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Original poster

Books set in africa?

64 replies

FuzzzyDuckosaurus · 06/06/2012 23:18

Looking for recommendations on books similar to 'a thousand splendid suns', 'half a yellow moon' etc.
Really enjoyed these and a few others buy the same authors and looking for some new ones.
Thanks

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BlameItOnTheBogey · 23/09/2012 10:58

I've just read the Hairdresser of Harare and thought it was great.

SoSoMamanBebe · 17/09/2012 10:34

Don't let's go to the dogs tonight by Alexandra Fuller. It is amazing. If you only read one book about africa it is worth reading this one. I have many friends who have lived this kind of life and it is a real insight to Zimbabwe.

tripfiction · 17/09/2012 10:29

Loved Harmattan, set in in West Africa, by Gavin Weston - a review compares it to A 1000 Splendid Suns.

SomebodySaveMe · 07/09/2012 21:00

Tiny sunbirds far away was really good

Bookbrain · 04/09/2012 19:43

Loads of great recommendations above. I thought Red Dust, also by Gillian Slovo, was a great book. Another interesting one is Our Grandmothers' Drums by Mark Hudson.

beatricequimby · 04/09/2012 19:38

If you are interested in South Africa, I loved 'Every Secret Thing' by Gillian Slovo - its a memoir about growing up as the daughter of top ANC activists.

valiumredhead · 03/09/2012 14:58

The Poisonwood Bible is a fantastic book - one of my favourites.

NellyJob · 03/09/2012 02:31

has no-one mentioned Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad??

Petals of Blood - Ngugi wa'Thiongo/(James Ngugi)
Martha Quest - Doris Lessing
The Grass is Singing - Doris Lessing
Anthills of the Savannah - Chinua Achebe

EldritchCleavage · 03/09/2012 02:07

I very much like:
'The African Child' by Camara Laye;
'The Narrow Path' by Francis Selormey;
'A Woman in her Prime' by Asare Konadu.

Worth a try: 'My Mercedes is Bigger than Yours' by Nkem Nkwankwo

'Burning Grass' by Cyprian Ekwensi and BEn Okri is really loved by some though I've never read him.

fridakahlo · 03/09/2012 02:05

If no-one has recommended The Poisonwood Bible yet, then please let me be the first.
Tis an amazing book, amazingly written, amazing characters, really heart rending and does truely show you how much things can differ between one part of the planet and.another.

lotuseener · 03/09/2012 02:03

A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah. It is his story about being a child soldier.

80sMum · 03/09/2012 01:57

Someone recommended "A Bend in the River" by Naipaul to me a while ago. Not read it yet myself but apparently well worth a read.

tuckingfits · 03/09/2012 01:27

Oh yes to Out of Africa. Fabulous book.

beanandspud · 03/09/2012 00:45

I second 'I dreamed of Africa' - read it years ago and loved it.

The original 'Out of Afrca' is also worth reading.

I also enjoyed 'The Ukimwi Road' by Dervla Murphy.

tuckingfits · 02/09/2012 23:46

Mukiwa by Peter Godwin is a good read about his childhood & growing up in Southern Rhodesia. I enjoyed it. I also learned a lot from many of Wilbur Smith's books. Particularly the older ones. I Dreamed of Africa by Kuki Gallman. I have to say I haven't read much about modern Africa. I do however love reading about the days of colonialism & the dying of it.

AgamaLiz · 02/09/2012 23:30

Everything Good Will Come; Swallow; and News From Home by Sefi Atta

Alurkatsoftplay · 14/06/2012 17:44

And 'Don't lets go to the dogs tonight,' by Alexander Fuller is meant to be very good (about English girl? growing up in Africa). Haven't read it yet but love the title.

Alurkatsoftplay · 14/06/2012 17:42

The Catastrophist by Ronan Bennett. Irish man and Italian woman in the Congo. It was very good.

TanteRose · 12/06/2012 06:24

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie?s collection of short stories "The Thing around Your Neck" is wonderful

MsWeatherwax · 12/06/2012 06:17

The Cry Of The Go Away Bird. Amazing book.

notcitrus · 12/06/2012 02:29

Also 'Looking for Transwonderland' by Noo Saro-Wiwa, where she travels around Nigeria having not been there since her father's murder nearly 20 years ago. Fascinating stuff, especially as she's Nigerian but an expat. Her take on Nigeria is both inspiring and depressing but very funny too.

And 'Beyond the Devils Teeth' by Tahir Shah - guy travels round India, then across Africa, then in South America, starting as a total knob but growing up in the process.

NeitherShreddedNorSmug · 12/06/2012 02:27

Sorry!

Rules of the Wild

NeitherShreddedNorSmug · 12/06/2012 02:26

of the wild www.amazon.com/Rules-Wild-A-Novel-Africa/dp/0375703438/ref=sr_1_75?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339464285&sr=1-75 though it's many years since i read it.

NeitherShreddedNorSmug · 12/06/2012 02:18

Another vote for Brazzaville Beach, and I don't think anyone has mentioned The Sheltering Sky yet (although that's more North Africa).

lemonpoppyseed · 12/06/2012 02:11

One of the most interesting non-fiction books I've read is King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild. It is about the exploitation of the Congo in the late 19th century. A fascinating book about colonialism.

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