March 30, 2008
Six African books
The blog siphoning off a few thoughts has started an Africa Reading Challenge in which:
participants commit to read - in the course of 2008 - six books that either were written by African writers, take place in Africa, or deal significantly with Africans and African issues.
The idea is that you then review them on your site.
Here are my six:
- Palace Walk (The Cairo Trilogy) by Naguib Mahfouz
also Sugar Streetand Palace of Desire
- Graceland by Chris Abani (pictured above)
- Khartoum: The Ultimate Imperial Adventure by Michael Asher
- The State of Africa: A History of Fifty Years of Independence by Martin Meredith
- Life and Times of Michael K by J.M. Coetzee
- The Translator by Leila Aboulela
Naguib Mahfouz because I've already read two of his shorter books - 'Adrift on the Nile' and 'The Day the Leader Was Killed' and the Cairo Trilogy is supposed to be even better; Chris Abani because I've seen him talk at TED twice and, like Ethan, have vowed to read everything he's written; 'Khartoum' because it is supposed to be a ripping good yarn and may throw up a few story ideas; 'The State of Africa' because it's been on my shelf for months and should fill in lots of huge knowledge gaps; J.M. Coetzee because of 'Disgrace'; and 'The Translator' because it is about a Sudanese woman who moves to Aberdeen - which is our story in reverse, almost.
Posted by aheavens at March 30, 2008 10:27 AM
Comments
Oh, great idea, and thanks for posting this, as I wouldn't have seen it otherwise. I was just thinking about doing a post about reading my way through Africa.
I just finished Graceland (and recognized the photo of Abani, which I couldn't have done two weeks ago) and before that read the incredible Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Both books are set in Nigeria, so it was great to read them in a row. I just started Links by the Somali writer Nuruddin Farah.
Mahfouz I haven't been able to get into, particularly lame given that I'm in Egypt.
Anyway, obviously I'll get right to this. Thanks for sharing the idea.
Posted by: Ms. Four at March 30, 2008 5:25 PM
Thanks, for your #1 choice, I am an Ethiopian living in the US and love Naguib Mahfouz. For me, Naguib Mahfouz not only an African writer but a world wirier.
Posted by: baheilu at April 1, 2008 4:41 AM
I would love to read the English translation of this book if anyone can give me any information I would be very pleased.
Captain Alemayehu Abebe, the first black African commercial Jet pilot and the first black African to command a commercial jetliner across the Atlantic, has written a book entitled "Hiwote Bemidir Na Bayer" roughly meaning "My Life on Land and Air".
This information is from a news article I found a few years ago, since then I have had no luck tracking it down.
Posted by: leisa at April 13, 2008 2:11 PM