Great African Reads discussion

Hi guys,

Let's generate a list of authors and their works that we are interested in. Obviously we won't be able to read everything together, but I will be setting up threads for individual authors so that we can all free read and share our thoughts and make recommendations. I just set one up for Adichie. :)

Marieke,

As you may recall I spent 2012-13 in Nigeria!

I have just read Teju Cole's republished Every Day is for the Thief and reviewed it. In my opinion the best introduction to Nigeria I have read. I have his Open City on the shelf waiting for me.

I'd also recommend Helon Habila - I read his Oil on Water: A Novel and reviewed . it. I have his Measuring Time on my shelf waiting for me.

Another book I have had on my to be read list for some time is Christie Watson's Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away

Authors I have not read but are on my to be read list are Helen Oyeyemi and Chika Unigwe

The Nigerian publisher Cassava Republic is based in Abuja, where I lived. I visted them and was always impressed by how much their shop staff knew about the books and authors they published. Their website could offer up some further suggestions

A few more Nigerian authors: Chibundu Onuzo, Nnedi Okorafor, Chika Unigwe, Chuma Nwokolo, Okey Ndibe and those are just a few fairly contemporary Nigerian writers.

Tx for adding these in Nina, I had just gone back and edited my post because I had forgotten Chika Ngiwe then I saw your post .

If you want some nonfiction I have to do a plug for my friend and ex-colleague's husband's book which I can't find here on Goodreads - Clash of Identities - State, Society and Ethno-religious Conflicts in Northern Nigeria by Hussaini Abdu published by DevReach Publishers in 2010 ISBN 9879879079483 / 9879879099665. He is the Country Directory of Action Aid Nigeria. It is rather an academic read but he knows his stuff. He has been interviewed as a expert in this field by ITV News in their coverage of the recent Boko Haram attacks in NE Nigeria

Here are a couple of books that I have on my tbr list:

Arrows of Rain by Okey Ndibe - being released in US - I really enjoyed reading Foreign Gods, Inc. last year.

The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma April US release date

Two books from Nnedi Okorafor:
The Book of Phoenix - May US release date - this is a prequel of Who Fears Death
Lagoon - April US release date

Mr. and Mrs. Doctor by Julie Iromuanya

Can one find any of the mentioned Nigerian authors ' works online? African publication are rare in my country! Thanks a lot for the very interesting list suggested!

Sheila wrote: "Marieke,

As you may recall I spent 2012-13 in Nigeria!

I have just read Teju Cole's republished Every Day is for the Thief and reviewed it. In my opinion the bes..."

I am interested in reading Every Day is for the Thief - just released in US.
I did read Open City

A couple of other authors that I want to read:

Sefi Atta
I read Swallow and have A Bit of Difference

A. Igoni Barrett

Amany wrote: "Can one find any of the mentioned Nigerian authors ' works online? African publication are rare in my country! Thanks a lot for the very interesting list suggested!"

I see from your profile you are based in Egypt. How about ebooks? Do you have access via Amazon or kobo? I used http://www.flipkart.com when I lived in India and that worked well and I checked and this site at least has the teju cole books as ebooks http://www.flipkart.com/search?q=teju...

A couple of these have already been mentioned here, but -- a few books I'd like to read in the near future:
A Mouth Sweeter Than Salt: An African Memoir
In Dependence
On Black Sisters Street: A Novel (I think read here in 2012?)
Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away
A Bit of Difference

Chris Abani

I have read all of this novels and like them for their poetic language - so want to read one of his books of poetry.

I enjoyed Adimchinma Ibe's Treachery in the Yard: A Nigerian Thriller

Hello

New to this group and sorry in advance if I am stepping on toes. I have been to several different countries in Africa and my philanthropic intrests lie there. I read these comments about heavy reading. Not to ignore reality, however, quite frankly, I am weary of all the negative aspects (the majority of what I have read) and am seriously looking for books on culture, folktales and the beauty that is (place name of African country here). Since I am not versed in Nigerian culture or authors, I hope someone can recommend something beautiful to read (besides poetry - I just feel poetry not in a native language falls short and even with that, I think most is lost on me, unfortunately). I will look through some of the suggestions listed above and read the reviews and I am hoping someone has listed something that sounds interesting. Thanks!

