AFRICAN NOVEL CHALLENGE JUNE 2023 - EAST AFRICA

For the purposes of the challenge - Ethiopia, Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia and so on featured in our Horn of Africa month.

So this month we are looking at books from the nations of East Africa. I am as always flexible on this but for me this will be books from authors from:

Kenya
Tanzania
Uganda
Rwanda
Burundi
DRC
Mauritius
Seychelles
Madagascar
Comoros

Zimbabwe and Zambia will be in Southern Africa but I will not be sticky should you disagree with my geography!

What will I read:

Moses Isegawa - Abyssinian Chronicles - (Uganda)
and
Peter Kimani - Dance of the Jakaranda - (Kenya)

as a minimum

Started early (surprise) and have four done.

Seychelles: Beyond the Horizon by Robert Grandcourt

This historical novel starts out strong, with the story of a group of people being kidnapped from eastern Africa and being sold into slavery in Seychelles. The first part is good, but the book becomes increasingly...improbable.

I waffled between giving it 2.5 and 3 stars, and eventually decided to be generous and give it the higher rating because it's not bad--it's just not great, either.

Uganda: The Future God of Love by Dilman Dila

Repetitive, but largely enjoyable.

DRC: The River in the Belly by Fiston Mwanza Mujila, translated by J. Bret Maney

And if I ate my own penis
would you still accuse me of cannibalism?
even though it's mine?

*eyeroll*

Burundi: Genocide: Rwanda and Burundi by Edward L. Nyankanzi

This was really bad. Like, rough draft of a high school student's very first research paper bad. Here's a partial list of the book's problems:

•Nyankanzi doesn't properly introduce people in the text, but sends the reader to the notes at the back of the book to find out who's who.
•While he does acknowledge violence committed against Hutus, he only gives deeper exploration to violence committed *by* Hutus.
•Nyankanzi states that genocide in Africa would not have occurred without European colonization and starts to give an argument in support, but then just stops and moves on to something else.
•Argues that foreign aid is a new version of colonialism, but once again doesn't fully develop the argument. (Pity, because he did make some good points.)
•Goes well beyond the scope of the Rwanda and Burundi genocide, which really makes the book a scattered mess.
•Includes a truly bizarre chapter on what he claims are the biblical origins of genocide, in which he comes off as borderline anti-Semitic when discussing the Old Testament, and treats the New Testament as both myth and historical fact depending on what point he wants to make.
•Describes Roman soldiers tormenting Jesus as both sadistic *and* masochistic (page 111). (One or the other, dude!)
•Quotes the Song of Solomon in Latin as if that's its original language (page 119).
•Describes Thracians as a Nordic people (page 127).
•Comes up with gems like, "Many cases of homosexuality and sexual assault were recorded" (page 38). (As if the two are fucking equivalent!)

It is a poorly written, biased mess of a book that I only finished reading because I wanted to see how much worse it was going to get.

>4 amanda4242: You are a machine, Amanda!

>5 PaulCranswick: Short books, Paul. Short books.

Im going to start with The First Woman byJennifer Nannsubuga Makumbi (cant get the touchstone to work)

Interested in Beyond the Rice Fields the first Madagascar book translated in English, which boggles my mind. It shouldn't tho I guess

>7 cindydavid4: I enjoyed Beyond the Rice Fields; it was a little slow at times, but overall pretty good.

I'm currently reading Silent Winds, Dry Seas by Vinod Busjeet, a multi-generational family story set in Mauritius. It's lovely so far and I was so thrilled to have found an author from Mauritius for this challenge, having never read a single book by an author from that country before.

I never heard of Coromos, Now that I know a little, would like to read The Kaffir of the Karthala

>9 RidgewayGirl: There is also Nathacha Appanah (I read her The Last Brother last year).

>11 ELiz_M: Thank you! I'll add her to my list.

One thing that I do like about this challenge is the opening up of new locales in terms of places and writers from those places that have simply not had the coverage previously.
Our little cabal (meant in its least subversive way possible!) at least recognizes both the beauty of Africa and its many talents.

