Read Around Africa Challenge
Read at least one book by an author from each country in Africa.
Best books from Africa (892)
151.
Nimrod : Selected Writings by Nimrod ; ed. Frieda Ekotto EN
ChadDescription:
The Chadian writer Nimrod—philosopher, poet, novelist, and essayist—is one of the most dynamic and vital voices in contemporary African literature and thought. Yet little of Nimrod’s writing has been translated into English until now. Introductory material by Frieda Ekotto provides context for Nimrod’s work and demonstrates the urgency of making it available beyond Francophone Africa to a broader global audience. At the heart of this volume are Nimrod’s essays on Léopold Sédar Senghor, a key figure in the literary and aesthetic Négritude movement of the 1930s and president of Senegal from 1945... continue
153.
Kam-Ndjaha, la dévoreuse : Roman by Marie-Christine Koundja FR
Description:
Après une enfance difficile, de peines et de supplices, Marianne connaît des moments, tantôt d’amour, de bonheur et de prospérité, tantôt de chagrin et de misère.
De son côté, Julie passe de draps en draps . . . pour finir où?
Voilà la question qu’on doit se poser dans sa vie existentielle quand on fait un choix de vie.
154.
Djibril ou Les ombres portées by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun FR
Description:
"Puisque le passé se dérobe, se dissout, je veux sauver le présent. L'emballer et le mettre en lieu sûr pour les générations futures. Je veux qu'ils sachent. Qu'ils ne tombent pas dans le trou noir du passé, comme moi. Contrairement aux gens d'ici, je parle peu. Je suis un taiseux. Je sais que nous avons eu la parole en héritage. Nous sommes condamnés à lui donner toute la place qui lui revient. "La parole, ça se décortique", disait un vieux sage burkinabè. Je suis chagriné de constater à quel point nous l'avons dévoyée, la parole". Dans une langue vive et fluide, riche et imagée, directe, Dji... continue
155.
The Kaffir of Karthala by Mohamed A. Toihiri EN
ComorosDescription:
Though Mazamba knows he only has a few days left to extract most out of the world, and though he is married, Mazamba "embarks on an affair with a French woman, Aubéri, and comes to look at the world around him with new eyes." He is met with a society of racism, a nation of corruption and a globe of preconceived notions. But he still undertakes the quest to "challenge the status quo while he still can." Toihiri is a courageous and fearless writer. He looks and writes about the world with a different eye; an eye more clear and vivid an eye more brave. From the descriptions of 'a neighborhood whe... continue
156.
Girl Called Eel by Ali Zamir EN
Description:
Anguille is a 17-year-old girl who leaves her rock on the archipelago of Comoros to lose herself at sea. She drifts between two states of mind and between two islands 'in a hollow maze', evoking her memories so as to forget nothing and so as to delay the inevitable outcome. Confronted with the pressing immediacy of imminent death, Anguille recounts the story of her whole life in one long, sustained breath, in a series of brief couplets. But what Anguille recounts, in an assured voice which heralds a shipwreck, is also something other than her life - something much deeper below the ground, or r... continue
157.
158.
A Fish Caught in Time : The Search for the Coelacanth by Samantha Weinberg, Fourth Estate EN
Description:
The coelacanth (see-lo-canth) is no ordinary fish. Five feet long, with luminescent eyes and limb like fins, this bizarre creature, presumed to be extinct, was discovered in 1938 by an amateur icthyologist who recognized it from fossils dating back 400 million years. The discovery was immediately dubbed the "greatest scientific find of the century," but the excitement that ensued was even more incredible. This is the entrancing story of that most rare and precious fish -- our own great-uncle forty million times removed.
159.
Contes et légendes des Comores by Salim Hatubou, Aux origines du monde, FR
Description:
Un florilège de mythes, de contes et de légendes permet de pénétrer dans l'imaginaire des Comores Je suis l'enfant d'une contrée de sagesse et de folie. Bercé par le son des tam-tams, je viens, les pieds nus, vous transmettre les mots de mes ancêtres bantus. Sachez que Conte n'aurait pas existé si la vieille femme ne s'était pas perdue à Allahalélé ; si le vieux Gombé ne lui avait pas donné la petite marmite en terre qui contenait de belles histoires; si Soleil, jaloux et aigri, ne l'avait pas cassée. Depuis, chaque pays détient des contes, mais prenez garde de ne jamais les raconter en présen... continue
160.
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