Popular African Cultural Books
Find cultural books written by authors from Africa for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (48)
21.
Nigeria22.
Maps by Nuruddin Farah EN
SomaliaDescription:
A Somali youth is torn between duty to family and country. On the one hand Askar, an orphan, should look after his foster mother, on the other he wants to be a man and emulate his father who died fighting the Ethiopians. By an English-speaking Somali writer, author of Secrets.
23.
Memoirs of a Porcupine by Alain Mabanckou EN
CongoDescription:
After an ancient initiation, a young Congolese boy is given an animal double in the form of a porcupine and the pair begin an inexplicable streak of murders until the porcupine quits and decides to pen a literary confession. Original.
24.
Memory of Departure by Abdulrazak Gurnah EN
TanzaniaDescription:
**By the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature 2021** Vehement, comic and shrewd, Abdulrazak Gurnah's first novel is an unwavering contemplation of East African coastal life Poverty and depravity wreak havoc on Hassan Omar's family. Amid great hardship he decides to escape. The arrival of Independence brings new upheavals as well as the betrayal of the promise of freedom. The new government, fearful of an exodus of its most able men, discourages young people from travelling abroad and refuses to release examination results. Deprived of a scholarship, Hassan travels to Nairobi to stay with a ... continue
25.
Ritual : Power, Healing and Community by Malidoma Patrice Some EN
Country: Africa / 
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso
Description:
In this remarkable book, Malidoma Some explores the essential role ritual plays in the maintaining of the community, and makes a convincing case that a lack of ritual in the Western world is a fundamental reason that the fabric of society is unravelling.
26.
Sit Down and Listen: Stories from South Africa by Ellen Kuzwayo EN
Country: Africa / 
South Africa
South Africa
Description:
'For so many years now,' writes the author of this delightful collection, 'we have owned our stories while owning so little else.'
Ellen Kuzwayo's autobiography Call Me Woman was an international bestseller. At last we hear her extraordinarily distinct voice again, this time in a series of stories culled from her rich personal experience as community leader, social worker, teacher and black woman in South Africa.
These tales explore the complex life of contemporary black South Africa through the traditional form of story-telling. But the stories themselves are no... continue
27.
Small Country : A Novel by Gaël Faye EN
BurundiDescription:
Already an international sensation and prize-winning bestseller in France, an evocative coming-of-age story of a young boy, a lost childhood and a shattered homeland. SHORTLISTED FOR THE ALBERTINE PRIZE • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY ESQUIRE • LONGLISTED FOR THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE IN FICTION • LONGLISTED FOR THE ASPEN WORDS LITERARY PRIZE Burundi, 1992. For ten-year-old Gabriel, life in his comfortable expatriate neighborhood of Bujumbura with his French father, Rwandan mother and little sister Ana, is something close to paradise. These are carefree days of laug... continue
28.
Snares Without End by Olympe Bhêly-Quénum EN
BeninDescription:
A novel, also a philosophical tale in which destiny entraps the innocent protagonist and holds him fast. Some readers have found an affinity in it with Camus' notion of the absurd, while others have preferred to dwell on its evocation of country life in northern Dahomey and the importance of music in the farmers' daily life. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
29.
Algeria30.
The Dark Child by Laye Camara EN
GuineaDescription:
The Dark Child is a vivid and graceful memoir of Camara Laye's youth in the village of Kouroussa, French Guinea, a place steeped in mystery. Laye marvels over his mother's supernatural powers, his father's distinction as the village goldsmith, and his own passage into manhood, which is marked by animistic beliefs and bloody rituals. Eventually, he must choose between this unique place and the academic success that lures him to distant cities. More than autobiography of one boy, this is the universal story of sacred traditions struggling against the encroachment of a modern world. A passionate ... continue