree to disagree. And just how much humiliation will she accept over a lifetime, more rape, beatings, total degradation? And how will it improve or atone for legacy of injustice in S.A.? It's not as if she doesn't have options. It's been years since I read C&P but I don't think the point of veiw was that the killer was in any way heroic or that his actions were forgiveable.

re: Disgrace
I actually thought there was a more humanistic message in the book which, in a way was independent of South African racial politics. I didn't feel that the rape victim (I read this a long time ago, and can't remember names, etc.) was forgiving about her ordeal, so much as refusing to feel shame (or 'disgrace') about what had happened to her. Her father was horrified by this, but he himself was fairly unashamed about his affair with a student and loss of job. The idea that a rape victim should be ashamed about being attacked but someone who abuses his position for sex is somehow understandable is still prevalent in a lot of societies, and Disgrace challenges this powerfully. Gautherbelle is right, it is an uncomfortable read, but I think I disagree with the point you make in 22 because she has not suffered humiliation, because she refuses to allow herself to see her attack in those terms. The book forced me to think about exactly what the word 'disgrace' means, which is why I found it powerful.

>5, 6, 7 As a matter of note, the professor in question is in Morocco as we speak. He choose and is recommending to others, Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits by Laila Lalami. Btw, he recommended to me, (as someone who admits to rarely reading fiction) By the Sea by Zanzibarian author Abdulrazak Gurnah - which I have to agree is excellent.

I like Coetzee a lot and was pleased when he won the Nobel. There's a Lebanese writer--Elias Khoury I think is very good particularly Little Mountain. An Ugandan Moses Isegawa's Abyssinian Chronicles is well worth reading. Favorite novel out of the African continent though is Marlene Van Niekerk's Triomf--that is superb.

#23 depressaholic Totally agree with your observations about Disgrace.

She was willing to marry the man who raped her. True enough it was to be a marriage in name only but still. Also would you feel the same way if they'd both been the same race?

I really love this thread. I've been a member of LibraryThing for just over a month and my favorite thing about it is that it's exposed me to writers whom I might never have considered before. I'm hungering for almost all the books mentioned in this thread, though I suppose it will have to wait till I move back to the U.S. -- my one English language bookstore is not exactly overflowing with African titles and neither is bookmooch. I'm really looking forward to reading these though.

#27 Gautherbelle
Gosh, I've forgotten the bit about marriage. Can't offer an opinion.

#28 cestovatela
Glad you're here. I like reading your posts.

Message edited by its author, May 29, 2007, 8:05am.

Thank you amandameale! I enjoy your posts too :)

Although I'm not reading fiction, I am reading King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild. It's compelling and quite accessible stuff. I think Henry Morton Stanley (of Stanley and Livingstone) sounds like the James Frey of his time. My studies, although it's just been a month or so, have already enhanced my previous fiction reading. It's interesting to think about - By the Sea, which is set on the east coast in Zanzibar; Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits which begins in the north in Morrocco; The Good Doctor and The Long Silence of Mario Salviati set in the south, and, of course, Half of a Yellow Sun in the west in Nigeria - all these books in relationship to the fundamental regional differences in the continent.

I took an African literature class in college ('98 or '99) and we probably read 10 or 11 books but the only ones that stuck with me are Changes by Ama Ata Aidoo and Petals of Blood by Ngugi wa Thiong'o. Both of them were very powerful.

Everything else was good but not memorable. Except one...and I can't remember it exactly. I think the author's last name was Tlali and it was called something like Miriam or Muriel of the Store. Maybe Miriam was the author's first name, though. In any case it was awful. Just really poorly written and pedantic and saccharine. So I would advise staying away from Tlali.

I've since read Achebe and Soyinka elsewhere and highly recommend both.

Muriel at Metropolitan by Miriam Tlali

Below is the list of Africa's 100 Best Books that was referenced earlier.

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/af...

The list was produced in 2002 and is concerned with African "classics." Consequently, much of the newer post-colonial literature is not found there. (Also, about half of the books are non-fiction works.)

Some suggestions for contemporary African literature (excluding authors listed above):
Graceland by Chris Abani (Nigeria)
Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga (Zimbabwe)
Joys of Motherhod by Buchi Emecheta (Nigeria)
From A Crooked Rib by Nuruddin Farah (Somalia)
Waiting for an Angel by Helon Habila (Nigeria)
Zenzele by J. Nozipo Maraire (Zimbabwe)
Temps de Chien (in English, Dog Days) by Alain Nganang (Cameroon)
The Stone Virgins by Yvonne Vera (Zimbabwe)

Plus, I'll mention my favorite Ngugi novel, A Grain of Wheat.

btw, the July issue of Vanity Fair is focused on Africa. There are more than a few good articles, not to mention a lovely overview of some of the notable living African authors. Great photos also.

kahudson: thanks for the link to the columbia african studies program, and the list of 100 best african books. There are some writers that I hadn't heard of.

avaland, I don't know if this is on your syllabus or not, but if you see it in the library and have a bit of spare time (ha! what am I thinking?!?) you may want to check out Sven Lindqvist's Exterminate all the brutes. The title is taken from Conrad's Heart of Darkness and the legacy of men like Kurtz is the topic of the book. It's well-written, deeply disturbing (the atrocities committed in the Belgian Congo remain among the most terrible in recorded history) and very thought-provoking (Lindqvist's take is often as much anthropological as historical). I'd recommend it to anyone interested in the history of Africa, imperialism, or racism. It is not a perfect book but it is an important one, in my opinion.

My novel Ama, a Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade was first published in New York in print-on-demand format. That's a lousy way to publish fiction: the book doesn't make it to bookstores and has little chance of getting reviewed. (However, see www.ama.africatoday.com/reviews.htm)
So, as part of my marketing strategy, I gathered all the research material I had used, solicited permission from copyright holders and then put it all together on a web-site, www.ama.africatoday.com
Then I added some bonus material. You might like to check out the following pages:
www.ama.africatoday.com/african_literatu...
www.ama.africatoday.com/middle_passage_f...
www.ama.africatoday.com/slavetrade_liter...
and
www.ama.africatoday.com/africa_100.htm
The last gives some information about the origin of the Africa's 100 Best Books of the 20th Century project which has been mentioned previously.

It's few years since I update those pages. For more recent lists -and reviews - I recommend the following sites.

On the lively South African book scene, try:
http://book.co.za/
and
http://www.litnet.co.za/cgi-bin/giga.cgi (mostly in Afrikaans but with enough in English to make it worth a visit for those who don't read Afrikaans.)

http://www.booksandleisure.co.za/ is the website of a South African magazine

In Annie Gagiano's two-monthly column at Litnet, "African texts (mostly English, or translated into English) are discussed in order to suggest something of the range – geographical; thematic and socio-cultural – of writing from this continent that is available in English. The aim is, on the one hand, to provide access to some of the "classic" texts in this genre and, on the other, to alert readers to the publication of more recent writing. Because South African English novels are widely reviewed locally these are, in general, excluded from this column, which attempts to convey an impression of the rich variety of writing across the rest of Africa."
http://www.litnet.co.za/cgi-bin/giga.cgi...

