Whenever you buy a book from our online store, we may make a small commission which supports our work. Visit our online store here.
My favourite thing to do when I am away from work is to prepare my reading list. Taking a break gives me the opportunity to complete books I have yet to finish and allows me to get into new ones. Whether you’re lounging on a beach, travelling around the world, or simply enjoying some downtime at home, reading can enhance your experience and transport you to different worlds.
In our latest book recommendation, we have compiled a list of seven books to read when you go on leave. These books, by African authors, explore fascinating themes and promise to engage your mind, stir your emotions, and keep you company while you take time off work. From thought-provoking fiction to enthralling fantasy novels, these selections span a range of genres and themes, ensuring there’s something for every book lover. So, if you’re like me and preparing to go on leave, consider adding these seven books to your reading list for a truly memorable break.
Read our recommendations below.
UNBURY OUR DEAD WITH SONG
AUTHOR: MŨKOMA WA NGŨGĨ
GENRE: FICTION
Unbury our Dead With Song is a novel about four talented Ethiopian musicians―The Diva, The Corporal, the Taliban Man and Miriam―who are competing to see who can sing the best Tizita (popularly referred to as Ethiopian blues). Taking place in an illegal boxing hall in Nairobi, Kenya, the competition is covered by a US educated Kenyan journalist, John Thandi Manfredi, who writes for a popular tabloid, The National Inquisitor. He follows the musicians back to Ethiopia in order to learn more about the Tizita and their lives. As he learns more about the Tizita and the multiple meanings of beauty, he discovers that behind each of the musicians, there are layered lives and secrets. Ultimately, the novel is a love letter to African music, beauty and imagination. Buy this book here.
DAYS COME AND GO
AUTHOR: DAYS COME AND GO BY HEMLEY BOUM
GENRE: FICTION
Chronicling the beauty and turmoil of a rapidly changing Cameroon, Days Come and Go is the remarkable story of three generations of women both within and beyond its borders. Through the voices of Anna, a matriarch living out her final days in Paris; Abi, Anna’s thoroughly European daughter (at least in her mother’s eyes); and Tina, a teenager who comes under the sway of a militant terrorist faction, Boum’s epic is generous and all-seeing. Brilliantly considering the many issues that dominate her characters’ lives—love and politics, tradition and modernity—Days Come and Go, in Nchanji Njamnsi’s vivid translation, is a page-turner. As passions rise, fall, and rise again, Boum’s poignant English-language debut offers a discerning portrait of a nation that never once diminishes the power of everyday human connection.
BRIGHT RED FRUIT
Author: SAFIA ELHILLO
Genre: FICTION
No matter how hard Samira tries, she can’t shake her bad girl reputation. She’s never gotten the benefit of the doubt—not from her mother or the aunties who watch her like a hawk. Samira is determined to have a perfect summer filled with fun parties, exploring DC, and growing as a poet—until a scandalous rumour has her grounded and unable to leave her house. When Samira turns to a poetry forum for solace, she catches the eye of an older, charismatic poet named Horus. For the first time, Samira feels wanted. But soon she’s keeping a bigger secret than ever before—one that could prove her reputation and jeopardize her place in her community. In this gripping coming-of-age novel from the critically acclaimed author Safia Elhillo, a young woman searches to find the balance between honouring her family, her artistry, and her authentic self.
Cassava Republic Press is proud to announce the launch of their inaugural $20,000 Global Black Women’s Non-Fiction Manuscript Prize dedicated to exceptional works by Black women. Deadline: 30th June 2024. Learn more here.
MAAME
AUTHOR: JESSICA GEORGE
GENRE: FICTION
It’s fair to say that Maddie’s life in London is far from rewarding. With a mother who spends most of her time in Ghana (yet still somehow manages to be overbearing), Maddie is the primary caretaker for her father, who suffers from advanced stage Parkinson’s. At work, her boss is a nightmare and Maddie is tired of always being the only Black person in every meeting.
When her mum returns from her latest trip to Ghana, Maddie leaps at the chance to get out of the family home and finally start living. But it’s not long before tragedy strikes, forcing Maddie to face the true nature of her unconventional family, and the perils—and rewards—of putting her life on the line.
Smart, funny, and deeply affecting, Jessica George’s debut novel explores the themes of our time with humour and poignancy: from familial duty and racism, to female pleasure, the complexity of love, and the life-saving power of friendship. Most importantly, it explores what it feels like to be torn between two homes and cultures―and it celebrates finally being able to find where you belong. Read our review of this book here.
WHO FEARS DEATH
AUTHOR: NNEDI OKORAFOR
GENRE: FICTION
In a far future, post-nuclear-holocaust Africa, genocide plagues one region. The aggressors, the Nuru, have decided to follow the Great Book and exterminate the Okeke. But when the only surviving member of a slain Okeke village is brutally raped, she manages to escape, wandering farther into the desert. She gives birth to a baby girl with hair and skin the colour of sand and instinctively knows that her daughter is different. She names her daughter Onyesonwu, which means ‘Who Fears Death?’ in an ancient African tongue. Raised under the tutelage of a mysterious and traditional shaman, Onyesonwu discovers her magical destiny―to end the genocide of her people. The journey to fulfil her destiny will force her to grapple with nature, tradition, history, true love, the spiritual mysteries of her culture―and eventually death itself.
TEACHING MY MOTHER HOW TO GIVE BIRTHT
AUTHOR: WARSAN SHIRE
GENRE: POETRY
What gives this collection of poetry its brilliance is Warsan Shire’s ability to give simple, beautiful eloquence to the veiled world where sensuality lives in the dominant narrative of Islam. In Shire’s debut pamphlet, we witness the unearthing of a poet who finds her way through all preconceptions to strike the heart directly. Shire has read her work internationally, including readings in South Africa, Italy and Germany, and her poetry has been translated into Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.
SHIGIDI AND THE BRASS HEAD OF OBALUFON
AUTHOR: WOLE TALABI
GENRE: FICTION
Shigidi is a disgruntled and demotivated nightmare god in the Orisha spirit company, reluctantly answering prayers of his few remaining believers to maintain his existence long enough to find his next drink. When he meets Nneoma, a sort-of succubus with a long and secretive past, everything changes for him.
Together, they attempt to break free of his obligations and the restrictions that have bound him to his godhood and navigate the parameters of their new relationship in the shadow of her past. But the elder gods that run the Orisha spirit company have other plans for Shigidi, and they are not all aligned—or good.
From the boisterous streets of Lagos to the swanky rooftop bars of Singapore and the secret spaces of London, Shigidi and Nneoma will encounter old acquaintances, rival gods, strange creatures, and manipulative magicians as they are drawn into a web of revenge, spirit business, and a spectacular heist across two worlds that will change Shigidi’s understanding of himself forever and determine the fate of the Orisha spirit company. Read our review of this book here.