English books from Africa
Recommended English books (652)
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".
541.
The Shameful State by Sony Labou Tansi EN
Country: Africa / 
Congo, Democratic Republic of
Congo, Democratic Republic of
Description:
Set in a fictitious African nation, this novel by the distinguished writer Sony Labou Tansi takes aim at the corruption, degeneracy, violence, and repression of political life in Africa. At the heart of The Shameful State is the story of Colonel Martillimi Lopez, the nation's president, whose eccentricity and whims epitomize the "shameful situation in which humanity has elected to live." Lopez stages a series of grotesque and barbaric events while his nation falls apart. Unable to resist the dictator's will, his desperate citizens are left with nothing but humiliation. The evocation of this de... continue
542.
The Silence of the Wilting Skin by Tlotlo Tsamaase EN
BotswanaDescription:
In an African city, a nameless young woman living in the wards slowly begins to lose her identity: her skin color is peeling off, people are becoming invisible, and the city plans to destroy the train where they bury their dead. After the narrator is given a warning by her grandmother's dreamskin, things begin to fall apart. Struggling to hold onto a fluctuating reality, she prescribes herself insomnia in a desperate attempt to save her family.
543.
The Simple Past by Driss Chraïbi EN
MoroccoDescription:
The Simple Past came out in 1954, and both in France and its author’s native Morocco the book caused an explosion of fury. The protagonist, who shares the author’s name, Driss, comes from a Moroccan family of means, his father a self-made tea merchant, the most devout of Muslims, quick to be provoked and ready to lash out verbally or physically, continually bent on subduing his timid wife and many children to his iron and ever-righteous will. He is known, simply, as the Lord, and Driss, who is in high school, is in full revolt against both him and the French colonial authorities, for whom, as ... continue
544.
The Slave Yards : A Novel by Najwa Bin Shatwan EN
LibyaDescription:
Set in late nineteenth-century Benghazi, Najwa Bin Shatwan’s powerful novel tells the story of Atiqa, the daughter of a slave woman and her white master. We meet Atiqa as a grown woman, happily married with two children and working. When her cousin Ali unexpectedly enters her life, Atiqa learns the true identity of her parents, both long deceased, and slowly builds a friendship with Ali as they share stories of their past. We learn of Atiqa’s childhood, growing up in the “slave yards,” a makeshift encampment on the outskirts of Benghazi for Black Africans who were brought to Libya as slaves. A... continue
545.
The Smell of Apples : A Novel by Mark Behr EN
TanzaniaDescription:
The story of an affluent white South African family during apartheid. Its narrator is the son of an Afrikaner general and he describes his growing disillusion with the cruelty and arrogance of the whites. Set in the 1970s, the novel follows him from boyhood to soldiering in Angola, fighting the blacks.
546.
The Society of Reluctant Dreamers by José Eduardo Agualusa EN
AngolaDescription:
While swimming in the clear blue waters of the Rainbow Hotel, Daniel Benchimol finds a waterproof camera, floating seemingly lost in the sea. He goes on to discover that the camera belongs to Moira, a Mozambican artist famous for a series of photos depicting her own dreams. On seeing the images, Daniel realises that Moira is also the mysterious woman whom he has been dreaming about repeatedly. The two meet, and Daniel becomes involved in a unusual dream experiment with a Brazilian neuroscientist, who's working with Moira on a machine to film and photograph people's dreams. Meanwhile, Daniel's ... continue
547.
The Strange Bride by Grace Ogot EN
KenyaDescription:
An interpretation of a Luo myth. The people of GotOwaga lead a placid, almost idyllic, life-style until the glamorous and mysterious Nyawir suddenly appears from an unknown world.
548.
The Stranger by Albert Camus EN
AlgeriaDescription:
With the intrigue of a psychological thriller, Camus's masterpiece gives us the story of an ordinary man unwittingly drawn into a senseless murder on an Algerian beach. Behind the intrigue, Camus explores what he termed "the nakedness of man faced with the absurd" and describes the condition of reckless alienation and spiritual exhaustion that characterized so much of twentieth-century life. First published in 1946; now in translation by Matthew Ward.
549.
The Sun Hath Looked Upon Me by Calixthe Beyala EN
CameroonDescription:
Set in the grim world of urban prostitution, this book gives voice to the multitude of women trapped in African ghettos. Ateba is quiet and unassuming, taking care of her aunt's needs. But she craves the mother who abandoned her, and creates imaginary women to talk to. Then her world is shaker: Jean, the lodger forces a relationship on her; and old neighborhood prostitute dies; and her best friend is killed by a botched abortion. Caught between traditional values, male demands, and the need to survive, Ateba seeks to end the tyranny of men, whom she holds responsible for this suffering.
550.
The Sun Will Soon Shine by Sally Singhateh EN
GambiaDescription:
For an intelligent, ambitious girl growing up in a Gambian village, life holds few tempting prospects. Marriage and motherhood, often forced, are the paths assigned to most. Nyima, too, is subject to this fate, as well as having to endure the health-endangering ongoing practice of genital mutilation.But ours is a heroine of immense courage, able to see beyond her situation, despite the bleakness of life. She makes it through her darkest hours, and emerges stronger on the other side, though permanently scarred by her ordeals.It is in education and work that Nyima finds her salvation, and begins... continue