The Africa Book Centre in London has a comprehensive on-line catalogue with mini-reviews.
http://www.africabookcentre.com/

The African Review of Books site is well worth a visit
http://www.africanreviewofbooks.com/

If you're in the U.S. check http://msupress.msu.edu/abc_order_form.p... for books by African publishers who are members of the African Books Collective.
http://www.africanbookscollective.com/

manherb, you are a wealth of information! welcome!

manuherb: thank you so much for all the leads and links for info on african literature. It isn't reviewed much in the journals I read, so this is a big help. Thanks again. miriam

It occurs to me while I am reading African history, that have we been exposed to more African literature from former British colonies (than, say, former French colonies) because they are written in English? (seems a silly question, doesn't it?) Are there areas of the continent where we are not hearing from indigenous writers at all?

While we have not discuss many African Francophone works, they constitute a substantial corpus. (This seems not to be the case for African literature in Portuguese.) The one geographic region on the continent that seems un-represented or under-represented is Central Africa. West Africa is significantly overrepresented.

41 & 42
There is lots of francophone african literature about, but it is probably inevitable that english speakers like me have been more exposed to english language african lit. Perhaps a French Librarythinger would comment that there is more Francophone african literature than English African books?
I have also not found it too hard to find portuguese language stuff. There is not a huge amount of it around, but then not that much of Africa was colonised by the Portuguese compared to the French and English. I, like kahudson, have found central africa (Congo, Gabon, Central African Republic, Chad) very underrepresented. So, for that matter, is stuff originally written in the native languages.

Message edited by its author, Jun 29, 2007, 2:46am.

kahudson & depressaholic, that seems to be my observation also. I have read some French translations (i.e. Ben Jelloun), but no Portuguese that I know of.

Actually, while I am thinking about it, translated literature from the former Portuguese colonies has been relatively easy to find once I started looking. I searched for Angolan literature and found a relatively large choice (compared to a lot of other countries), though none with international reputations in the english speaking world. I ended up reading The Return of the Water Spirit, which was pretty good. I have (as yet unread) the Mozambiquan Mia Couto's Sleepwalking Land, which is frequently cited as an African classic. Further afield, there are a lot of well respected Brazilian authors, and I even had no trouble finding a very good novel from East Timor (The Crossing by Luis Cardoso). I hadn't thought about this before, but it strikes me as odd because I don't necessarily associate Portugal itself with a strong literary tradition, Jose Saramago aside. Am I just very ignorant of Portuguese lit?

>45, I suppose you could start a thread and find out:-)

I'm intrigued that I keep coming across African authors using magical realism (this just begs further study) and wonder if this literary technique (I hesitate to call it a genre in this case) is a more natural descendant of the African storytelling/oral tradition than other literary means?

From King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild:

The author in the afterword discusses that his greatest frustration 'lay in how hard it was to portray individual Africans as full-fledged actors in this story' and explains why. But in his explanation I found this:

I wrestled with this problem repeatedly while writing the book and have no better solution to it now. There are fine anthropological studies of various Congolese peoples, but the biographical record on individual Africans from this era is scanty. A history based on characters must be mainly the tory of King Leopold and those of his supporters or opponents who were European or American. If we are to enter deeply into the personal lives of individual Congonese in this period, it may have to be done in fiction, as novelists like Chinua Achebe have done for the colonial era elsewhere in Africa, or as Toni Morrison has done for the life experience of American slaves.

The recent issue (July 2007) of Vanity Fair magazine was devoted to Africa, and there is a lengthy article on African fiction and writers. I added many titles to my reading list from that article.

>48: Nickelini, yes, that's an outstanding issue of Vanity Fair! I heard about it from some other thread on LT and am still savoring my copy. The article on African writers was very interesting and I also have found all the other articles very enlightening.

I thought some of the Vanity Fair articles quite good, but the overview of African authors I thought fairly light. The fact that I knew of nearly all of the authors featured was disappointing - I don't think the article had enough reach - if you know what I mean.

>50 avaland, thanks to LibraryThing I, too, was already aware of most of the authors mentioned in the article. We have such an outstanding group of knowledgeable people here!

Message edited by its author, Jul 17, 2007, 11:57am.

Although not fiction, I have finished the The African Aids Epidemic: A History by John Iliffe and am starting Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali - also not fiction; however, I will actually be reading African fiction before the end of the summer, really!

>52: avaland, I'm interested in your reactions to Infidel. I have seen the author interviewed on television and am fascinated by her story.

>53 will let you know.

I came across today while researching books on the African oral tradition as it relates to literature. It is the Noma Award for publishing in Africa and includes the winning titles. Interestingly, the award has a Japanese publisher as sponsor. I don't know if the works are available in English or not, I'm sure some are.

Message edited by its author, Jul 18, 2007, 1:11pm.

I've finished Infidel and despite the fact that it is NOT fiction, I highly recommend it:-) It's a coming-of-age, coming into their own story. I have a few more books to read before the class finishes - The Epic of Son-Jara, the famous oral West African epic and Singing Away the Hunger, another memoir.

I have finished Singing Away the Hunger, which is another extraordinary memoir from a African woman born in Lesotho. She has "little formal education, less privilege, and almost no experience with books or writing." I have ordered one more memoir from a young Somali woman, Born in the Big Rains by Fadumo Korn. In the meanwhile, I'm reading The Epic of Son-Jara.

I have requested a follow-up independent course of just African fiction:-)

I have just finished Mema by Daniel Mengara, a book in the AWS by a Gabonese writer, but written in English. It is an examination of the narrator's mother (Mema), who is a machete weilding harridan and pariah in her own society. Through a mixture of anecdotes and fairy tales, Mengara shows how Mema has ended up like she has, which is due to the interactions of the religious and social customs of her people, and the desire to protect and nurture her loved ones. As a novel (actually a novella) it is a bit of a mess, but as a hommage to Mema, and mothers in general, it is surprisingly powerful.

Message edited by its author, Aug 7, 2007, 6:46am.

depressaholic, are you jumping around in your quest to cover the world or are you going from continent to continent?

I'm mostly jumping around at the moment. I still find almost all of my books in second hand shops/public libraries/ordinary bookshops, which goes to show how many authors from different parts of the world are easily accessible. I think it would be better to pick a part of the world and stick to it for a bit, but thats not been possible given the way I accumulate books. If (like now) I have a lot of 'new' countries on my shelves I will try to read them in geographic chunks (e.g. I just read Romania and Hungary together, and am in Belize now and likely to go to Guatemala next, and am preparing for a big African session in the near future). I think once I need to look harder for books from the remaining places I will do it by focussing on a specific area and seeing what is out there.

Personally, I think you ought to create your own thread in this group so we can all, more carefully, follow your progress. I think others, especially newcomers, would be interested in how you got started doing this, how you go about it, where you've been, and what's next. And particularly your insights along the way. Do consider it, please?

I second avaland's comment above. Especially as the number of threads I follow grows and grows and grows (not to mention all the ones I don't follow), it would be convenient for me, as well as fascinating for many of us, if you, depressaholic, started a thread about your around-the-world reading.

I'll have a think about the best way to do it. It seems a bit self-indulgent to write lists of just what I have been reading (more like a blog than a thread), but it has been an interesting journey for me. I was kind of hoping some people would join me along the way, but you are all too sane, apparently (though I have my doubts). I'll think if I can make it interesting for other people.
Andy

Oh go ahead, be self-indulgent! I don't think you have to worry about making it entertaining, we're already intrigued. Don't make me get the flying monkeys!