After being fairly quiet, and despite reading two (out of three planned) book for the African Nobel Prize month in May, I am back in the African challenge with two, maybe three, books planned for this month :
(Burundi) Les Tourments d’un roi by Anselme Nindorera – I’ve started this one. It’s not translated into English. It’s poorly written but I’m learning a lot about the 19th century in Burundi.
(Uganda) Kintu by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi
(Burundi) Small country/Petit Pays by Gaël Faye – Not sure this qualifies for this challenge, but I’ve been meaning to read it for so long that I figured this might be the right time to finally pull it from my shelves.

I just finished A Girl is a Body of Water by Uganda's Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi and really liked it although I don't have my review done yet. (so far behind in reviews. sigh)

>14 raton-liseur: Small Country is set in both Burundi and Rwanda and by an author born in Burundi, but who calls himself Rwandan. It's a wonderful book. I cried at the end.

Here's my description of the author:
Author Gaël Faye was born in Burundi and claims Rwanda as his home. According to Wikipedia, this, his only novel, is based on his own teenage years. It has been translated into 36 languages and won five literary prizes.

Faye is a well known French/Rwandian rapper. His work can be found on You Tube including this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvPCfaqxCzc&list=OLAK5uy_nxpGW94uaYzm0YsY38T....

And the rest of my review on my thread' https://www.librarything.com/topic/350577#8132529

>15 streamsong: I am reading her first womanand liking it so far. (ignore the touchstone)

>15 streamsong: Yes you're right, there is no doubt that Small Country/Petit Pays qualifies for this challenge. I was just picky because he navigated between various countries and he lived in France for some years.
I've listened to extensive parts of this book read by the author some years ago, and that's why I bought the book, so I expect a great read.

Another work by Gaël Faye that I like a lot: Seuls et vaincus, a poem by the former(?) French politician Christiane Taubira.

(I'll read your review after I finish the book, although I know what he is going to talk about. I'll try, as much as I can, to apporach the book with a fresh look.)

just received The Kaffir of Karthala will start reading it in tandem with First Woman

>4 amanda4242: Hope you find something you like better before the month is over.

>7 cindydavid4: I'll be interested in seeing your response. I read Kintu by this author a few years ago and I'm interested in this one. I think the title in the US is A girl is a body of water?

>14 raton-liseur: & >15 streamsong: Watching for review of books by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi.

This month I want to try and finish The dragonfly sea by Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor. I started it a few years ago and liked it, but got interrupted when the action shifted from the Lamu Archipelegao to China. I loved her novel Dust so I want to finish this one as well.

>19 markon: yup same book. Ill keep you posted

finished after lives review coming up

review of afterlives here https://www.librarything.com/topic/349922#n8161128

I finished reading (and will review soon) Les Tourments d'un roi, set at the time the first Europeans arrive in the Burundi kingdom. It's not available in English, but you don't miss anything!
And I have started Petit Pays/Small country. It talks about a lot of places I know, so it is fun to read (I have not reached the difficult parts yet).

Have gotten into A Grain of Wheat. Always recall line from Beyond the Fringe where “Prince Philip” refers to Jomo Kenyatta with the comment “Of course that was when we thought he was a Mau Mau terrorist. Later we discovered he was a freedom fighter.” Now we could change it to “That was when we thought he was a freedom fighter. Later we discovered he was a corrupt dictator,” but somehow that isn’t as funny. Will be interested to see how far the plot had thickened by the time this book was written in 1967.

>19 markon: and others interested,the only reason I have not finished a girl is a body of water is that I can hardly keep my eyes open. But wanted to say unless the ending goes very wrong this will be among my top faves for this year. I have my little complaints that Ill explain in my review, but if you are wondering if you should read it, yes indeed

I am grateful for this challenge that is introducing books to me that I never would have experinced on my own. Ill write review in the morning, now I just need to go to bed and rest my eyes!

>13 PaulCranswick: this. yes

my review of a girl is a body of water is here https://www.librarything.com/topic/349922#n8164277

Finished A Grain of Wheat. Found it very different from Half of a Yellow Sun, where the Biafran war functioned mostly as a backdrop to the personal relationships, à la GWTW. Here the personal is political and the characters’ stories illustrate why, a mere three years after Uhuru, the hopes for post-colonial Kenya seem doomed to failure. Blame lies somewhere between the Biblical idea of original sin, to which the book’s title makes reference, and Freudian ideas of intergenerational struggle and sexual rivalry.
As a sidebar, this book gave me further insight into the departure/expulsion of Indians from East Africa after these countries became independent. It’s clear that despite a similar colonial experience at the hands of Europeans, Africans felt no kinship with the Indians who had come to Africa to run businesses.

