Popular African Historical Fiction Books
Find historical fiction books written by authors from Africa for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (93)
51.
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie EN
NigeriaDescription:
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
52.
River Spirit by Leila Aboulela EN
EgyptDescription:
The spellbinding new novel from New York Times Notable Author and Caine Prize winner Leila Aboulela about an embattled young woman’s coming of age during the Mahdist War in 19th century Sudan. Leila Aboulela, hailed as “a versatile prose stylist” (New York Times) has also been praised by J.M. Coetzee, Ali Smith, and Ben Okri, among others, for her rich and nuanced novels depicting Islamic spiritual and political life. Her new novel is an enchanting narrative of the years leading up to the British conquest of Sudan in 1898, and a deeply human look at the tensions between Britain and Sudan, Chri... continue
53.
She Would Be King by Wayétu Moore EN
LiberiaDescription:
Wayetu Moore is an inspiration . . . her book is a gift Imbolo Mbue The book is unforgettable . . . irresistibly evocative and fierce. She Would Be King is a masterfully wrought alternate history of magical black resistance Star Tribune This novel dazzles with beauty and transcendent, transformative humanity Sarah Jessica Parker In the west African village of Lai, red-haired Gbessa is cursed at birth and exiled on suspicion of being a witch. Bitten by a viper and left for dead, she survives to discover a new life with a group of African American settlers in the colony of Monrovia. Then Gbessa ... continue
54.
Silence of the Chagos by Shenaz Patel EN
MauritiusDescription:
Based on a true, still-unfolding story, Silence of the Chagos is a powerful exploration of cultural identity, the concept of home, and above all the neverending desire for justice. Shenaz Patel draws on the lives of exiled Chagossians in this tragic example of 20th century political oppression. Every afternoon a woman in a red headscarf walks to the end of the quay and looks out over the water, fixing her gaze “back there”: to Diego Garcia, one of the small islands forming the Chagos archipelago in the Indian Ocean. With no explanation, no forewarning, and only an hour to pack their belongings... continue
55.
Sleepwalking Land by Mia Couto EN
Country: Africa / 
Mozambique
Mozambique
Description:
"On almost every page of this witty magical realist whodunit, we sense Couto's delight on those places where language slips officialdom's asphyxiating grasp."--The New York Times Book Review on The Last Flight of the Flamingo "The most prominent of the younger generation of writers in Portuguese-speaking Africa, Couto passionately and sensitively describes everyday life in poverty-stricken Mozambique."--Guardian (London) "Quite unlike anything else I have read from Africa."--Doris Lessing As the civil war rages in 1980s Mozambique, an old man and a young boy, refugees from the war, seek shelte... continue
56.
Song of Lawino & Song of Ocol by Okot p'Bitek EN
UgandaDescription:
Two African literary works by Okot P'Bitek available together in the African Writers Series.
57.
The African Trilogy : Things Fall Apart, No Longer at Ease, and Arrow of God; Introduction by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie by Chinua Achebe EN
GhanaDescription:
Here, collected for the first time in Everyman’s Library, are the three internationally acclaimed classic novels that comprise what has come to be known as Chinua Achebe’s “African Trilogy”—with an intorduction by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie . Beginning with the best-selling Things Fall Apart—on the heels of its fiftieth anniversary—The African Trilogy captures a society caught between its traditional roots and the demands of a rapidly changing world. Achebe’s most famous novel introduces us to Okonkwo, an important member of the Igbo people, who fails to adjust as his village is colonized by the... continue
58.
The Angels Die by Yasmina Khadra EN
AlgeriaDescription:
"A writer who can understand man wherever he is."--The New York Times "Khadra's prose is gentle and precise."--The New Yorker As a child living in a ghetto, Turambo dreamt of a better future. When his family find a home in the city anything seems possible. Through a succession of menial jobs, the constants for Turambo are rage at the injustice surrounding him, and a reliable left hook. A boxing apprenticeship offers Turambo a choice. Yasmina Khadra is the pen name of the Algerian author Mohammed Moulessehoul. He is the author of more than twenty novels, including The Swallows of Kabul.
59.
The Automobile Club of Egypt by Alaa Al Aswany EN
Description:
In British-occupied Egypt, on the eve of the 1952 revolution, respected landowner Abd el-Aziz Gaafar has fallen on hard times. Bankrupt, he moves his family to Cairo and takes a menial job at the Automobile Club, a luxurious lodge for its European members, where Egyptians appear only as fearful servants. When Abd el-Aziz’s pride gets the better of him and he stands up for himself, he is subjected to a corporal punishment that ultimately kills him—leaving two of his sons obliged to work in the Club. As the nation teeters on the brink of change, both servants and masters are subsumed by social u... continue
60.
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese EN
EthiopiaDescription:
From the New York Times-bestselling author of Cutting for Stone comes a stunning and magisterial epic of love, faith, and medicine, set in Kerala, South India, and following three generations of a family seeking the answers to a strange secret The Covenant of Water is the long-awaited new novel by Abraham Verghese, the author of the major word-of-mouth bestseller Cutting for Stone, which has sold over 1.5 million copies in the United States alone and remained on the New York Times bestseller list for over two years. Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water is set in Kerala, on So... continue