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Travelling around the world can be a life-changing experience. Although there are pros and cons to visiting a new place, travelling is an activity many people dream of. It allows you to discover unfamiliar places, meet new people, and revisit old destinations with fresh eyes. It is also a fantastic way to experience diverse cultures. With the current inflation rates and worsening economic situation across Africa, traveling might not be a feasible activity for everyone. This is where books come in.
With vivid descriptions and relatable characters, the books in this list can take a person to places they have never reached before, allowing a reader lying on their bed in Ipaja, Lagos State, to visit historic cities and sites in Ghana, South Africa and Uganda at a relatively low cost.
Africa is a continent filled with wonder and excitement. And this book recommendation present stories from across the continent, taking the reader to various cities and into the lives of different characters, exploring themes of mystery, family, love, and grief.
Read the recommendations below.
Purple Hibiscus
AUTHOR: CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHE
GENRE: FICTION
DESTINATION: ENUGU STATE, NIGERIA
Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche’s debut, Purple Hibiscus, is a story of youth, family and discovering self-identity. Kambili and her older brother Jaja live a privileged life in Enugu State, Nigeria. They have access to the best education, a caring family, and a beautiful house. But through Kambili’s eyes, the reader sees that not all that glitters is gold. Although her father, Papa, is respected and loved by the community, at home he is tyrannical and everyone in the house suffers in silence. With the advent of a coup, Kambili and Jaja are sent to live with their aunt, a university professor in Nsukka. While there, Kambili, now exposed to a life outside of the oppressive confines of her father, learns about laughter, music, and young love. Read our extended review of Purple Hibiscus here.
FACELESS
AUTHOR: AMMA DARKO
GENRE: FICTION
DESTINATION: ACCRA, GHANA
Fofo is a resident of Sodom and Gomorrah, a slum city in the underbelly of Accra. She, like many other children in Sodom and Gomorrah are victims of abusive homes and parental abandonment that pushes them into the streets in search of their daily meal. A few months after the tragic death of her elder sister, Baby, Fofo has a chance encounter with Kabira, a researcher for an NGO which changes her life and unveils certain family secrets.
Amma Darko untangles the complexities of street life in urban Africa and highlights the role that the individual, family, society, and the government have to play in improving the lives of children like Fofo.
THE HAIRDRESSER OF HARARE
Author: TENDAI HUCHU
Genre: FICTION
DESTINATION: HARARE, ZIMBABWE
Set in the capital city of Harare, The Hairdresser of Harare paints a picture of the everyday struggle of the average resident of Harare. It also depicts the politics, corruption and cultural divide that makes up the Zimbabwean experience told from the point of view of Sisi Vambai, a single mother trying to make ends meet. The arrival of the young and handsome Dumi, threatens the accepted truth that Sisi Vimbai is the best hairdresser in Mrs. Khumalo’s salon, thus putting her reputation at risk. Sisi finds herself drawn to Dumi even with initial feelings of resentment and a relationship blossoms.
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.
WHEN WE WERE FIREFLIES
AUTHOR: ABUBAKAR ADAM IBRAHIM
GENRE: FICTION
DESTINATION: KADUNA, NIGERIA
Have you ever wondered what your past life looked like? In When We Were Fireflies, Yarima Lalo is presented with the answer to this question when his first encounter with a moving train trigger memories that are not his. When he meets Aziza, a woman with a complicated past, they find themselves thrust in a quest to find closure for the past in order to step into the present. Abubakar Adam Ibrahim paints vibrant imagery that brings together elements of magical realism, historical fiction and love, the kind that transcends planes of existence.
THE DJINN WAITS A HUNDRED YEARS
AUTHOR: SHUBNUM KHAN
GENRE: HISTORICAL FICTION
DESTINATION: DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA
A tale of two timelines in an old mansion, The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years, is set tells the story of two women. Sana, who moves into Akbar Manzil with her father and Meena, a woman who lived in the house a hundred years prior. As Sana explores the old house and its secrets, Meena’s story unfolds, and the secrets of the house and its occupants are revealed. This multigenerational story spins a gothic tale of love in its many forms: in family, between spouses and within grief.
A GIRL IS A BODY OF WATER
AUTHOR: JENNIFER NANSUBUGA MAKUMBI
GENRE: FICTION
DESTINATION: UGANDA
With vivid descriptions and a witty sense of humor, Jennifer Makumbi engages the reader in the compelling coming of age tale, A Girl is a Body of Water. This novel follows Kirabo, a girl that grows up without a mother. Kirabo’s story is told as she navigates societal expectations for women in a patriarchal society. Her desire to find the mother who abandoned her leads her to an unlikely friendship with the village witch, Nsuuta and the tales of the women around her unfold. The novel introduces readers to the concept of mwenkanonkano, an indigenous Ugandan feminist movement that predates modern feminism. Kirabo recognizes the importance of mwenkanonkano as she questions the society that has shaped her.
ONE DAY I WILL WRITE ABOUT THIS PLACE
AUTHOR: BINYAVANGA WAINAINA
GENRE: NON-FICTION
DESTINATION: NAIROBI, KENYA
In One Day I Will Write About This Place, acclaimed author Binyavanga Wainana recounts his childhood of normalcy in middle-class Kenya. His love for reading and his childhood imagination allowed him to see the world around in bright and vivid expressions. As he grows, this love for reading takes over his life and leads him down a path of addiction. He eventually turns to writing and the experience of winning the Caine Prize in 2002, fully pushes him into the career that has been calling out to him all along. Through witty descriptions and pop culture references, Wainana takes the reader on a journey through his subconscious and provides an insight to Kenya in the 1970s and 1980s.