>28 booksaplenty1949: It’s clear that despite a similar colonial experience at the hands of Europeans, Africans felt no kinship with the Indians who had come to Africa to run businesses.

interesting how that worked I did not realize that as well, didn't the also expel Asians"

>29 cindydavid4: If by “Asians” you mean people from China I’m not sure there were many there. They are certainly not present in the novel. The expression “Kenya Asians” which I recall from the 60s referred to people of South Asian background. Evelyn Waugh has quite a bit to say about them in the section of Remote People which covers his travels through East Africa on his way home from covering the coronation of Haile Selassie. They enjoyed a level of employment in business and the civil service not available to Africans and had their own clubs and social infrastructure separate from that of the Brits. Idi Amin actually expelled them from Uganda; apparently the departure from Kenya was mostly voluntary.

I was not sure what I meant :) I was going by what someone in the book were talking about. You are probably right about people from south asia and just realized I didn't totally read the post where its from Kenya, sorry about that

>27 cindydavid4: That's a good review, Cindy. I haven't seen that review format here on LT - it lays it all out nicely.

And here's my review of A Girl is a Body of Water https://www.librarything.com/topic/350577#8164930

Thanks .Someone suggested that when I mentioned how hard it was for me to write reviews. Once I put it in catagories it made it much easier (but tbh I also add parts of reviews Ive seen elsewhere, ones that say perfectly what I want to say without my clumsy wording. But I always make mention of that.)

>1 PaulCranswick: What a magnificent topper photo, Paul - really stunning.

Tanzania: Song Bird by Tololwa M. Mollel, illustrated by Rosanne Litzinger

A cute picture book about a girl who gets her village's cattle back from a monster with the help of a bird she saved.

Rwanda: Kibogo by Scholastique Mukasonga, translated by Mark Polizzotti

Kibogo tells of the conflict between native Rwandan religious beliefs and the Christian religion brought by European colonizers. This short book is divided into four parts, with each part revealing a little more of the legend of Kibogo, and how his worship is suppressed by the missionaries who twist their own religion to further their agenda. A very well-told and thought-provoking tale.

Received via NetGalley.

Kenya: Sulwe by Lupita Nyong'o, illustrated by Vashti Harrison

A gorgeous picture book about a little girl who is picked on and hates her appearance because her skin is darker than her family's. Sulwe comes to see her own beauty when a star tells her a story of night and day and how darkness and light are both necessary, which is lovely but I think it would have been better if her mother had told her the story rather than a magic star.

Comoros: The Kaffir of Karthala by Mohamed A. Toihiri, translated by Anis Memon

It's really hard to come to a conclusion about this one because I'm not sure if its weaknesses are due to the translation or the story itself. Maybe a bit of both? I think it's supposed to be satirical, but the satire falls flat more often than not and everything just sort of wanders to a climax that really doesn't fit with the rest of the book.

Mauritius: Eve Out of Her Ruins by Ananda Devi, translated by Jeffrey Zuckerman

Unrelentingly depressing.

Madagascar: How to Read a Folktale: The Ibonia Epic from Madagascar translation & commentary by Lee Haring

I stumbled across this one while searching for a Malagasy book available in English other than Beyond the Rice Fields or Return to the Enchanted Island. Haring's commentary isn't that great and really isn't necessary for the enjoyment of Ibonia's tale, which is pretty damn good even without knowing the cultural nuances.

The book is available for free in PDF format from the publisher. https://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0034

did not finish The Kaffir of Karthala , I wasn't sure what to make of it either. However the picture books look fun!

I finished The Dance of the Jakaranda by Peter Kimani and I enjoyed it. (Kenya).

Finished the first section of A Girl is a Body of Water. Felt that the author was sharing a lot of information about local myths about women, disguised as dialogue between the main character and a neighbour reputed to be a witch. Not the subtlest of narrative techniques. Lots of traditional food preparation going on—-provoking the kind of literary appreciation I.A. Richards calls “irrelevant association.” Idi Amin has made a token appearance in the form of a picture in the general store, however, so am hoping a plot may emerge in time.

>38 booksaplenty1949: I think A Girl is a Body of Water would more fall into the catagory of literary fiction; more driven by charcters and less driven by action/plot.

