Popular African Magical Realism Books
Find magical realism books written by authors from Africa for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (24)
1.
Butter Honey Pig Bread : A Novel by Francesca Ekwuyasi EN
NigeriaDescription:
Finalist, Lambda Literary Award, Governor General's Literary Award, and Amazon Canada First Novel Award; Longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize Spanning three continents, Butter Honey Pig Bread tells the interconnected stories of three Nigerian women: Kambirinachi and her twin daughters, Kehinde and Taiye. Kambirinachi believes that she is an Ogbanje, or an Abiku, a non-human spirit that plagues a family with misfortune by being born and then dying in childhood to cause a human mother misery. She has made the unnatural choice of staying alive to love her human family but lives in fear of t... continue
2.
Confession of the Lioness : A Novel by Mia Couto EN
Country: Africa / 
Mozambique
Mozambique
Description:
A dark, poetic mystery about the women of the remote village of Kulumani and the lionesses that hunt them Told through two haunting, interwoven diaries, Mia Couto's Confession of the Lioness reveals the mysterious world of Kulumani, an isolated village in Mozambique whose traditions and beliefs are threatened when ghostlike lionesses begin hunting the women who live there. Mariamar, a woman whose sister was killed in a lioness attack, finds her life thrown into chaos when the outsider Archangel Bullseye, the marksman hired to kill the lionesses, arrives at the request of the village elders. Ma... continue
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4.
Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi EN
Description:
A National Book Foundation "5 Under 35" Honoree Finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award for a Debut Novel Shortlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize ANew York Times Notable Book One of the most highly praised novels of the year, the debut from an astonishing young writer,Freshwater tells the story of Ada, an unusual child who is a source of deep concern to her southern Nigerian family. Young Ada is troubled, prone to violent fits. Born "with one foot on the other side," she begins to develop separate selves within her as she grows into adulthood. And when she travels to America for ... continue
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Angola6.
L'enfant de sable : La nuit sacrée by Tahar Ben Jelloun FR
MoroccoDescription:
Enfant née fille et élevée comme un garçon pour l'honneur de son père, Ahmed traverse son douloureux destin, affrontant l'incompréhension de sa famille et les tabous d'une société bridée. Ce personnage, digne des contes des Mille et Une Nuits inspiré d'un authentique fait divers, est le héros de ces deux romans tragiques et merveilleux.
7.
Los Transparentes by Ondjaki ES
Description:
Esta novela traza un colorido retrato de los habitantes de la capital angolena, Luanda, y sus numerosas historias individuales. Odonato esta harto de ver tanto sufrimiento en derredor y se vuelve tan liviano que su mujer debe atarlo para impedir que escape flotando. En el edificio donde vive, el y sus vecinos se ayudan entre si, porque todos saben que cada uno lleva sus propias batallas a cuestas. Entre carteros celosos de su deber, vendedores que trafican con ilusiones, ministros que se topan por error con la miseria, inspectores que promueven negociones clandestinos, mujeres que multiplican ... continue
8.
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.
9.
Of Water and the Spirit—Ritual, Magic, and Initiation in the Life of an African Shaman by Malidoma Patrice Somé EN
Country: Africa / 
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso
Description:
Maliodoma Patrice Some was born in a Dagara Village, however he was soon to be abducted to a Jesuit school, where he remained for the next fifteen years, being harshly indoctrinated into european ways of thought and worship. The story tells of his return to his people, his hard initiation back into those people, which lead to his desire to convey their knowledge to the world. Of Water and the Spirit is the result of that desire; it is a sharing of living African traditions, offered in compassion for those struggling with our contemporary crisis of the spirit.
10.
Os Transparentes by Ondjaki PT
Description:
Ondjaki, o escritor angolano já bem conhecido do público por obras como o assobiador (2002), quantas madrugadas tem a noite (2004), os da minha rua (2007), AvóDezanove e o segredo do soviético (2008), entre outros títulos, sempre colocou Angola, e em particular Luanda, de onde é natural, no centro da sua escrita. Com o presente romance, de novo aparece Luanda - a Luanda atual do pós- guerra, das especificidades do seu regime democrático, do «progresso», dos grandes negócios, do «desenrasca» - como pano de fundo de uma história que é um prodígio da imaginação e um retrato social de uma riqueza ... continue