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One of the great pleasures of reading is that it can transport you to a different place. Without moving, you can travel miles, crossing oceans and deserts from the warmth of your couch. Just as books can take you to different places, they can also transport you through time. By reading a good novel, you can travel back hundreds, or even thousands, of years to eras so distinct from your own that they seem unrecognizable.
In our latest book recommendation, we have compiled a list of seven books that are time machines in disguise. These books will take you from the Nigerian civil war era to pre-apartheid South Africa, and even many centuries back to the expedition that brought the first African to the Americas.
Read our recommendations below.

Half of a Yellow Sun
Author: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Genre: Fiction
Half of a Yellow Sun is Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s masterpiece, which takes readers several decades back to the Nigerian Civil War years and the years immediately preceding it. The novel follows a set of characters, including a university professor, Odenigbo; his housekeeper, Ugwu; his lover, Olanna, the daughter of a rich businessman; her twin sister, Kainene; as well as Kainene’s lover, the British expatriate, Richard, all of whose lives are deeply affected by the war. More than giving readers a history lesson, Adichie goes into the intimate details that history seldom covers, portraying the realities of the minor as well as major events of history. She paints a vivid picture of the ‘60s Nigeria and the ugliness of life in a war-torn country.

The Hundred Wells of Salaga
AUTHOR: Ayesha Harruna Attah
GENRE: fiction
Set in pre-colonial Ghana, The Hundred Wells of Salaga is the coming-of-age story of two local women determined to do more with their lives than local customs and traditions make room for.
On the one hand, there is Aminah, who is suddenly torn from her perfect life and home in a village called Bofu and forced on an excruciating journey. On the other hand, Wurche, the daughter of a chief, is determined to play an important role in her community. The lives of these two women are intertwined in a struggle for the greater good in a period when the slave trade is in full force. You can buy this book here.

homegoing
AUTHOR: yaa gyasi
GENRE: fiction
Ghanian-American author Yaa Gyasi’s stunning debut novel does more than simply transport one back to a specific time; it takes readers on a historical journey that spans several decades and generations. It is the story of the descendants of an Asante ex-slave woman named Maame, whose two daughters fall into separate circumstances after their birth. Abandoned by Maame after birth, Efia, the elder daughter, is raised by Baaba, a cruel woman who mistreats her. She eventually marries a British merchant who is the governor of a slave castle, the Cape Coast Castle. Esi, Maame’s second daughter, whom she raises with her warrior husband, grows up in a loving family. However, after her village is raided, she is captured and locked up in the dungeons under the Cape Coast castle where her half-sister lives. From the dungeon, she is sent to North America as a slave. Homegoing follows each daughter’s children and grandchildren, tracing their generations down the line to present-day America.
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.

The Moor’s Account
AUTHOR: Laila lalami
GENRE: fiction
The Moor’s Account is a fictional autobiography of Estebanico, also known as Mustafa Azemmouri, who is widely regarded as the first African to explore North America.
Taken as slave from Morrocco, Estebanico accompanies his master on the Narvaez expedition of 1527, an exploration of the ‘New World’, becoming one of only four survivors of the expedition.
Written in the form of an ancient Arabic travelogue, The Moors Account gives us not only a detailed account of Estebanico’s journey, painting a vivid picture of the era, but also a convincing account of the life of Estebanico, of whom very little is known.

kintu
Author: Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi
Genre: fiction
Ugandan author Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi’s debut novel, Kintu, is an epic novel that instantly became a modern classic following its publication in 2014. Based on Baganda history, it is a story about transgressions and generational curses. The story begins in 1754 when Kintu Kidda, the Ppookino of Buddu Province in Buganda, travels to the capital to swear his allegiance to the new kabaka (king) of Buganda. But before he gets there, he commits a grave transgression that places a generational curse on his family. More than 250 years later, the curse is still in action, and the descendants of Kintu are searching for a way to break its hold.

she would be king
AUTHOR: Wayétu Moore
GENRE: fiction
In her debut novel, She Would Be King, Liberian author Wayétu Moore gives readers a rare thing: a magical retelling of history. She Would Be King reimagines the early history of Liberia through the stories of three characters, Gbessa, June Dey, and Norman Aragon. These three characters are bound by one thing: each has a special gift that helps them survive the ugliness of their lives. For example, Norman Aragon can make himself invisible, while June Dey is unusually strong. All three characters meet in Monrovia, where they must put their gifts to the service of the greater good.

under the udala trees
AUTHOR: Chinelo Okparanta
GENRE: fiction
Another stunning debut novel, Under the Udala Trees is a novel that takes readers back to the Nigerian Civil War era. However, unlike Adichie’s masterpiece, this novel focuses on themes of sexuality and taboo.
We meet Ijeoma, a girl growing up in a small town called Ojoto with her parents during the civil war. Following an air raid that claims the life of Ijeoma’s father, Ijeoma’s mother, Adaora’s, mental health begins to suffer. Eventually, she sends the mother sends the girl off to Nwewi, for a better life. It is here that she meets Amina, with whom she falls in love. Both Ijeoma and Amina soon begin a secret relationship. However, when she visits Ijeoma, Adaora discovers this relationship, and deeply condemns it, taking on a new mission to convert Ijeoma to heterosexuality.