Read Around Africa Challenge
Read at least one book by an author from each country in Africa.
Best books from Africa (618)
101.
Comoros102.
Johnny Mad Dog : A Novel by Emmanuel Dongala EN
CongoDescription:
Life During Wartime, As Seen Through the Eyes of Two Congolese Teenagers Set amid the chaos of West Africa's civil wars, Emmanuel Dongala's striking novel tells the story of two teenagers growing up while rival ethnic groups fight for control of their country. At age sixteen, Johnny is a member of the Death Dealers, a rebel faction bent on seizing power. Even as he is drawn into the rebels' program of terror, Johnny Mad Dog, as he calls himself, retains his youthful exuberance--searching for girls, good times, and adventure. Sixteen-year-old Laokolé, for her part, dreams of finishing high scho... continue
103.
Little Boys Come from the Stars by Emmanuel Boundzéki Dongala EN
Description:
Sardonic, subtle, and sweetly scathing, Little Boys Come from the Stars is satire at its best. Set in an unnamed country in equatorial Africa, it tells the story of Michel, a precocious teen dubbed Matapari (“trouble”) because of his extraordinary birth. Though his father is a reclusive scholar, his mother a pious though confused Catholic, and his uncle a shameless opportunist determined to gain power in the shifting politics of their post-colonial nation, Matapari remains an unsullied child who wears Reeboks, drinks Coke, reads Japanese comics, and watches Rambo. But when his family becomes t... continue
104.
Letter to Jimmy by Alain Mabanckou EN
Description:
Written on the twentieth anniversary of James Baldwin’s death, Letter to Jimmy is African writer Alain Mabanckou’s ode to his literary hero and an effort to place Baldwin’s life in context within the greater African diaspora. Beginning with a chance encounter with a beggar wandering along a Santa Monica beach—a man whose ragged clothes and unsteady gait remind the author of a character out of one of James Baldwin’s novels— Mabanckou uses his own experiences as an African living in the US as a launching pad to take readers on a fascinating tour of James Baldwin’s life. As Mabanckou reads Baldwi... continue
105.
Black Moses : A Novel by Alain Mabanckou EN
Description:
The "heart-breaking" (New York Times Book Review), rollicking, award-winning novel that has been described as "Oliver Twist in 1970s Africa" (Les Inrockuptibles) "One of the most compelling books you'll read in any language this year." —Rolling Stone Winner of the Hurston-Wright Legacy Award Longlisted for the Man Booker International Prize Shortlisted for the Albertine Prize Shortlisted for the Aspen Words Literary Prize Longlisted for the PEN Translation Prize Greeted with wildly enthusiastic reviews on publication, Alain Mabanckou's riotous novel begins in an orphanage in 1970s Congo-Brazza... continue
106.
Broken Glass by Alain Mabanckou EN
Description:
Set in a Congolese bar called Credit Gone West, tells the story of a former teacher who is charged with documenting the stories of the bar's partrons.
107.
African Psycho : A Novel by Alain Mabanckou EN
Description:
Gregoire Nakobomayo has decided to kill his girlfriend Germaine. However, the act of murder requires a bit of psychological and logistical preparation. Luckily, he has a mentor to call on, the far more accomplished serial killer Angoualima. The fact that he is dead doesn't prevent Gregoire from talking with him.
108.
El antipueblo by Sony Labou Tansi ES
Description:
En Brazzaville (R. D. Congo), el ciudadano Dadou es íntegro y respetado, hasta que una mujer se apodera de su deseo; protegerá su virtud a través del alcohol y la caída en desgracia.
Esto podría parecerse a una clásica tragedia (como Desgracia, de Coetzee, o tantas más). Pero es contado en clave africana, con un formato entre la leyenda popular y el antiguo cuento infantil.
La historia, que por momentos tiene caracteres del absurdo, se desarrolla en medio del abuso de poder y la violencia. Y una inquietud que aparece en forma reiterada: dada l... continue
109.
Vaso roto by Alain Mabanckou ES
Description:
Vaso Roto es un cliente asiduo del Crédito se Fue de Viaje, un mugriento bar congolés. Un día, el propietario le propone escribir historias heroico-cómicas de los asiduos al bar, una tropa de lisiados de vidas pintorescas. En esta farsa metafísica, donde lo sublime se mezcla con lo grotesco, Alain Mabanckou, autor originario de Congo-Brazzaville galardonado con el Premio Renaudot, nos ofrece un retrato truculento de un África extraña e inesperada. Esta novela, pionera en demoler el mito de que todos los males de los estados africanos se deben a las políticas colonialistas, propone un cambio de... continue