Just kiddin'

Perhaps name it something ironic like: 'Depressaholic's happy literary trip around the world" (it should have your name in it so we can find it) and then just start and see where it goes. Just think of the comments! the intrigue! the suspense! What will he read when he gets to San Marino!!!

Far from being self-indulgent, creating a thread on your reading journey would encourage (and help) others (well, me anyway) to join you, comment, etc. I think you could start out by finding your original description of your project and pasting it to start a new thread, and then add what you've read so far and from where, possibly grouped by continents, and with any comments you care to make. (That's the editor in me talking.) It would be a bit of work at first, but then you could just add postings as you discovered and read new books.

I know I've been interested in what you're doing, but with your posts scattered around I don't feel I really grasp the big picture.

Well I confess I have not been following depressaholic's journey but it sounds most interesting and I hope you will start a thread, too!

Depressaholic.

Do consider chronicling your journey. As suggested, it would be a template for those of us who want to read a global swath. I, for one, would look forward to noting and hearing about the titles you select. (TBR alert to self!) You might also get some good feedback and insight from readers in general and those of us from your target locales.
Give it a go, please.

Like deperssaholic, I am on a worldwide literary journey. My most recent trip took me to Kenya with The River Between. It's the first book African literature I've read since Things Fall Apart in high school and I thought I'd share my review here in case y'all are interested:

Waiyaki, the main character of The River Between, is born just as white missionaries bring change to rural Kenya. The son of a famous seer, he is prophesied to be his people's savior but privately he is torn between his respect for the tribe and his love for the white man's education. With simple prose, Ngugi captures the sweetness of every day village life but we never lose the feeling of great forces building in the background. At times I worried the book was headed toward a didactic message of peaceful compromise, but the powerful, haunting ending is anything but simple. Although the book is short and not stylistically challenging, it took me a long time to read. Waiyaki is depicted as a Christ figure and the many Christian allusions gave me a lot to consider about both the book itself and African literature as a whole. The African perspective on controversial topics like female circumcision was equally thought-provoking. I recommend this book highly for its unique flavor and resonant characters but you should probably save it till you're in the mood for something that requires thinking.

cestovatela, this sounds like a great book. I did get a small taste of Kenya with Ayaan Hirsi Ali's memoir, Infidel but I will definitely keep this in mind. Have you read By the Sea by Gurnah? Great story set mostly in Zanzibar.

avaland, I haven't read By the Sea yet but it's on my wishlist thanks to your posts about it. I just moved back to the US from Japan so this is the first time in a long time that I've had access to a wide variety of English books.

I hope other users on this thread will consider posting reviews or short synopses of the African works they've read. Being a bit obscure, some of them are quite difficult to find information about. It really helps to have personal opinions when choosing your reading material.

Message edited by its author, Aug 11, 2007, 4:23pm.

I bought this today: A Basket of Leaves: 99 Books That Capture the Spirit of Africa by Geoff Wisner. (touchstones don't work)

Synopsis
This title captures the spirit of the continent - from the desert of Algeria to the savannahs of Kenya, and the jungles of Equatorial Guinea. The author presents reviews and excerpts from notable books from each of the 54 countries in Africa.

I've never heard of many of the writers included. Some of the more familiar names discussed are Paul Bowles, Maya Angelou, Chinua Achebe and J.M. Coetzee. The author also includes a list of suggestions for further reading which is nine pages long.

The author concludes his introduction with this paragraph: "Finally, why ninety-nine books? Perhaps because one hundred is too round a number, seeming to imply that one hundred books is all you need to understand Africa, or that it's even possible to compile a complete list of the best of what has been written about the continent. Ninety-nine is an open number. At the least, it leaves room for a favourite book of your own."

The book was published in South Africa in May. I don't know if it's available internationally.

izzybee, the book sounds interesting. I might have to look around for it.

I just ordered two books of essays and a novel by Ngugi wa Thiong'o. I already have The Wizard of the Crow but I can't tackle such a large book at the moment.

Thanks izzybee! I will try to find it somewhere in internet.
:-))

African Writing is a new magazine, both print and on-line. www.african-writing.com

What a great site! Thanks, manuherb!

I came across this great site. It's an index of African writers and one can search by country! Might be useful if one is trying to fill a gap in their global reading challenge:-)

Here's my review for Cry, the Beloved Country. I imagine a lot of you have already read it since it's such a classic, but I thought I would share anyway. The novel is from South Africa.

This is an outstanding work of literature, and a very accessible one. It is the story of two fathers, one black and one white, brought together by the tragic fate of their sons in pre-apartheid South Africa. Author Alan Paton does an amazing job balancing commentary on the whole of South African society with the stories of individual characters. Through dramatic first-person narratives spoken by whole racial or socioeconomic communities, we understand the forces shaping South African society. By looking through the eyes of the main characters, we see how those forces shape the lives of individual people. Much of the novel's drama comes from how each character responds to social expectations.

Even though this novel is replete with symbolism and social commentary, it remains easy to read. In fact, the homespun prose is so accessible that it's easy to let the underlying layers of meaning fly by. The characters are real people with faults and feelings, so it's easy to feel emotionally connected to the novel. Both of the main characters will bring tears to your eyes.

Highly recommended for all.

>76: thanks for the review! This one is working its way to the top of my TBR pile and I'm looking forward to reading it ... glad to hear good things about it.

I absolute loved Cry, the Beloved Country. Paton's Too Late the Phalarope was also good (not as good, but still good). But it's been a long time since I read either.

I read my parent's copy of Cry, the Beloved Country, and heard stories about the impact it had at the time it came out - not just on views toward South Africa but also in the rapidly growing American Civil Rights movement of the 50s.

It will definitely move to the top of my TBR list as well. Btw, the review is excellent!
:-))

Thanks, aluvalibri! I love writing reviews, so I'm glad that people like them.

A recent south-african novel, "Red Dust" by Gillian Slovo, is sitting on my Mt. TBR, together with the film made from it, which I taped last week. It's about the Truth and Reconciliation councils set up in South Africa after apartheid, and how perpetrators and victims of violence (under the apartheid system) confront each other. Haven't read it, so no review here.

GirlFromIpanema, I have Red Dust also, although I haven't read it yet. I also have her The Ice Road.

Another book on my rather extensive TBR pile is Jonathan Falla's Poor Mercy set in the Sudan. I very much enjoyed his Blue Poppies set in Tibet. Falla was born in Jamaica but has traveled the world working for relief agencies. Interesting bio for a writer, yes?

I'd like to add a novel. just published called "Survive the Fittest" by Nigerian author and scientist Henry Amachei Onwubiko (sorry no touchstones, although I've added the book to my library here, and it is available on Amazon).

Although Henry worked for the past year at the lab where I work, I did not know him except by sight as we worked in separate buildings. I attended his bookreading about ten days ago and was struck by his passion for his country and his story.

Here's an article about him:
http://missoula.com/news/node/635

"Survive the Fittest" is not a quick read but I am fascinated by its depth and texture. I'm hoping someone else here may be intrigued enough to find a copy so we can compare notes. Unlike many of you, it's the first Nigerian fiction I've read.

