While contemporary African literature still holds its magic for interested readers, there are certain works of literature by African authors that are timeless. These books are particularly important because they paved the way for the current crop of African writers and explore numerous themes that document the African experience. For instance, Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga was the first book published by a Black woman from Zimbabwe in English.
In our latest book recommendation, we have compiled a list of seven African literary classics you should add to your reading list. From the poignant exploration of post-colonial life to the intimate portrayal of personal struggles and triumphs, these books signify the essence of African storytelling and the enduring legacy of African literature over decades.
Read our recommendations below.
OUR SISTER KILLJOY
Author: AMA ATA AIDOO
Genre: FICTION
Our Sister Killjoy follows a young African woman named Sissie who goes to Europe to ‘better’ herself through European education. When she gets to Europe, Sissie tries to make sense of it all. What is she doing here? Why aren’t the people friendly? And what will she do when she goes back home?
In this book, Ama Ata Aidoo’s brilliantly conceived prose poem is both bitter and gentle. It offers a personal exploration of the conflict between Africa and Europe, between men and women, and between a complacent acceptance of the status quo and a passionate desire to reform the world.
SO LONG A LETTER
AUTHOR: MARIAMA BÂ
GENRE: FICTION
So Long a Letter is a semi-autobiographical epistolary novel by the Senegalese writer Mariama Bâ. The novel takes the form of a letter written by the widowed Ramatoulaye Fall to her best friend, Aissatou, following the sudden death of Ramatoulaye’s husband, Modou Fall, from a heart attack. The letter describes the days after her husband’s death and provides detailed accounts of how he passed away. Ramatoulaye then transitions into discussing her life with her husband, from the beginning of their marriage to his betrayal after thirty years. Throughout the novel, Ramatoulaye details to Aissatou, who experienced a similar but different marital situation, how she emotionally dealt with and was changed by her husband’s betrayal, his death, and the challenges of being a single mother to many children. The book ultimately explores the condition of women in Western African society.
NERVOUS CONDITIONS
AUTHOR: TSITSI DANGAREMBGA
GENRE: FICTION
Thirteen-year-old Tambu begins her education journey. Upon her young shoulders lie the economic aspirations of her parents, and extended family, while within her, the flame of independence burns fiercely. She longs to break free from the confines of her village and believes she has found her escape when her affluent uncle offers to fund her schooling. However, she quickly discovers that the education provided comes with its own set of costs. This novel focuses on the story of a Shona family in post-colonial Rhodesia during the 1960s. Through its deft negotiation of race, class, gender and cultural change, Nervous Conditions dramatizes the the postcolonial conditions that bedevil us still.
SECOND-CLASS CITIZEN
AUTHOR: BUCHI EMECHETA
GENRE: FICTION
Second Class Citizen is a poignant story of a Nigerian woman, Adah, who overcomes strict tribal domination of women and countless setbacks to achieve an independent life for herself and her children. the novel is often described as semi-autobiographical. Set in both Nigeria and the United Kingdom, this novel delivers a powerful portrayal of the challenges women face in Nigeria and the harsh realities Black women encounter in the West. In a recent review of Emecheta’s novel in our latest print issue, An African Feminist Manifesto, I write that, ‘What stands out to me about this novel is Emecheta’s deft execution, which thoroughly conveyed heavy themes with profound care and sensitivity.’
BY THE SEA
AUTHOR: ABDULRAZAK GURNAH
GENRE: FICTION
On a late November afternoon, Saleh Omar arrives at Gatwick Airport from Zanzibar. With him he has a small bag in which lies his most precious possession—a mahogany box containing incense. He used to own a furniture shop, have a house and be a husband and father. Now he is an asylum seeker from paradise, silence his only protection. Meanwhile, Latif Mahmud, a distinguished young professor, lives quietly alone in his London flat. When the two encounter each other in an English seaside town, the narratives each carries of their mutual past begin to unravel—revealing an infinitely more fascinating story of love and betrayal, seduction and possession, and of a people desperately trying to find stability amidst the maelstrom of their times. Written by the winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature, By the Sea follows the conflicting narratives of two immigrants bound by their shared homeland, exposing the truths that compelled their departure.
THE PROMISED LAND
AUTHOR: GRACE OGOT
GENRE: FICTION
In this novel, a young farmer and his wife, who have migrated to Tanzania from Kenya, become embroiled in issues of personal jealousy and materialism, leading to a tale of tribal hatreds. The Promised Land explores Ogot’s concept of the ideal African wife: obedient and submissive to her husband; family and community-oriented; and committed to non-materialist goals. The style is distinctively ironic, giving the story power and relevance. This book brilliantly captures the challenges of migration, marriage, tribalism, and the role of a supportive wife in a conservative society.
SEASON OF MIGRATION TO THE NORTH
AUTHOR: TAYEB SALIH
GENRE: FICTION
After years of study in Europe, the young narrator of this novel returns to his village along the Nile in the Sudan. It is the 1960s, and he is eager to make a contribution to the new postcolonial life of his country. Back home, he discovers a stranger among the familiar faces of childhood—the enigmatic Mustafa Sa’eed. Mustafa takes the young man into his confidence, telling him the story of his own years in London, of his brilliant career as an economist, and of the series of fraught and deadly relationships with European women that led to a terrible public reckoning and his return to his native land.
But what significance lies behind Mustafa’s startling confession? Mustafa vanishes without explanation, leaving the young man, tasked with caring for his wife, into a turbulent and volatile limbo between Europe and Africa, tradition and innovation, sanctity and corruption, and man and woman—a realm from which no one will emerge unchanged or unscathed. Season of Migration to the North was translated from Arabic to English by Denys Johnson-Davies.