What are you reading? Or planning to read?

[Rachel]

The Desert and the Drum by Mbarek Ould Beyrouk is the first book from Mauritania to be translated into English. It is about the life of a young Bedouin girl who flees from her tribe carrying their sacred drum with her. Here is my review

[Anetq, Tour Operator & Guide]

Hello all!

Here is an overview of the group reads & activities for 2024:
Regional reads Nominations and Book discussions.
Buddy Reads Find someone to read along with!.
African Literature in Portuguese Portuguese Reads.
Share/discuss your current reading
All current polls Vote for the group reads here

Challenges, challenges, challenges!
Set up a personal challenge
Challenge: 50 Books By African Women That Everyone Should Read
African Lit TBR Takedown challenge
Bingo Challenge 2024

I hope many of you will join in :)

[Orgeluse]

We are starting our first buddy read 2024 of That Hair by Djaimilia Pereira de Almeida in this thread
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Tamara]

I read the 2021 Booker Prize winner, The Promise by Damon Galgut. Set in South Africa, it is a powerful novel about an Afrikaner family and an unfulfilled promise. I thought the novel was really well done. I particularly enjoyed the narrative voice.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Amira]

I am reading Mother of Strangers by Suad Amiry

[Rachel]

Cry, the Beloved Country is a classic story by Alan Paton set on the eve of apartheid in South Africa that blows the whistle on the ugly story of race relations in South Africa. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ here is my review

[Rachel]

Transparent City is a contemporary fiction by Angolan author Ondjaki with a group of quirky characters in an apartment block who highlight some of the political issues of Angola. Here is my review my review

[Rachel]

The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives by Lola Shoneyin is a contemporary Nigerian fiction that takes an insightful and at times humorous look at women in a polygamous family. 27 Feb 2024 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ here is my review

[Tamara]

I read Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah, winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature. The novel explores the impact of colonialism on the lives of four characters through intertwining threads. I thought it was good, but I had higher expectations for a Nobel Prize winner.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Richard]

Hoopoe Fiction's The Jinn Daughter by Rania Hanna got 4.5* from me here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The American University in Cairo Press puts out some very interesting English-language fiction, and this latest read of theirs is even better than usual. The list varies a great deal in settings and cultural milieus. I get their DRCs via Edelweiss+.

[Rachel]

Kintu by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi* (Uganda) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ my review

[Tamara]

I read The Road to the Country by Chigozie Obioma. It's the story of the 1967 civil war in Nigeria in which the Igbo-dominated region of Biafra sought its independence from Nigeria. The novel may not be for everyone because it contains very graphic descriptions of the violence and carnage.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....

[Theodore]

I just finished Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar. I completely loved it and his style of writing.

[Tamara]

Theodore wrote: "I just finished Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar. I completely loved it and his style of writing."

I did, too. I thought it was great.

[Anetq, Tour Operator & Guide]

Orgeluse wrote: "We are starting our first buddy read 2024 of That Hair by Djaimilia Pereira de Almeida in this thread
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...-..."

I totally flunked out of that, but reading it now. Not sure it's my style though - too much digression, too little plot...

[Rachel]

Silence of the Chagos: A Novel by Shenaz Patel* (Mauritius) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ my review

[Jen]

Two recent 5-star reads for me from Nigerian author and Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka-

The Lion and the Jewel a light comedy and Death and the King's Horseman, more tragic and also exceptional.

They are plays, a genre I don't usually read but it was for a classics group and wow so glad I did. Highly recommend and eager to read more from him. Very short- 60 to 80 pages.

[Rachel]

The Shadow King by Ethiopian author Maaza Mengiste is a Booker shortlisted historical fiction about the untold story of the women who joined the army to defend Ethiopia against Mussolini's invading Italian army. ⭐⭐⭐ here is my review

[Jen]

I'm about halfway through the audiobook of The Woman Next Door by Yewande Omotoso which takes place in South Africa and it is so fun. The story and great audiobook narrator often has me laughing.
The author is of complex identity- of Barbadian-Nigerian descent, living in South Africa now and for much of her life.

[Uche]

I’m reading “New York My Village” by Uwem Akpan. It’s fiction but based on the events of the Nigerian civil war from 1967 - 1970. Now we’ve got three major tribes in Nigeria; Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo, while one of the main contributors of this war was the marginalization of the Igbo tribe, this book gives a new perspective from a minor minority tribe in Nigeria. Keep in mind that Nigeria has over 450 tribes.
I’m 50 pages in and I know this is a book you digest calmly 🤗