Apologies if someone has mentioned this before, but I have found a source that I wasn't previously aware of for francophone literature from Africa and the Caribbean. It is called CARAF books, and focusses on contemporary literature, and is full of stuff that I don't think can be got elsewhere in English:

http://www.upress.virginia.edu/browse/se...

Also, a long time ago I mentioned that a Zimbabwe based group (from the Zimbabwe International Book Festival) had tried to put together a list of the best African writing of the 20th century. I have finally found the list they produced, for anyone who is interested:
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (1958)
Sosuís Call by Meshack Asare (1999)
So Long a Letter by Mariama Ba (1979)
Terra Sonambula by Mia Couto (1992)
Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga (1988)
The African Origins of Civilization: Myth or Reality by Cheikh Anta Diop (1955)
L’amour, la fantasia by Assia Djebar (1985)
The Cairo Trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz(1945)
Chaka by Thomas Mofolo (1925)
The Years of Childhood by Wole Soyinka (1981)
A Grain of Wheat by Ngugi wa Thiongo (1967)
Oeuvre Poetique by Leopold Sedar Senghor (1961)

depressaholic, After you posted the previous list, I was curious about a list of '100 best' I had seen. Searching for it, I seem to have found another source for the initiative from the Zimbabwe international Book Festival...but is more comprehensive (includes children's and non-fiction). My source is Colombia University, read it HERE

The site is quite interesting, lists criteria and here is their definition of an African:
* Only books written by Africans are eligible. After extensive discussion and debate the ZIBF has for the purpose of this project identified an African as: 'someone either born in Africa or who became a citizen of an African country.' This definition incorporates those African writers who have moved from their countries of birth to other continents. The issue of authors who are not by this definition deemed African but who consider themselves such or those who have made a notable contribution to African scholarship and literature will be addressed on their merit should their books be nominated.

Interesting, considering our discussions in this group on the various threads about linking authors to countries. Notice there is no Camus on the list below. Hmm.

I've tried to copy in their creative writing list below. Since I lost the grid format in the process, I've tried to tidy it up a bit. Sorry, I don't have the patience to attempt to touchstone all these books. If anyone would like to translate any foreign language titles, please feel free to do so.

Abnudi, `Abd al-Rahman (Egypt) al-Mawt `ala al-asfalt
Achebe, Chinua (Nigeria) Arrow of God
Achebe, Chinua (Nigeria) Things Fall Apart
Aidoo, Ama Ata (Ghana) Anowa
Almeida, Germano (Cape Verde) O testamento do Sr. Napumoceno da Silva Araújo
Armah, Ayi Kwei (Ghana) The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born
Bâ, Amadou Hampâté (Mali) L'étrange destin de Wangrin
Bâ, Mariama (Senegal) Une si longue lettre
Ben Jelloun, Tahar (Morocco) La nuit sacrée
Beti, Mongo (Cameroon) Le pauvre Christ de Bomba
Brink, André (South Africa) A Dry White Season
Bugul, Ken (Senegal) Riwan, ou le chemin de sable
Cheney-Choker, Syl (Sierra Leone) The Last Harmattan of Alusine Dunbar
Chraibi, Driss (Morocco) Le passé simple
Coetzee, J.M. (South Africa) Life and Times of Michael K
Couto, Mia (Mozambique) Terra sonâmbula
Craveirinha, José (Mozambique) Karingana ua Karingana
Dadié, Bernard (Côte d'Ivoire) Climbié
Dangarembga, Tsitsi (Zimbabwe) Nervous Conditions
Dib, Mohammed (Algeria) Algérie, La grande maison, L'incendie, Le métier à tisser
Diop, Birago (Senegal) Les contes d'Amadou Koumba
Diop, Boubacar Boris (Senegal ) Murambi ou le livre des ossements
Djebar, Assia (Algeria) L'amour, la fantasia
Emecheta, Buchi (Nigeria) The Joys of Motherhood
Fagunwa, Daniel O. (Nigeria) Ogboju ode ninu igbo irunmale
Farah, Nuruddin (Somalia ) Maps
Fugard, Athol (South Africa) The Blood Knot
Ghitani, Jamal al- (Egypt ) Zayni Barakat
Gordimer, Nadine (South Africa) Burgher's Daughter
Head, Bessie (South Africa) A Question of Power
Honwana, Bernardo (Mozambique) Nos matamos o cão tinhoso
Hove, Chenjerai (Zimbabwe) Bones
Isegawa, Moses (Uganda) Abessijnse Kronieken
Jordan, Archibald Campbell (South Africa) Ingqumbo yeminyanya
Joubert, Elsa (South Africa) Die Swerdjare van Poppie Nongena
Kane, Cheikh Hamidou (Senegal) L'aventure ambiguë
Khosa, Ungulani Ba Ka (Mozambique) Ualalapi
Kourouma, Ahmadou (Côte d'Ivoire) Les soleils des indépendances
Laye, Camara (Guinea) L'enfant noir
Magona, Sindiwe (South Africa) Living, Loving and Lying Awake at Night
Mahfouz, Naguib (Egypt) The Cairo Trilogy
Marechera, Dambudzo (Zimbabwe) House of Hunger
Mofolo, Thomas (Lesotho) Chaka
Monenembo, Tierno (Guinea) Un attieké pour Elgass
Mutwa, Vusamazulu Credo (South Africa) Indaba, My Children
Ngugi wa Thiong'o (Kenya) Caitaani Mutharaba-ini
Ngugi wa Thiong'o (Kenya) A Grain of Wheat
Niane, Djibril Tamsir (Senegal) Soundjata ou l'épopée mandingue
Nyembezi, Sibusiso (South Africa) Inkinnsela yaseMgungundlovu
Okigbo, Christopher (Nigeria) Labyrinths
Okri, Ben (Nigeria) The Famished Road
Oyono, Ferdinand (Cameroon) Le vieux nègre et la médaille
P'Bitek, Okot (Uganda) Song of Lawino
Pepetela (Angola) A geração da utopia
Saadawi, Nawal El (Egypt ) Woman at Point Zero
Salih El Tayyib (Sudan) Season of Migration to the North
Sassine, Williams (Guinea) Le jeune homme de sable
Sembene, Ousmane (Senegal) Les bouts de bois de Dieu
Senghor, Léopold Sédar (Senegal ) Ouevre poétique
Serote, Mongane (South Africa) Third World Express
Shabaan, Robert Bin (Tanzania) Utenzi wa vita vya uhuru
Sony Labou Tansi (Congo) La vie et demie
Sow Fall, Aminata (Senegal) La grève des battus
Soyinka, Wole (Nigeria) Death and the King's Horsemen
Tchicaya U Tam'si (Congo) Le mauvais sang - feu de brousse - à trisse-coeur
Tutuola, Amos (Nigeria) The Palm-wine Drinkard
Vera, Yvonne (Zimbabwe) Butterfly Burning
Vieira, José Luandino (Angola) Nós os do Makulusu
Vilakazi, B.W. (South Africa) Amal'eZulu
Yacine, Kateb (Algeria) Nedjma

Thanks for that, Avaland. I will be mining the list for suggestions later. The Camus thing continues to fascinate me. I know it is a personal hang-up of mine, to some degree, but why is everyone so reluctant to acknowledge his African upbringin and education? Is it because he addresses issues that our preconceptions define as being 'European', or perhaps because his tangle with Sartre put him in the arena of European literature. For me, he remains Algerian until somebody convinces me otherwise.

