Great African Reads discussion

Categories - 1/9 read
A Short Story
By a Nigerian Author
From a recommendation list
From Eastern Africa
Free Choice
Non-fiction
Poetry or Genre Fiction
Female prize winner
Not Written in English: Chaka by Thomas Mofolo

OMG!!! I FINALLY just did it and read Mofolo's Chaka, which was the final book of my quest to read a book from every African country! DONE!! 1st of January no less!
Map here: https://ucph.padlet.org/anetq/world

Well done! What an amazing effort! What is your next goal? Read another book from each country??!!!!

Anetq wrote: "OMG!!! I FINALLY just did it and read Mofolo's Chaka, which was the final book of my quest to read a book from every African country! DONE!! 1st of January no less!
Map here: https://ucph.padlet.or..."

Massive congratulations! Such an achievement!!!

Chapeau!!! And what a good start into 2025!

Thank you all - and no @Jo , I think just 'read whatever I fancy" for a while :)

Haha! Sounds like a plan!

Can you share your list of books from every African country? That’s my goal for the first half of 2025. It’s taking me longer than usual to read each book because I’m unfamiliar with the language, geography, and cultures, so I keep pausing to look things up. I'm enjoying learning. The books I've read so far have been so motivating but are deeply emotional and often heartbreaking. Thank you

Alicia wrote: "Can you share your list of books from every African country? That’s my goal for the first half of 2025. It’s taking me longer than usual to read each book because I’m unfamiliar with the language, ..."
Susan, I have read many African works, from Achinua Achebe to Chimamanda Adichie, but this one right here is as most controversial and you can have them. Taking the risk of defying the status-quo of African English and delving into the standard English of Western authors to write an African story? Mesmerising, captivating writing, but will the world let him do that? I read the story, but I came coming back to it. How did he do it all in 15 pages? Wow!

I don't understand where you're going? You kinda make it sound like Africa is one thing and there is one version of English in Africa. And one might add as if English belongs to someone outside of Africa? (btw: As someone with a language background, I'm finding it hard to believe that "Standard English" exists as an uncontested form - would that be British English? The Queens? Cockney? Australian? Kenyan?) Anyway...

Alicia wrote: "Can you share your list of books from every African country? That’s my goal for the first half of 2025. It’s taking me longer than usual to read each book because I’m unfamiliar with the language, ..."

Hi Alicia
Thanks for asking - I've plotted my reading onto this world map, if you want to have a look - it's not a list on one book pr. country, but what I've read (though not an exhaustive list when it comes to Europe) - but for Africa it's pretty much what I've read, I think.
https://ucph.padlet.org/anetq/world

My own 'dogma rules' have been to try to read authors from the given country (not tourist/aid worker's accounts of them). I've also tried to read women, and then there's a bit of "life happened", that always makes things drop into my read list.
Some countries have very little literature (having been a bit busy getting colonized or surviving wars etc), some have less that is translated to a language I can read.
Personal favorites of mine is some of the Portuguese writers - Agualusa (from Angola) in particular