I have so many fascinations that I’m either a Renaissance woman or a complete dilettante. One of my areas of reading interest is fiction and nonfiction set in Africa. All of Africa. I’ve been collecting a booklist of books set in or about Africa for sometime, categorized by country. I look through the Saturday Review each Saturday for books that I might want to read, especially for books set in Africa. (I also look for lots of other kinds of books: Texas-related, Christianity, YA with depth, historical fiction about certain eras and places, anything related to the Inklings, etc.)
I don’t even know why I’m so interested in Africa. I’m not African American. I’ve never been to Africa, and actually I’d rather visit Europe than Africa. But I like to read about the clash of cultures in Africa. I like to read about a continent in which Christianity and Islam and animist religious beliefs compete for the allegiance of the people. There’s something mysterious and yet often inspiring about Africa’s transition into the modern technological era while retaining old cultural modes and ideas.
This week I found one book set in Africa in the list from the Saturday Review of Books: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer. It was reviewed and recommended by Heather at Capricious Reader. I had already seen this book at the bookstore and planned to read it. Heather says it’s about an inquisitive young man who essentially taught himself science, engineering, and technology and used that knowledge to improve his own life and that of his village. I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy.
Right now I’m reading another book partially set in Africa: Tracy Kidder’s Strength in What Remains. The protagonist of this book, also nonfiction, is from war-torn Burundi. So, do you have any favorite books set in Africa or written by African authors or related to Africa? Steer me in the right direction in the comments, and I’ll add your favorites to my list of African books by country, a list I plan to add to the blog eventually.
The one book that really sticks out in my mind to recommend is Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achabe. I read it as part of a first year university course called “Literature For Our Time”, and really enjoyed it!
Another book I enjoyed was West with the Night by Beryl Markham. She grew up in Africa and became the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic from east to west. It’s really fascinating.
Also The White Masai: My Exotic Tale of Love and Adventure by Corinne Hoffman. She fell in love with a Masai warrior while visiting Kenya.
For fiction, I really enjoyed Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones.
I also enjoy books set in Africa – here are a few I have liked:
Power of One: Bryce Courtenay
Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight – Alexandra Fuller
And two on my TBR:
When a Crocodile Eats the Sun – Peter Godwin
The Last Resort by Douglas Rogers
I look forward to seeing your list!
I love reading books that are set outside my small world. I’ve read lots and lots from Africa. I agree with Things Fall Apart and I add Half a Yellow Sun.
Everyone reads “Things Fall Apart”, and I plan to read it, too, but Arrow Of God (mentioned here: http://ukrakovianki.blogspot.com/2008/12/best-books-of-2008.html ) is excellent, and I recommend it.
If you can locate a copy, Many Thing You No Understand by Adaora Lily Ulasi is worth adding to your list. I talked about it here: http://ukrakovianki.blogspot.com/2007/06/i-still-dont-understand.html .
You probably already have it on your list, but I recommend Barbara Kingsolver’s Poisonwood Bible as well–in that story, the Congo is treated almost as a character rather than a location. Very powerful.
My girls have listened to several of Alexander McCall Smith’s Akimbo stories in audiobook format and enjoyed them. I actually listened to one and blogged about it here—> http://www.hopeisthewordblog.com/2010/02/12/akimbo-and-the-elephants-by-alexander-mccall-smith/
They’re set in Africa–Kenya, maybe.
So many good suggestions already! I second the recommendations for West with the Night, Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs tonight, and The Power of One.
I also love Alexander McCall Smith’s No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series; Elspeth Huxley’s semi-fictional autobiographical books: The Flame Trees of Thika and The Mottled Lizard; and the non-fiction books Out of America by Keith B. Richburg, and Across the Limpopo by Michael Nicholson.
And for classic literature about Africa you can’t beat The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, The Snows of Kilimanjaro by Hemingway, King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard, and any biographies of Stanley and Livingstone.
I love this post; I love the comments. I hate that I have no time to gather titles and add my two pieces! Soon….I hope!
Sherry, you know that Little Bee by Chris Cleave is one that fits this category of books set in Africa (at least part of the book is). Read it and let me know what you think!
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