One has to wonder if he is not on the list because he wasn't nominated OR he was and wasn't included in the final cut. My professor for my African fiction class is Tunisian, and if I get a change, I'll ask (I'm certainly curious).

I'm still wondering if this is the same '100 best' list, I saw last year.

Here's another site that had some great links.

depressaholic, it seems you may be actually able to nominate for the list above:-)

Message edited by its author, Oct 24, 2007, 7:43pm.

87> Ooh, avaland, has he mentioned any Tunisian literature? I'd be interested to know what's out there. I'm sure there must be some! (I'm excluding literature that's from the Carthage era here...)

We haven't actually spoken yet, but I'll be sure to inquire.

I've lined up about 12-15 books to read for my African fiction or African literature class. Most of them have been chosen off the "best of" list above. A few are not. I'll post my list when I have it officially "approved" and any changes made.

Over the weekend I read The Joys of Motherhood by Nigerian author Buchi Emecheta. It is excellent. May all my choices be this good!

I recently bought Wizard of the Crow by Ngugi wa Thiong'o. It says "translated by the author from Gikuyu" and I couldn't find this language on the extensive drop-down complete list of languages on the Edit page. Does it have another spelling that might be on the list? What did those of you who have this book do?

Touchstones not loading.

I've often seen the language spelled Kikuyu.

I think mine just came up with Kikuyu when I entered it.

graceland by Chris Abani is a coming-of-age tale about Western celebrity, corruption and redemption as seen through the eyes young Elvis impersonator in Nigeria.

Laila Lalami has a wonderful blog that highlights world literature.

Message edited by its author, Sep 24, 2007, 2:17pm.

Thanks, cestovatela and avaland; that makes sense, since Kikuyu (as a language and an ethnic group) is mentioned in Wangari Matthai's autobiography. I just thought the author's spelling should be significant.

Touchstones not even trying -- but appeared in the post anyway!?

Message edited by its author, Sep 25, 2007, 8:50am.

Here's the list of what I'm reading this semester for my independent study. The list was hashed out between my professor and myself bearing in mind his recommendations and my interest in women authors. It's not perfect (a bit heavy on Nigeria and Egypt and neglects other countries, of course), but it should keep me very busy.

Achebe, Chinua (Nigeria). Arrow of God.
Couto, Mia (Mozambique) The Sleepwalking Land
Dangarembga, Tsitsi (Zimbabwe) Nervous Conditions
Djebar, Assia (Algeria), Women of Algiers in Their Apartment
Emecheta, Buchi (Nigeria) The Joys of Motherhood
Gordimer, Nadine (South Africa) Burgher’s Daughter
Gurnah, Abdulrazak (Zanibar), Desertion
Mahfouz, Naguib (Egypt) Midaq Alley
Memmi, Albert (Tunisia) Pillar of Salt
Ngugi wa Thiong’o (Kenya) The River Between
Okri, Ben (Nigeria) The Famished Road
Saadawi, Nawal El (Egypt) Woman at Point Zero

Well, the touchstones seemed to be working for a while...

LizT, #89, my professor declares Memmi's Pillar of Salt the greatest Tunisia novel.

And for those interested, he also said he enjoyed the movie made from The Yacoubian Building. (well, that touchstone worked, but the previous one doesn't even register on the loading list...geesh).

I hope nobody minds, but I'm cross-posting my review of Nervous Conditions from my round-the-world reading thread. My intention isn't to force people to read my post twice - I just think it might be useful for people who are using this thread to select their own African literature.

Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga
I made it about halfway through before giving up. The story of a determined, resourceful girl from a disadvantaged family continuing her education could have been a poignant one, but the writing style did it in. The narrator describes every one of her thoughts and feelings in exacting detail, so the story plods along at a snail's pace. A couple of the peripheral characters interested me, but we learn about them through exposition and description rather than dynamic scenes that demonstrate their personalities. It's rare for me to give up on a book, but I just couldn't get into this one.

Wow - this thread is great (and takes about a week to read so forgive me if I repeat)

I have just finished Youth by J. Coetzee, which was an amazing read. Just a gorgeous writer.

I see from previous posts that Disgrace created some controversy. I would recommend Youth and am inspired to read all his other books now.

karenwardill, is Youth connected to a previous novel? Seemed I went looking at Coetzee novels after seeing some conversation between amandameale and yourself and I thought it looked like it might be a sequel (of sorts) to another novel. I will put this one on my must-get list, but it's likely I won't get to it for quite a while.

cestovatela, I read your review on my 'connection news'. And I was very interested to read it as it is on the list of books I must read this semester. In fact, it just arrived in the mail yesterday, along with Woman at Point Zero. I'll want to check back with your review after I read it (and thanks for cross-posting, too!)

Avaland - as Youth is the first Coetzee novel I have read, I cannot be sure about this, but the book seems to stand alone (unless something comes after it). I suspect that it is highly autobiographical in nature, too. (totally unsubstantiated)

>101,102

According to my library system, Youth is the sequel to Boyhood.

I'm glad to hear that Youth can stand alone, since my library system doesn't have Boyhood.

yes, that is the title I saw it next to (and assumed the sequel relationship). I'm reading The Famished Road now - it's beautifully written.

Boyhood and Youth are actually both memoirs, and not novels. In each, Coetzee depicts himself from a distance, reporting events in the third person. Apparently, he himself has termed this type of writing "autrebiography".
I personally consider Boyhood to be one of the finest things I've ever read.

In case anyone is interested in Africa from an outsider's perspective, I thought I'd recommend Somebody's Heart is Burning by Tanya Shaffer. If you can ignore a cheesy title and insubstantial first chapter, you'll probably enjoy this book even if you don't usually read travel literature. The book describes Shaffer's one-year journey through Africa, focusing mostly on the lives of every day people she meets. Here is my full review:

I winced when I read the opening line of Somebody's Heart is Burning. "It's my life, and I'll run from it if I want." It seemed to promise cheesiness and my least favorite travel writing cliche: a plucky but confused female traveler trying to cast herself as a heroine in a chick lit novel. I kept worrying through the first chapter, which is mostly about writer Tonya Shaffer's faltering relationship. But, within 20 pages, the book had changed. Shaffer recognizes that good writers focus on the people and places they encounter, not on their own personal stories. Most of the book is about the fascinating characters Shaffer meets through her year-long excursion through Africa. A few of the people she profiles are fellow travelers, but most are the ordinary Africans who fed and sheltered her out of simple hospitality. Without over-analyzing or sermonizing, Shaffer chronicles the culture clashes she experienced, the poverty she witnessed and the spirit of dozens of people living through what we would consider great hardship. Her prose is plain and easy to read and her narrator leaves plenty of room for readers to analyze the cultural and economic dilemmas described in the book. What emerges is a series of simple but memorable stories that leave a clear snapshot of what life is really like in Africa. My only complaint is the slightly lackluster writing style, but it didn't affect the readability of the book

Have finished The Famished Road and Woman at Point Zero - will try to post some kind of review after I've written the papers for each one, although I suspect that The Famished Road needs no endorsement from me as it won the Booker Prize. BTW, I have been asked to start these papers by examining the titles of the works and whether they capture the essence or truth of the novel. It's an interesting approach. Consider 'Woman at Point Zero' - there is no reference to 'point zero' in the book - it could stand for any number of things...