Another Nigerian author for me to read this year is:

E.C. Osondu

Hopefully soon I can set up some more threads for all these authors! What an amazing year this could be.

Welcome Vermicious Kid! I like to think that this group can have something for everybody. Hopefully we can find something that you will enjoy and help acquaint you with Nigeria.

As for poetry, English is a Nigerian language and many authors, including poets (like Chris Abani), write in English so poetry in English from Nigeria won't necessarily be a translation.

Nnedi would be a great choice! I was going to suggest her to you, in fact, but my brain is just not working today and I could not come up with her name!

We don't have very many "rules." The only projects we have rules for are the Tour and contemporary lit. This focus on Nigeria is a new thig for us this year and really we are just trying to dive into the country. The Nigerian diaspora is huge and important; I don't think it makes sense to ignore it. So if someone identifies as Nigerian and writes in a way that helps us learn about Nigeria, I say it counts.

I have Open City at home, and haven't gotten to it, but would love the excuse to get it off the shelf!!

Beth wrote: "I have Open City at home, and haven't gotten to it, but would love the excuse to get it off the shelf!!"

yes! and we already have a thread set up for Teju Cole, so feel free to jump in anytime.

Sorry guys...we are now half-way through February, and other than Transwonderland and History of Nigeria, we havent set up any group reads...how would you like to approach it? Should I poll for an author and then we poll for a specific work by the author? Other ideas?

Am I allowed to self-plug here? Seeing as I am Nigerian and an author of a book based on boarding school life in the early 90s (featured in The Sun newspaper in Nov 2013)...

Marieke, feel free to moderate and delete my post if it's inappropriate.

Kenechi, no problem! It's 100% related to the discussion so absolutely fine :)

Nnedi Okorafor will be our featured author in March! Vernicious Knids, please do join the discussion; i hope her work is along the lines of what you have been looking for. :)

Some more authors...classics like Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, and Amos Tutuola...

I've been going through some old Bookmarks magazines and found one with an article about African writing and it had some new (to me) authors...Has anyone read Buchi Emecheta?

And another we haven't mentioned yet: Uwem Akpan

Marieke wrote: "Some more authors...classics like Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, and Amos Tutuola...

I've been going through some old Bookmarks magazines and found one with an article about African writing and it h..."

I have read The Joy of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta. I would say she was probably among one of the first African authors that I read.

I have read a couple of Uwen Akpan short stories from his short story collection.

Tanya wrote: "I enjoyed Adimchinma Ibe's Treachery in the Yard: A Nigerian Thriller"

i missed this previously! i do enjoy crime novels and police procedurals from time to time so thank you for bringing this to my attention :)

Sweet. Looking forward to reading one of her books!

I'm adding Yejide Kilanko and Lola Shoneyin.

Our poll for the April featured author will be:

Chinua Achebe
Chigozie Obioma
Toyin Falola
Yejide Kilanko
Lola Shoneyin

And you can find the poll here:
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...

hi everyone! i am new to the group, and wasn't sure where to begin, so i shall just dip my toes in here.

in february, black history month served as a focus for my reading. several of the books i read were from nigerian authors, or set in nigeria:

• On Black Sisters Street: A Novel, by Chika Unigwe - the author is nigerian, and the story is split between nigeria, belgium, and sudan
• Every Day Is for the Thief, by Teju Cole - i see it's been mentioned already. i found it quite interesting and a real blurring of the lines between fiction and nonfiction. cole has included some wonderful black and white photos in the book.
• Daughters Who Walk This Path, by Yejide Kilanko - kilanko lives in canada now, but is from ibadan. this was my favourite read in february.
• Doing Dangerously Well, by Carole Enahoro. this was a bit of an odd read, but it may be of interest to some readers.
• The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives (aka The Secret Lives of the Four Wives), by Lola Shoneyin - i have not read this one yet, but it is upcoming in april in another group i belong to, so i am really looking forward to it.

