Great African Reads discussion

Hello fellow Good African Reads group members,
It might be fun to all read one of the books we have in this group and discuss it here on GoodReads. We have plenty to choose from. We could do it over the month of August, or until some other specific date, then start the discussion after that date. What do you think?

Carrie

I would like that! I just got the book "They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky" by Alphonsius Deng (Sudan). Is anyone else interested in reading that with me? I'm actually off to Uganda for the month of August and won't have much email contact, but I'd love to discuss it when I get back. (I'm also hoping to find some "new" (to me) authors while I'm there.
Dana

What do people recommend for someone who is going to Africa (Tanzania) for the first time? Fiction/nonfiction - either way...

Hi Otis,

If you have time, try The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. I say "if you have time" because it's a pretty long novel. But it is captivating, and really captures life in central Africa, I think. Kingsolver's parents were medical missionaries in the Congo when she was a child, so I think the book is pretty accurate. It's a great read, very captivating and moving.

Tell us about your trip when you get back!

Katy G.

I also suggest "Zanzibar Chest". Its non-fiction and gives you some good insight into events that happened in the area over the past 20 years or so.

Some of my favorite Africa reads include: "Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight"; "When a Crocodile Eats the Sun"; "Rainbows End"; "Rules of the Wild; "Emma's War" and "The Zanzibar Chest". Those are pretty much all memoirs except "Rules of the Wild" is a novel. Hope you have a great trip. Let me know if you enjoy any of the books I suggested.

What a great collection of 'reads'....I've read the first two and really enjoyed both. Now I'll have to find the others.

Lived in South Africa from 1981 - 1985 and haven't made it back yet. It's a LONG way from Hawai'i!

Hi Hulananni,

If you're interested in a couple of good South Africa books, check out "My Traitor's Heart" and "Country of My Skull". I also enjoyed Mark Mathabane's books (beginning w/ "Kaffir Boy"). For something a bit heavier (and focusing on the Congo) I would recommend "King Leopold's Ghost".

Happy reading,
Wendy

Aloha. I've read "My Traitor's Heart" and Mark Mathabane's books....will have to find "Country of My Skull"...

now....NOT a South Africa book but I just 'cried my way through' "Blessed by Thunder"....a memoir of growing up in Cuba in the 60s/70s. Powerful and poignant.

"Blessed by Thunder" looks great. I added it to my wish list! Thank you :-)

Hi there! Are we including books written by non-African as well as African authors? I added a bunch the day I joined, and it looks like they've all been deleted.

Mahalo to everyone. I just returned from the local library with 4 Africa-centered books. As soon as I finish "Twenty Chickens for a Saddle" which I bought...I'll start on the library books.

"Twenty Chickens for a Saddle" is the story of a family with young children who grow up in Botswana for the most part being home-schooled. Their father is a doctor. Mother is a free-thinker. What a delightful read and it takes me back to the years we spent in the area. Especially one part about the paperwork and trauma involved in 'crossing' borders in that area. Always worrying that the paperwork was not filled out correctly. I remembered it too well while reading the book.

I just read "Rules of the Wild" and "rainbow's end"....the first is fiction and the second non-fiction. I really enjoy reading the 'childhood memoirs' of those who lived in southern Africa....I feel like I'm back there again (and wish I were!)

anything about Ghana?

Hi Adrienne,

What exactly are you looking for? Names of leading fiction authors?

If so, I suggest, for a start, that you Google/Amazon:

Ama Ata Aidoo
Mohammed Naseehu Ali
Ayi Kwei Armah
Kofi Awoonor
Amma Darko
Manu Herbstein (that's me)
Benjamin Kwakye

Manu

Hello Manu,

Thanks for the suggestions, I'm looking for something fiction.
Are you from Ghana?

Hi Adrienne,

I have dual citizenship, South African and Ghanaian. Born and educated in Cape Town but I've spent most of my adult life in Ghana.

Manu

Oh thats interesting. I love Ghana, I was there in May.

Hi Otis... Paul Theroux spends a few chapters (11-13) in Dark Star Safari writing about his travels through Tanzania. This would give you another perspective on the country. Have a great time!