The story of Azaro, the spirit child in The Famished Road is continued in Songs of Enchantment and Infinite Riches.

Re - starting at the point of the title when discussing novels is interesting when the novel is translated. Often a title will be altered in translation which means that it may not be the choice of the author. Then you end up having to analyse the original and new titles and why it was changed. By the time you have done you don't have any words left for the body of the novel. :-D

jargoneer, thanks for making it more difficult for me;-) I'm taking the titles as they are, and working the 'essence' of the novel into the paper. I think these papers are supposed to be 'book reports' of a sort.

I'm not sure I would want to read the continued story - at least not right now. I do have his Starbook on order from the UK, though.

Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi tells the story of Firdaus, a woman who is imprisoned and awaiting her execution for killing her pimp. Without giving the details of the story away, Firdaus's story is a 'bildungsroman', a novel of self-discovery and a search for a meaningful existence in the society one has been born into; however, in Firdaus's case, she ultimately rejects the accommodation her society has made for her. Based on a true story and written in the 1970's, Woman at Point Zero is an indictment against the oppression of women in the Arab world, a compelling read (all 100 or so pages), and a strangely uplifting story.

Finished The River Between and will now start Desertion by Abdulrazak Gurnah.

Message edited by its author, Oct 12, 2007, 7:39pm.

Jargoneer, interesting in the case of Woman at Point Zero that, I believe, the original title was "Firdaus" entirely appropriate for a bildungsroman tale (i.e. David Copperfield, Jane Eyre). I do wonder if it was her English translator or publisher that may have changed it.

Avaland,
We seem to be crossing each other (I waved out of the plane window as we passed, but I think you were ordering a drink). I have just read Paradise by Gurnah and will shortly start my first Ngugi (A Grain of Wheat). I'd like to know what you think if you get time. I also noticed that you have Arrow of God on your reading list, I read it a while ago, and again, would like to know your opinion. I have Anthills of the Savannah in my 'to read' pile, which will be my 5th Achebe.

Avaland, thank you for asking your professor! I'll have to look it out :-) I'm sorry I've taken so long to respond, I went away and didn't see the thread for a while. Also, reading Half of a Yellow Sun was so amazing I think I wanted to have a while before returning to Africa, bookwise at least!

But thank you, I'll look forward to hearing what you think of it!

I have just read The Land Without Shadows by Abdourahaman Waberi, a native Djiboutian living and writing in France. His essays were concerned only with Djibouti's history and culture, but he writes in French. He (and his translator into English) make a few comments about this in the excellent introduction, so I thought I would note a couple of things. This isn't in response to anything, I just thought it was an interesting perspective.

Waberi describes himself, and his generation, as being 'transcontinental'. He notes that there are a generation of francophone African writers who were born after 1960 (the year of independence for many former French colonies), most of whom hold diplomas from French universities. These writers have no qualms about describing themselves as Franco-whatever (Franco-Cameroonian, Franco-Congolese, etc.), and identify with their places of birth and their French colonial heritage.

Waberi also notes that the theme of returning to ones native land has disappeared from their writing, and that the opposite theme, that of arrival, has dominated their work. They are therefore writing about their arrival into the French part of their heritage, which is cherished, rather than something to disown.

When Waberi was asked if he was a 'francophone' he replied:
"...when I write in French, then I am one. I would say that I am a French language writer. Now if 'francophonie' is the space of the imaginary, of words, of culture open to whoever can align two or three words in French on a page, yes, in that case I would be a francophone, but also someone from a certain new France. Sometimes I define myself as a neo-Frenchman, although in general I haven't written a single line about France, but I live there...This new France interests me potentially."

And on the subject of using French, his translator writes:
Should one write in one's first tongue, Somali in this case, or in the language of the occupier? While novelists and poets of preceeding generations may have felt guilty about writing in French, Waberi asserts that this "feeling of guilt seems to have disappeared, in particular with the young writers of my generation." In fact, he writes, while "the father's language is not always equipped to express his son's world," the language of the occupier "harbours unsuspected privileges".

Message edited by its author, Oct 23, 2007, 10:36am.

I just finished Wizard of the Crow by Ngugi wa Thiong'o. I really enjoyed the mixture of satire and folklore/sorcery up until the very end, when I thought it got just a tad too politically preachy. But all in all, a very good book.

I've just finished "Purple Hibiscus by chimamanda Ngozi Adichie" and loved the style and sharpness of the writing. The story just flowed and zipped through. I'm starting half a yellow sun by same author. My niece spent one month in Lagos so I'm sending her the names of these two books to read. She lived in a apartment and shopped at the market and really got to interact with the people. She was visiting a friend's family.
Nzingha

Nzingha, As people here may be tired of hearing me say, Half of a Yellow Sun was my favorite book of last year. Just amazing.

depressaholic, those are interesting comments. It may be interesting to note to others reading this that in some of the former French colonies, some feel that French has become the language of the government and elite and is not the language of the majority of the people. Certainly an author with aspirations might choose to embrace a language which might more easily introduce him/her to a wider audience. I'm going to see if I can entice one of the African LTers I've met to post.

Finishing Desertion tonight and then will begin Burgher's Daughter by Nadine Gordimer. Will let you know more about the Gurnah novel after I've mulled a bit. Rebeccanyc, if you haven't read his By the Sea yet, I think you would very much enjoy it.

Message edited by its author, Oct 24, 2007, 7:53pm.

Nzingha, I agree with rebeccanyc, Adichie is a writer to continue to watch. It has been interesting to read Buchi Emecheta and Ben Okri, both also from Nigeria. Emecheta, like Achebe and Soyinka, are the literary ancestors of Adichie and Okri.

Thanks, avaland. I don't know Gurnah so I will look for By the Sea. I read Burgher's Daughter years ago when I was reading a lot of Nadine Gordimer, but I really don't remember it now.

I am South African and so can recommed some South African books that people haven't mentioned yet.

My traitor's heart by Rian Malan is a wonderfull written book. Rian Malan's grandfather was one the founders of apartheid and it gives the book just that more oomph.

Islands by Dan Sleigh was originally written in Afrikaans. It is written about the first fifty years of the Dutch establishment which would become Cape Town.

In the heart of the country by J.M. Coetzee is another one of his South African focused books that talks about a farm girl in the South African countryside.

Don't lets go to the dogs tonight by Alexandra Fuller. I actually haven't read this yet, but plan to.

Message edited by its author, Oct 26, 2007, 12:30pm.

I also wanted to comment on disgrace. Warning, there are spoilers in this comment.

Lucy doesn't marry her rapist at all. She is considering marrying her neighbour who owns a lot of land and already has some wives. She suspected that he had arranged the rape to scare her off her farm. Because she wants to stay, she rather decides to not fight him but become his wife and hopefully keep her land and stay in peace.

I still not can not decide what Coetzee was trying to convey in this book. In the end of the book, Coetzee is also taking care of an injured dog and he is continously saving this dog from being euthanized. At the end of the book, he gives her up and allows her to die. I think that Coetzee is signifying by the dog and by Lucy that in a way they are giving up the old South Africa, both its good and evil - and accept the new reality. I think he was saying - it is what it is - its not ideal - it may not be what we want - but we accept that things have changed. If you know, Coetzee immigrated from South Africa to Australia a few years ago and perhaps this is his own farewell. I don't know - its all subjecture.