Chigozie Obioma will be featured in April! here is the thread:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Jennifer wrote: "hi everyone! i am new to the group, and wasn't sure where to begin, so i shall just dip my toes in here.

in february, black history month served as a focus for my reading. several of the books i r..."

im excited to finally read Yejide's book!

i hope you will like it, marieke!! i thought it a really terrific debut novel! i have heard her second book is nearly finished, though i'm not sure when it will be coming out?

Marieke wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "hi everyone! i am new to the group, and wasn't sure where to begin, so i shall just dip my toes in here.

in february, black history month served as a focus for my reading. several..."

I finally got to read this book earlier this year as we were starting our Nigerian journey.

Jennifer wrote: "i hope you will like it, marieke!! i thought it a really terrific debut novel! i have heard her second book is nearly finished, though i'm not sure when it will be coming out?"

She has a novella coming out soon - Changing Butterflies - very nice cover and her twitter feed says she will announce publication date in late March/Apr timeframe

Hallo brothers and sisters, i really really do have a challenge of getting these books here in Kenya. But I hope to try and get hold of a few in due course. Many thanks

Oscar wrote: "Hallo brothers and sisters, i really really do have a challenge of getting these books here in Kenya. But I hope to try and get hold of a few in due course. Many thanks"

I hope you have some luck, Oscar! This is very frustrating to me that in this Africa group, it is our members in Africa who have the greatest difficulty getting the books.

Beverly wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "i hope you will like it, marieke!! i thought it a really terrific debut novel! i have heard her second book is nearly finished, though i'm not sure when it will be coming out?"

Sh..."

I saw her post it on facebook--very exciting!

yesterday, i created a GR record for the new book: Chasing Butterflies, by Yejide Kilanko. (in case anyone wants to add it.)

:)

Thanks, Jennifer!

Yes! I've added it :)

A little later than i would have liked, but i finally posted a poll to find our featured author for May. The choices are:

Adimchinma Ibe
Chibundu Onuzo
Sarah Ladipo Manyika
A Igoni Barrett
Buchi Emecheta

please a link to the poll would be helpful

Serwah wrote: "please a link to the poll would be helpful"

no problem:
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...

polls can be found in the upper right corner of any page in the group; just click on the link and vote on the ones that interest you :)

I'll also be sending out a message to the group with links to polls and active discussions.

A new poll is up for our June author:

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie will be our featured author in June!

I just spent my own year of reading Nigerian authors while I lived in Maiduguri and wanted to share a few favorites here.

Born on a Tuesday by Elnathan John is hands down the best writing on the complexity of the Boko Haram crisis in Northeast Nigeria. He doesn't set his book in Maiduguri and he deliberately fictionalizes and universalizes the story, but he presents in this tight, short book a clear explanation of the intricate, voluminous layers of power and money that fuel the violence-- through the naive eyes of a child. Exceptional work.

Season of Crimson Blossoms by Abubakar Adam Ibrahim is so good, I am really crazy about it. It's a fun, saucy romance novel, and it's also another deep unraveling of labrynthine religious, gendered, and economic power structures in northern Nigeria.

A couple others:
A Pelican of the Wilderness
For Broken Men Who Cross Often
And another on Boko Haram, this by a foreign journalist also trying to lay bear the generations and clashing cultures and sheer force and multitude of forms of corruption all playing on one another to create and prolong the crisis-- though this won't floor you like Born on a Tuesday will-- is "Eat the Heart of the Infidel": The Harrowing of Nigeria and the Rise of Boko Haram by Andrew Walker.

I also enjoyed Teju Cole (though thought Every Day is for the Thief was too bitter, not reflective) and Helen Habila's take on political and communal violence in northern Nigeria (can you see I was reading on a theme??) in Measuring Time.

Wow thank you for this wonderful list! 😍