Great African Reads discussion

A friend asked me today to name my five most favorite books about Africa...so i thought i should ask all of you!
Anyone who wants can have their own thread and we can all discuss. :)

What a difficult question - but I decided that my top 5 would be the books that first came to mind and have recommended to others with good results.

Excellent! I'm going to go check them out! I saw you made a thread. :)

Purple Hibiscus
Cutting for Stone
Things Fall Apart
Going Down River Road (favorite in the memorable, but horrible sort of way)
The Power of One or Mukiwa (I know I am cheating here, but they are both excellent, and a bit similar)

Good idea! There is also a huge list on Listopia for books about Africa but I really like these smaller, personalized ones!

Marieke wrote: "A friend asked me today to name my five most favorite books about Africa...so i thought i should ask all of you!
Anyone who wants can have their own thread and we can all discuss. :)"

Hmm. If the criterion is that they are *about* Africa, and not *by* African writers, then my number one choice is unquestionably The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. After that:

Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
The Shackled Continent by Robert Guest.
Mukiwa by Peter Godwin
Dark Star Safari by Paul Theroux.

It's curious (to me) that most of my favorite books about Africa are non-fiction, when, generally, I prefer fiction.

I'm glad you guys like this! I almost can't believe we didn't think of this before.

Katy and Elizabeth, do you want to make threads for your favorites and link to them, like Beverly did? I can set them up if you want.

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Anthills of the Savannah by Chinua Achebe
The Famished Road by Ben Okri
Ways of Dying by Zakes Mda
Decolonising the Mind - Ngugi wa Thiongo

The cultural importance of these books in my mind cannot be overstated, some of these books narrate stories and speak about experiences that people take for granted. Like the Toloki story in Ways of Dying, there's always a Toloki in moat villages and townships....

Marieke wrote: "I'm glad you guys like this! I almost can't believe we didn't think of this before.

Katy and Elizabeth, do you want to make threads for your favorites and link to them, like Beverly did? I can set..."

Marieke, if you would like to set up a thread for my list, that would be great- if that is the direction you would like to see this conversation go. Thanks

Fela wrote: "Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Anthills of the Savannah by Chinua Achebe
The Famished Road by Ben Okri
Ways of Dying by Zakes Mda
Decolonising the Mind - Ngugi wa Thiongo

The cultural importan..."

I have read all but Decolonising the Mind. I agree I really enjoyed Ways of Dying. Generally I have enjoyed Mda books.

Katy wrote: "Marieke wrote: "A friend asked me today to name my five most favorite books about Africa...so i thought i should ask all of you!
Anyone who wants can have their own thread and we can all discuss. :..."

I also enjoyed The Poisonwood Bible but then Barbara Kingsolver is one of my fav authors. She has a new book coming out this fall that I am looking forward to - is is set in the US.

Elizabeth wrote: "Purple Hibiscus
Cutting for Stone
Things Fall Apart
Going Down River Road (favorite in the memorable, but horrible sort of way)
The Power of One or Mukiwa (I know I am cheating here, but they are b..."

I have read all but The Power of One and Mukiwa.

I will shortly be offline for almost a week...I didn't get some stuff done here at this group, like set up lists...my apologies. But as soon as I can I will!

Does anyone consider novels like The Stranger or Heart of Darkness to be "Africa" books?

Good question. My top 6 - couldn't get it down to 5 - would be:

1. Ryszard Kapuscinski: The Shadow of the Sun
2. Ryszard Kapuscinski: The Emperor
3. Shiva Naipaul: North of South
4. Chinua Achebe: Things Fall Apart
5. Aminatta Forna: The Devil that Danced on the Water
6. Mungo Park: Travels in the Interior of Africa

Also worth a mention: Kapuscinski's 'Another Day of Life'; Sven Lindqvist's 'Exterminate all the Brutes'; Ahmadou Kourouma's 'Waiting for the Wild Beasts to Vote'; VS Naipaul's 'A Bend in the River; Patrick Chabal's 'The Politics of Suffering and Smiling.'

Oh, Mark, you cheated! lol. I'm afraid if I start making a list of favorites, I'll forget something. I'm going to announce that my list is not "most important" but just "I liked them alot" so I don't have to be too serious. Also, my five aren't in order.

Mission to Kala
Mission to Kala
Nervous ConditionsNervous Conditions
Man Eaters of TsavoThe Man-Eaters of Tsavo
Coming to Birth
Coming to Birth
The Gunny SackThe Gunny Sack
It's really hard to narrow it down to five!

Two of these books are biographies, but I couldn't put them down. The last one, Malaika, is a simple short story but so insightful and non condescending about Africa, i loved it.

Things Fall Apart: Chinua Achebe
Long Walk to Freedom: Nelson Mandela
Infidel: Ayaan Hirsi
Say you are one of them: Akpan, Uwem
Malaika: Van Heerling

I concur. It's hard to chose just five.

Ah yes, I'm going to have to cheat a bit more I'm afraid, as I'd completely forgotten Long Walk to Freedom. That's definitely in my top 5, which is now a top 7!

Matt wrote: "Does anyone consider novels like The Stranger or Heart of Darkness to be "Africa" books?"

@Matt - I think if a story is set in Africa then it is an African story.

Yes, since it's our club, I think we can make up rules for inclusion as we go along:)

Suzanna wrote: "Infidel: Ayaan Hirsi"
This book has really stuck with me since I read it.

Here are my top 4:

Long Walk to Freedom - Nelson Mandela

Disgrace - J.M Coetzee

In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu's Congo - Michela Wrong

Infidel - Ayaan Hirsi

Maria wrote: "Here are my top 4:

Long Walk to Freedom - Nelson Mandela

Disgrace - J.M Coetzee

In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu's Congo - Michela Wrong

Infidel - Ayaan ..."

Ooo, yes, I loved Disgrace. Got to read more of Coetzee!

Jenny wrote: "Suzanna wrote: "Infidel: Ayaan Hirsi"
This book has really stuck with me since I read it."

I agree, Jenny. Ayaan is very remarkable. I am glad she finally found peace and happiness in her personal life as well.

Love this idea! :) I'll have to think about mine and start a thread.

My favorites are all "classics" (and at least one has a controversial history of reception)

Sundiata
Things Fall Apart
Ambiguous Adventure (L'aventure ambigüe)
Dark Child (L'enfant noir)
The Fortunes of Wangrin (L'étrange destin de Wangrin)

Could I add a sixth? And it adds a new genre to the mix, drama: Death and the King's Horseman

Having lauded Kapuscinski in my list of favourites, I thought I'd mention that there is a debate about him at London's Frontline Club on 19 September. A new biography by a fellow Pole claims Kapuscinski blurred fact and fiction in his reportage. The debate is about whether this matters. Should be interesting and it's open to all. Here's a link to the event: http://www.frontlineclub.com/events/2...