When I first finished reading this book, I read some reviews and critiques to help me make sens of it - and I found that I agreed most with this line of thinking. The part about Coetzee saying goodbye to South Africa was mine.

Thank you for the very interesting suggestions, keren7!

keren7, yes, thank you for the recommendations. I have a copy of Islands by Dan Sleigh on the shelf. It's good to know it's worth the read when I get to it.

Here's my review of Gurnah's Desertion. It seems I could've said more but didn't want to include spoilers. I also saw no need to repeat the book blurb..."

This is my second Gurnah novel after "By the Sea" and while this novel is not equal to that great novel, it is another well-written story thus confirming in my mind Gurnah a gifted and thoughtful writer. The novel is made up of two seeming separate stories, one set in 1899, the other in the 1950s, the two are separated by a brief 'interruption." The title "Desertion" may allude to many things in the book, but I think it refers first to the author's own abandonment of his first storyline just at the point where you, the reader, are most invested in it. This has an interesting effect. There is a sense of loss, even some anger, a bit of WTF? Some readers may never forgive the author for this strange story arrangement, but as the character speaking in the 'Interruption' that follows says, "Now that I have arrived at the critical moment, I find myself suddenly hard up against what I cannot fully imagine." It is difficult to say much here without spoilers. Suffice it to say, that the novel eventually circles back on itself, not in a post-modern way, but rather like a spiral which circles back while moving away from. That sense of loss one feels when the first story is abandoned reverberates throughtout the novel.
As the 'I' in the story says, "it is about how one story contains many and how they belong not to us but are part of the random currents of our time, and about how stories capture us and entangle us for all time."

edited to close italics.

Message edited by its author, Nov 5, 2007, 6:18pm.

As an added note to the recommendation above. I found a very sympathetic treatment of the women characters in this novel. There are several love 'affairs' in the story and in each I found the plight of the women, the difference in their social status and lack of power, thoughtfully and sympathetically cast.

And I'm afraid my recommendation is written with thought to the title's meaning and the, imo, intriguing story structure. I will definitely read more Gurnah.

Well, I have failed to continue to note my African reads and I will remedy that; however, I had a thought/query while reading Couto's Sleepwalking Land that I thought I'd put out there for discussion.

It seems to me, looking back on all the African fiction I have read, that it has been the sub-Saharan African novels which use magical realism. I have read no novels from North Africa that has had any magical realism in it (yet). Anyone care to speculate about that?

I'm not sure exactly how to define magical realism, but what about Mahfouz' Arabian Nights and Days?

Let me say, I haven't yet gotten to mine this thread, but keep looking at it and registering things I'll need to read. It's great having it around.

I have not read that title, A_musing. If there is a notable absence or lack of magical realism can it be attributed to the Arab influence, I wonder...

Sometimes I wonder if literary movements spread through quirks of personal taste. This is not the most refined theory, but perhaps it just so happens that magic realism caught the fancy of one or two sub-Saharan literary notables and spread through the region. What I mean to say is that culture and history might play a part in literary movements, but it might also be that a few Sub-Saharan authors picked up One Hundred Years of Solitude and felt inspired.

I agree with Cestovatela that it may be tricky to ascribe cultural factors to literary movements. By analogy, I worked in biology for a long while, and certain nations have a habit of excelling in certain fields, or at least producing a disproportionate number of researchers in any one area. This is almost always explained by a single pioneer working decades ago, whose influence gradually spread through the institutions in his/her own country, rather than any 'national characteristic'. That been said, with the colonial past of most of Africa, it is possible that (e.g.) a tradition that is strong in portuguese literature may be transmitted to the literature of Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, etc. I'm not sure I have read enough to make generalizations from my own experience.

As best I can tell nearly all of my African magical-realist reads have been written after the 70s, so you may be right, cestovatela and depressaholic. It may be that something in the literary form enabled the authors to say what they needed to say.

Midaq Alley by Naguib Mahfouz is wonderfully written with wit and affection for his country and its people. The novel captures a cross-section of Egyptian life in a small slum neighborhood of Cairo in the 1940's. The alley has seen better days and is experiencing a movement towards modernity. Many of the characters, particularly the younger ones are actively looking for escape from their poverty through the few choices they have available. Mahfouz also gives us a fascinating cross-section of humanity in the process, something translatable to cities in all cultures as shown in the Mexican movie adaption which sets Midaq Alley in Mexico City. It's also worthy to note that the more recent Yacoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany attempts to do much the same, that is, provide us with a cross section of Egyptian culture - it is surely inspired by Mahfouz's classic. I will definitely go back to Mahfouz in the future.

Just some quick thoughts...

Burger's Daughter by Nadine Gordimer.

A fascinating history of South Africa through the eyes of the daughter of anti-apartheid activists. I thought the novel somewhat complex and very introspective at times - not a casual read, I think. I was time-pressed to have it read and felt I would've liked to linger more with it. There is so much in this book, more than a few powerful moments and remarkable words.

Sleepwalking Land by Mia Couto. Enjoyed this story that eventually interweaves the narrative of two storylines in war-torn Mozambique. depressaholic has a longer review on his individual thread, I believe. The magical realism in this story reminds me of that in Okri's The Famished Road. I think I'd like to explore some other Couto novels in the future.

I'm on to Women of Algiers in Their Apartment by Assia Djebar.

I'm well into Women of Algiers in their Apartment despite the amazing amount of distractions the season brings (and the usual distractions), but the women's voices in this book are rich and genuine. More than a single narrative, the book jumps back and forth in time, illuminating the lives of Algerian women during and after colonial rule, those who were wives, mothers, dissidents and prostitutes...various ideas of freedom and the veil come through the voices (some of the women spent time in jail also). There are included divans which seem to be prose poems - although it seems 'divan' can mean a 'book of poems' or a 'public audience room' in Arabic/Persian - either seems appropriate. It feels a bit fragmented - perhaps it is supposed to - but I already feel I should go back and read what I have already read again - which is NOT a bad thing.

I have decided to start my own literary journey in the coming year, and I really want to focus on Africa. I've gleaned quite a few recommendations from this group and am currently absorbed in Half of a Yellow Sun which is just fantastic so far. Here's my question: Africa is a very "new" continent for me; I hardly know anything about the history. I much prefer to learn about it through fiction as nonfiction is difficult for me to slog through; however I'm wondering if this is the best way to approach it. Is there a reader-friendly nonfiction book about the history of Africa that I should check out before diving into the literature so that I have a better background? I'm hoping someone who has "traveled" the continent can make some suggestions as to how best organize and plan for my journey.

Litfan, I have been actually taking classes (independent studies) related to Africa and African fiction, so my reading has perhaps been more structured but my suggestion would be to find a nonfiction text and read it less for the overwhelming amount of historical minutia and more for the general gist of it. You can also read the wiki entries for the regions of Africa if you like. And as you read the fiction you may want to google and skim a history of the region/country you are reading about. I have done this more many of the novels I have read, most recently Mozambique and Algiers.