>39 streamsong: I would regard, say, Jane Eyre as literary fiction; the plot is no James Bond thriller, but the characters are revealed as much by what they do as by what they say.

>38 booksaplenty1949: I just finished this, and there are elements of plot, though it remains a study of characters and culture.

>38 booksaplenty1949: Felt that the author was sharing a lot of information about local myths about women, disguised as dialogue between the main character and a neighbour reputed to be a witch. Not the subtlest of narrative techniques.

I dunno i rather enjoyed it. the story telling and information felt very much how an adult might teach a child about their culture. I found it quite true to life.

>42 cindydavid4: IMHO, “true to life” isn’t worth much. Surveillance footage from the parking garage is true to life, but I don’t want to watch it. The book may be an accurate depiction of everyday life during the Amin regime; I’m not able to judge. But at the end of 200 pages I’m still feeling “so what?”

ok, dif stroke for dif folks and all that

>44 cindydavid4: Absolutely. If we all wanted to read exactly the same books the wait time at the library would be insane.

Well, I also read A Grain of Wheat. Ngugi is definitely a good writer, and this was a great depiction of life under colonialism. I also like the complexities of the struggle for independence. It definitely felt like it was written in 1966, (which it was) especially in regards to sex roles and references to female genital mutilation.

Finished A Girl is a Body Of Water. I now see that it’s a “coming of age” story, reminiscent of the ones I enjoyed in my youth: Little Women, say. Like the Civil War in that book, the political situation is a very distant backdrop. Most of the interest comes from the little details of daily life in a culture unfamiliar to me. Too long to sustain my interest, but not a complete bust. No real plot resolution. Added a review on the book page.

Skipped over next item in Waugh Abroad, the book on Mexico, to look at A Tourist in Africa while my thoughts on East Africa are fresh. In early 1959 Waugh takes a cruise from Genoa to Port Said and then journeys through Africa to Cape Town, from where he sails home.

I read Silent Winds, Dry Seas by Vinod Busjeet, a coming of age story set against the backdrop of Mauritius's vibrant and complex multicultural society. An excellent introduction to a small African island.

july thread pls?

>51 cindydavid4: https://www.librarything.com/topic/351931#n8179430

A Tourist in Africa started out in rather lightweight fashion, with Waugh’s usual fuddy-duddyism about accommodations and so forth, mixed with local backgrounders of a proto-Wikipedia sort. But when he gets to Rhodesia he actually has some insightful and progressive things to say about local history and about post-colonialism. Looking forward to exploring his ideas further in the context of some Zimbabwean fiction when we get to Southern Africa in due course.

I finished River spirit by Leila Aboulela a few days ago. Set in the late 1800s in Sudan, it follows one woman from girlhood through adulthood during the 18-year-long Mahdist war, which ends with Britain in control of Egypt and Sudan. It was a good-enough read, but I had expected more from this author.

Oh I absolutly loved the kindness of enemies and bird summons was ok. Would have liked to read that one since its set in a time and place I dont know much about Might just check it out.

I read The First Woman/A Girl is a Body of Water. I found the part where the village witch was instructing Kirabo in feminism to be a bit heavy-handed until I started to think of it in terms of the storytelling tradition.

>56 labfs39: Too bad the author couldn’t integrate this section into the book more effectively. There’s a difference between storytelling and lecturing.

Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah

This is a beautifully written work of historical fiction by the recent Nobel laurate. The story just flows very well and is populated with fascinating characters. It is set in German East Africa and covers the years 1910 - 1960 and two generations of people in that region. The history of that region is rarely used as the plot for books and this story covers the history of WWI in that region in great detail. My only complaint about this novel is that the end is abrupt. I think it could have had another fifty pages and still been very interesting. I would not have considered it to be too long even at that length. This is an author that I will read again. In fact, Paul and I are planning on reading By the Sea sometime around the middle of November.

I read The Perfect Nine - epic tale of Gikuyu and Mumbai. Creation myth, folktale, verse narrative.

I finally looped back around and read this book, which I had meant to read in June.



The House of Rust by Khadija Abdalla Bajaber
Published 2021, 258 p.

Although not for everyone, I quite enjoyed this fantastical, allegorical, coming of age story.

My review is on my Club Read thread.