English books from Africa
Recommended English books (446)
Travel the world without leaving your chair.
If you speak English here are some English books from Africa for the next part of the "Read Around The World Challenge".
221.
Patchwork by Ellen Banda-Aaku EN
ZambiaDescription:
Everyone calls me Pumpkin. Firstly, because I was a fat, chubby-cheeked baby. And, secondly, because when Ma was pregnant with me, no matter how much pumpkin she ate, she just couldn't get enough ...'. Lusaka. 1978. Pumpkin is nine years old. Her fashionable mother is the queen of Tudu Court, but underneath the veneer of respectability that her father's money provides lies a secret that threatens their whole world - the tall, elegant Totela Ponga is a drunk. And when Pumpkin's father - the wealthy businessman JS - discovers her mother's alcoholism it sets in motion a chain of events that come ... continue
222.
Pet by Akwaeke Emezi EN
NigeriaDescription:
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • STONEWALL BOOK AWARD WINNER • ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE’S 100 BEST YA BOOKS OF ALL TIME NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR by The New York Times • Time • Buzzfeed • NPR • New York Public Library • Publishers Weekly • School Library Journal A genre-defying novel from the award-winning author NPR describes as “like [Madeline] L’Engle…glorious.” A singular book that explores themes of identity and justice. Pet is here to hunt a monster. Are you brave enough to look? There are no monsters anymore, or so the children in the city of Lucille are taught. Jam and her best... continue
223.
Petals of blood by Ngugi wa Thiong'o EN
KenyaDescription:
There has been a murder in the Kenyan village of Ilmorog. Four suspects are placed in detention: headmaster Munira, teacher and political activist Karega, spirited barmaid Wanja and storekeeper Abdulla. But there are no easy solutions to the crime in a place already filled with fear and intimidation. As the murder is investigated, it becomes clear how the lives of suspects and victims are inextricably linked to the fortunes of their village, and to the crisis of modern Kenya itself. Petals of Bloodwas published in 1977 to huge controversy, leading to Ngugi's imprisonment for his portrayal of a... continue
224.
Present Darkness : A Novel by Malla Nunn EN
SwazilandDescription:
A tale set in the harsh world of apartheid South Africa finds Detective Emmanuel Cooper cancelling his holiday plans to learn the truth about his best friend's wrongful murder charge by a high-profile white teen, a case that pits him against violent gangs and corrupt government officials. By the author of A Beautiful Place to Die. Original.
225.
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie EN
Description:
Fifteen-year-old Kambili's world is circumscribed by the high walls and frangipani trees of her family compound. Her wealthy Catholic father, under whose shadow Kambili lives, while generous and politically active in the community, is repressive and fanatically religious at home. When Nigeria begins to fall apart under a military coup, Kambili's father sends her and her brother away to stay with their aunt, a University professor, whose house is noisy and full of laughter. There, Kambili and her brother discover a life and love beyond the confines of their father's authority. The visit will li... continue
226.
Description:
An epic West-African inspired YA fantasy from an incredible new talent.
227.
Reading the Ceiling by Dayo Forster EN
GambiaDescription:
Destiny can be decided in a moment. Reading the Ceiling is a remarkable achievement: fresh, funny and wholly authentic, it paints a compelling portrait of the modern African experience for women, and introduces a stunning new voice to contemporary fiction. Ayodele has just turned 18. It's definitely a milestone, but it isn't the only one: she's also decided -- having now reached womanhood -- that the time is right to lose her virginity. It's an understandable decision, but what she doesn't yet know is that her choice of suitor will have a drastic effect on the rest of her life... Three men. Th... continue
228.
Reflections on the Guillotine by Albert Camus EN
AlgeriaDescription:
Written when execution by guillotine was still legal in France, Albert Camus' devastating attack on the 'obscene exhibition' of capital punishment remains one of the most powerful, persuasive arguments ever made against the death penalty.
229.
Return to the Enchanted Island by Johary Ravaloson EN
Country: Africa / 
Madagascar
Madagascar
Description:
In this exhilarating prize-winning novel--only the second to be published in English from Madagascar--a young man comes of age amidst the enchanted origin myths of his island country. Named after the first man at the creation of the world in Malagasy mythology, Ietsy Razak was raised to perpetuate the glory of his namesake and expected to be as illuminated as his Great Ancestor. But in the chaos of modernity, his young life is marked only by restlessness, maddening insomnia, and an adolescent apathy. When an unexpected tragedy ships him off to a boarding school in France, his trip to the big c... continue
230.
Riambel by Priya Hein EN
MauritiusDescription:
Fifteen-year-old Noemi has no choice but to leave school and work in the house of the wealthy De Grandbourg family. Just across the road from the slums where she grew up, she encounters a world that is starkly different from her own - yet one which would have been all too familiar to her ancestors. Bewitched by a pair of green eyes and haunted by echoes, her life begins to mirror those of girls who have gone before her. Within Noemi's lament is also the herstory of Mauritius; the story of women who have resisted arrest, of teachers who care for their poorest pupils and encourage them to challe... continue