And, please, think about creating your own thread to chronicle your literary journey for all of us to follow. My only suggestion is to put your user name somewhere in the thread title as others have done. Happy reading!

I have to say that I have enjoyed all of the African novels I have read, some more than others, of course. I would also suggest not completely ignoring nonfiction, there are some excellent, very accessible nonfiction reads that can be very enlightening.

Thanks avaland! As I read Half of a Yellow Sun I am increasingly curious about Nigeria's history and will be searching on wiki and google today. Literature is really such an enjoyable way to learn about history and culture.

Litfan, you might enjoy Adichie's first book also. Chinua Achebe, Ben Okri and Buchi Emecheta are also Nigerian authors.

I will have to check out the first book by Adichie; I have not been this impressed by a writer in a long time. In the past couple of days I have ordered several of the books recommended in the Africa thread and Emecheta's The Joys of Motherhood is among them. Now to find the time to read them all :-)

Litfan, Purple Hibiscus, Adichie's first book may be a letdown after Half of a Yellow Sun. I was blown away by Half of a Yellow Sun (as many people know here) and then ran out to get her earlier book. It is very good, but nowhere in the same league.

Litfan, I would like to put in a defence of Purple Hibiscus, which is one of the most accomplished debuts I have ever read. Granted, I read it upon publication, some time before Half of a Yellow Sun was published, but even without this coloured viewpoint, I would challenge anyone to find a novel that better describes the hipocracy of moral judgement dressed up in the faded robes of strict religious belief (as displayed by the father), or the tortured beauty of adolescence and the discovery of personal freedom at a politically brutal time... Fantastic writing, from one so young. It is certainly a different canvas to that of HoaYS, but is - to my mind - a very worthy piece of contemporary African writing in its own right. I gave it as a gift to at least 12 friends, all of whom have declared their everlasting gratitude to me as a result :-)

And then came Half of a Yellow Sun... this woman can do no wrong!

I have to agree with BOTH >140 and >141. Purple Hibiscus could be a letdown; however, it is indeed a phenomenal debut novel. I also read it when it was first published here in the states by a small publisher in North Carolina. Imagine! It was published in 2003 when the author was just 26 - she started writing it while a senior in college two years before.

I have been reading bits about Algerian author Assia Djebar, who published her first novel at the age of 21. She took the pseudonym of Assia (a family name), and Djebar (an unintentional misspelling of djebbar, one of the 99 ritual modes of address to Allah) in hopes of hiding the book from her parents (she was concerned about their reaction to the book because of some erotic content and because she had been writing it while she was supposed to be studying for exams). Long story short, it made me think of Adichie who had published poetry and a play by the time she was 21.

There is no doubt that I will be reading Purple Hibiscus in the near future. I am utterly amazed by her talent as a writer especially considering her relatively young age. Imagine what we have to look forward to from her future works. I am also curious to read something by Djebar. It's amazing how much good stuff is out there in terms of African fiction. I have to say though I've been able to find the majority of these books only online. With one or two exceptions I have not been able to find any of the authors in the bookstores. In some ways it saddens me that books from other continents don't get that much shelf space in our bookstores here. I hope that changes in the future as more people are interested in reading internationally.

Litfan, I have either special ordered mine new or bought them used online from ABEbooks or BetterWorld books.

Great article/interview with Egyptian author Nawal El Saadawi in the current issue of World Literature Today. She also gets a mention in the January 6th issue of the NYTBR in an article about Muslim women writers (most notably, why some get attention and others, who have been writing for years, don't).

Wanted to mention the following african authors even though most of them are white colonials, not native africans.

the plays of Athol Fugard like Master harold and the Boys,

j.m. Coetzee for besides Foe: Master of Petersburg, elizabeth costello, disgrace and slow man,

nadine gordimer for the burger's daughter, A sport of nature, jump,

Alan Paton for Cry the Beloved Country;

The Dry White Season,
andre brink,

paul bowles for the sheltering sky,

olive schreiner for my african farm,

Mine Boy by Peter Abrahams

and

nuruddin farah, Wole Soyinka, and Amos Tutuola.

Except for Farah, Soyinka and Tutuola, these are colonials, not native africans, for different points of view.

I just finished reading Burger's Daughter by Nadine Gordimer, and while there were many things about it I liked, overall, I really disliked it, particularly the author's writing style. My chief complaint is how she represents dialogue--I believe that standard punctuation exists for a reason and the world runs better if we all use it.

So I'm wondering if this book is representative of her style, or if it's unique. If I try Gordimer again, which book should I try? Thanks!

Try the short stories. There are several collections, one of which is "jump".

if you don't like the style of one, you can skip to the next one.

I really liked all her books for the content and didn't pay too much attention to the style.

Unless a writer is a great stylist like henry james, james joyce, or colm toibin, I just race ahead for the content.

I couldn't help but revive this thread. It's funny i started it over a year ago before I began my African history and fiction odyssey. I understand so much more now and was very glad to have taken that history course last summer that included population history, women, the AIDS epidemic, and the oral storytelling tradition - it has made a difference in my fiction reading.

I thought some who are participating in the Nigeria theme read might want to look at the thread to, and add to it!

I have just finished reading Beasts of No Nation by Uzodinma Iweala which is written by a NYer whose family immigrated from Nigerian. I am not sure if it is entitled to be on this thread but whatever!

From my 50 reading challenge:

I probably would not have picked up this book if I had fully understood the author's agenda and content - mainly because I hate reading about brutality, violence, rape and child exploitation. So beware if this is a hard topic for you.

This writer is actually born and bred in NY city. However, as he explains in his postscript, he stays tightly connected to his Nigerian past.

The book takes the perspective of a young boy caught in civil war and pulled into a rebel army. In this context he lives a life surrounded by violence, rape and fear. It is short, thankfully and this is a smart move on the author's part as such childish intensity and shocking brutality could not be sustained in a longer prose piece.

It's interesting to follow this thread because by choice or by illiteracy, don't know which, I've read very little of international authors. However, I just picked up a little book that I read years ago and was enchanted by: Cape of Storms. The flyleaf calls this story a "provocative fable." The reread didn't disappoint me and I'd like to read something more substantial by Andre Brink. Any suggestions?

151: A Dry White Season is one of his novels that I would recommend, and there is also a film of it. Here is the Amazon description:

As startling and powerful as when first published more than two decades ago, André Brink's classic novel, A Dry White Season, is an unflinching and unforgettable look at racial intolerance, the human condition, and the heavy price of morality.

Ben Du Toit is a white schoolteacher in suburban Johannesburg in a dark time of intolerance and state-sanctioned apartheid. A simple, apolitical man, he believes in the essential fairness of the South African government and its policies—until the sudden arrest and subsequent "suicide" of a black janitor from Du Toit's school. Haunted by new questions and desperate to believe that the man's death was a tragic accident, Du Toit undertakes an investigation into the terrible affair—a quest for the truth that will have devastating consequences for the teacher and his family, as it draws him into a lethal morass of lies, corruption, and murder.

152: Thanks for the recommendation. I've put it on my list (which is growing exponentially).

Another mention of Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. This year people around the world are celebrating the 50th anniversary this novel. Some interesting facts around the book: Achebe is the most translated African author of all time; more than 12 million copies have been purchased since it first appeared half a century ago (5000 copies on LT); and the book has been translated into 50 languages.