Read Around Africa Challenge
Read at least one book by an author from each country in Africa.
Best books from Africa (619)
151.
The Day the Leader Was Killed by Naguib Mahfouz EN
EgyptDescription:
From the Nobel Prize laureate and author of the acclaimed Cairo Trilogy, a beguiling and artfully compact novel set in Sadat's Egypt. The time is 1981, Anwar al-Sadat is president, and Egypt is lurching into the modern world. Set against this backdrop, The Day the Leader Was Killed relates the tale of a middle-class Cairene family. Rich with irony and infused with political undertones, the story is narrated alternately by the pious and mischievous family patriarch Muhtashimi Zayed, his hapless grandson Elwan, and Elwan's headstrong and beautiful fiancee Randa. The novel reaches its climax with... continue
152.
Der letzte Tag des Präsidenten by Nagib Machfus DE
Description:
Dieser Roman zeichnet mit höchster Konzentration und Dichte das Lebensgefühl der Ära Sadat.
153.
Description:
Akhenatón, el Faraón monoteísta, hereje y poeta. La investigación de un estudiante.
Una novela con un sabor diferente, en la que Mahfouz nos traslada de nuevo al Egipto faraónico, que destacó en utilizar para presentar sus ideas. La idea de leer un evento desde más de una perspectiva... los motivos ocultos de cada uno de ellos se revelan a pesar del intento de cada uno de ocultar sus motivos detrás de máscaras de sabiduría. El método de Mahfouz al escribir la novela en un nuevo estilo, y no simplemente una narraci&o... continue
154.
La Maldición de Ra : Keops y la gran pirámide by Naguib Mahfuz ES
Description:
Mientras Keops emprende la construccion de la gran piramide, su corte se enfrenta a un grave problema que el faraon intentara resolver mediante el asesinato de un bebe. Con su habitual capacidad para sumergir al lector en el ambiente de epocas pasadas, Mahfuz recrea en esta ocasion la vida en la corte durante la IV dinastia, una de las epocas mas apasionantes del Egipto de los faraones.
155.
El edificio Yacobián : una novela sobre un inmueble de El Cairo y las vidas de sus habitantes by Alaa Al Aswany ES
Description:
Una novela construida como un mosaico donde las vidas de los personajes se cruzan y se separan ante la mirada compasiva y sin prejuicios del autor.Construido en 1934 en una de las principales avenidas del Cairo, el Edificio Yacobián es al mismo tiempo una imagen representativa de los últimos setenta y cinco años de la historia de Egipto y una radiografía de la sociedad egipcia contemporánea. Cada piso parece representar un estrato de la sociedad y por la novela vemos desfilar a los habitantes más variopintos: aristócratas decadentes, hombres de negocio, políticos corruptos, pobres de solemnida... continue
156.
Shubeik Lubeik by Deena Mohamed EN
Description:
A brilliantly original debut graphic novel that imagines a fantastical alternate Cairo where wishes really do come true. Shubeik Lubeik—a fairy tale rhyme that means “your wish is my command” in Arabic—is the story of three people who are navigating a world where wishes are literally for sale. “The mythic qualities of Mohamed’s world bring our own world into sharper focus . . . Mohamed’s humor often feels like a protest, as do the thick and assertive lines of her drawings . . . The effect is gritty, brazen, and full of spunk.”—The New Yorker Three wishes that are sold at an unassuming kiosk in... continue
157.
Granada : A Novel by Radwa Ashour EN
Description:
Radwa Ashour skillfully weaves a history of Granadan rule and an Arabic world into a novel that evokes cultural loss and the disappearance of a vanquished population. The novel follows the family of Abu Jaafar the bookbinder—his wife, widowed daughter-in-law, her two children, and his two apprentices—as they witness Christopher Columbus and his entourage in a triumphant parade featuring exotic plants, animals, human captives from the New World. Embedded in the narrative is the preparation for the marriage of Saad, one of the apprentices, and Saleema, Abu Jaafar's granddaughter—which is elegant... continue
158.
Shelf Life : Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller by Nadia Wassef EN
Description:
The warm and winning story of opening a modern bookstore where there were none, Shelf Life: Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller recounts Nadia Wassef’s troubles and triumphs as a founder and manager of Cairo-based Diwan The streets of Cairo make strange music. The echoing calls to prayer; the raging insults hurled between drivers; the steady crescendo of horns honking; the shouts of street vendors; the television sets and radios blaring from every sidewalk. Nadia Wassef knows this song by heart. In 2002, with her sister, Hind, and their friend, Nihal, she founded Diwan, a fiercely independent boo... continue
159.
The Republic of False Truths by Alaa Al Aswany EN
Description:
General Alwany is a pious man who loves his family. He also tortures and kills enemies of the state.Under the regime of Hosni Mubarak, Egypt is gripped by cronyism, religious hypocrisy, and the oppressive military. Now, however, the regime faces its greatest crisis. The idealistic young from different backgrounds - engineers, teachers, medical students, and among them the general's daughter - have come together to challenge the status quo.Euphoria mounts as Mubarak is toppled and love blossoms across class divides, but can it last?'Rooted in first-hand experience, this searing accoun... continue
160.
Headscarves and Hymens : Why the Middle East Needs a Sexual Revolution by Mona Eltahawy EN
Description:
Examines the status of women in Arab countries, arguing that misogyny in the Middle East and North Africa is rampant as a result of an unfortunate mixture of cultural and religious factors, and that the women of the region must fight for their rights.