Read Around Africa Challenge
Read at least one book by an author from each country in Africa.
Best books from Africa (893)
621.
A dolorosa raiz do Micondó : poesia by Conceição Lima PT
Country: Africa / 
Sao Tome and Principe
Sao Tome and Principe
Description:
Nesta coletânea de 27, o micondó, árvore considerada sagrada em regiões da África, simboliza origem, casa, morada ancestral. A evocação de tais raízes é dolorosa devido a acontecimentos históricos, como a escravidão e a colonização, que imprimiram feridas e rupturas na identidade nacional, e na própria poetisa, cujos antepassados foram trazidos à força para o arquipélago africano e mais tarde enviados para outras terras como escravos. Embora a dor seja uma constante em seus versos, o sentimento que os perpassa é o da sutil esperança de que a mesma memória que resgata os fatos traumáticos ajude... continue
622.
Pé de Perfume : Ylang-Ylang by Olinda Beja PT
Country: Africa / Sao Tome and Principe
Sao Tome and Principe
Description:
Sobre o livro: (...) as estórias de "Pé-de-Perfume", marcadas fortemente pelo cunho da tradição africana da narração oral, são transversalmente habitadas por Poesia, ou não fosse Olinda Beja um grande poeta, seja na função da linguagem, nas imagens sugeridas pelo desenho dos cenários ou pela postura dos personagens. Ao mesmo tempo, os contos curtos são encabeçados por epígrafes proverbiais nas duas línguas, santomense e portuguesa, como que anunciando uma lição final das estórias que assumem, assim, muita vez, o perfil de fábulas. A certos animais marinhos ou terrestres emblemáticos do arquipé... continue
623.
No Gods Live Here : Poems by Conceicao Lima EN
Country: Africa / Sao Tome and Principe
Sao Tome and Principe
Description:
One of the few book-length poetry collections from São Tomé to appear in English, Lima's poetry is grounded in place and history of the region. A career-spanning collection from São Tomean master Conceição Lima, No Gods Live Here summons the intricacies of her personal history of the landscape with the complicated lineage of the region. Lima houses the cruelties of the country's past alongside childhood memories, flora, and fauna. Through vivid imagery, Lima's deep evocations of São Tomé extend from popular Santomean music to imagery of fishermen on the beach, while ever-aware of the subjectiv... continue
624.
So Long a Letter by Mariama Ba EN
SenegalDescription:
Written by award-winning African novelist Mariama Ba and translated from the original French, So Long a Letter has been recognized as one of Africa's 100 Best Books of the 20th Century. The brief narrative, written as an extended letter, is a sequence of reminiscences - some wistful, some bitter - recounted by recently widowed Senegalese school teacher Ramatoulaye Fall. Addressed to a lifelong friend, Aissatou, it is a record of Ramatoulaye's emotional struggle for survival after her husband betrayed their marriage by taking a second wife. This semi-autobiographical account is a perceptive tes... continue
625.
Une si longue lettre by Mariama Bâ FR
Description:
Une si longue lettre est une œuvre majeure, pour ce qu'elle dit de la condition des femmes. Au cœur de ce roman, la lettre que l'une d'elle, Ramatoulaye, adresse à sa meilleure amie, pendant la réclusion traditionnelle qui suit son veuvage. Elle y évoque leurs souvenirs heureux d'étudiantes impatientes de changer le monde, et cet espoir suscité par les Indépendances. Mais elle rappelle aussi les mariages forcés, l'absence de droits des femmes. Et tandis que sa belle-famille vient prestement reprendre les affaires du défunt, Ramatoulaye évoque alors avec douleur le jour où son mari prit une sec... continue
627.
Description:
Looks at how the new African middle class have taken over from the colonialists as the exploiters of the people.
628.
La Mas Recondita Memoria de Los Hombres by Mohamed Mbougar Sarr ES
Description:
1938: African writer T. C Elimane, known as the black Rimbaud, publishes a novel entitled The Labyrinth of the Inhuman. Controversy breaks out, he is accused of plagiarism, the author disappears and his work becomes a cursed book. 2018: the young African writer residing in Paris Diégane Latyr Faye discovers the lost novel and decides to investigate the missing author. With the help of an enigmatic woman and a group of young African writers, the protagonist embarks on a journey in search of a myth and perhaps also of himself. The clues take him to the Buenos Aires of Sur magazine, Gombrowicz an... continue
629.
Mi carta más larga by Mariama Ba ES
Description:
Mi carta más larga está considerada como una de las novelas más importantes de la literatura africana, por cómo su autora, Mariama Bâ, aborda la situación de las mujeres de Senegal.
Durante su encierro tradicional a raíz de su viudez, Ramatoulaye escribe a Aïssatou, su mejor amiga que vive fuera del país. Esta carta es una reflexión de cómo ha sido la vida de la protagonista, su visión personal sobre los matrimonios forzados, la injusticia social que viven las mujeres y el sentimiento de desamor y engaño... continue
630.
The Most Secret Memory of Men by Mohamed Mbougar Sarr EN
Description:
A masterful coming-of-age novel and a gripping investigation into the life of a mysterious author who disappeared without a trace, by the first writer from sub-Saharan Africa to be awarded France’s prestigious Prix Goncourt. Paris, 2018. Diégane Latyr Faye, a young Senegalese writer, discovers a legendary book published in 1938 titled The Maze of Inhumanity. No one knows what happened to the author, T.C. Elimane, once referred to as the “Black Rimbaud.” After he was accused of plagiarism, his reputation was destroyed by the critics. He subsequently disappeared without a trace. Curiosity turns ... continue