2012: Classics in Their Own Country--Africa and the Middle East
DiscussieReading Globally
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1arubabookwoman
ETA #2 2019
This thread has been updated at paragraphs 9 et seq., and is now open for discussion.
ETA #1 2019 Welcome
I decided to continue the 2019 year-long Classics in Their Own Country in the 2012 thread because there’s lots of good information in the earlier threads. A new intro and updated author/book list will be entered in reserved paragraphs 9-15 below. In the meantime, feel free to peruse the 2012 entries to get started.
From 2012:
The Welcome to a year-long read of "Classics in Their Own Country." We are all familiar (or at least have heard of) many of the classics in the Western Canon. But what about the classics of Ghana or Egypt or other countries around the world? I was prompted to suggest this topic by a curiosity, maybe even a need, to know what other great books there are out there in the world that I might be missing.
But first, how do we know that a book is a "classic"? Is it a book people "praise and don't read" (Mark Twain), or "a bludgeon for preventing the free expression of beauty in new forms," (Oscar Wilde)?
All kidding aside, I like Italo Calvino's definition: "A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say." In Calvino's view, whether a book is a classic is personal, and classics are not limited to books widely accepted as such: "There is nothing for it but for all of us to invent our own ideal libraries of classics."
Some other definitions of classics:
Ezra Pound: A book is a classic "because of a certain eternal and irrepressible freshness."
Michael Dirda: A classic "can be read again and again with ever-deepening pleasure."
Charles Augustin Sainte Beuve: "A true classic...is an author who has enriched the human mind, increased its treasure, and caused it to advance a step....{Books are classics} not because they are old, but because they are powerful, fresh, and healthy."
My suggestion would be that as we read these "Classics in Their Own Country" we consider and discuss:
--Is the book a classic, and why?
--What about the book is universal, and what is unique to its country or region?
--Are the themes, characters, and/or plots familiar or alien? Timeless or dated?
--Are these books similar to those of classics in the Western canon, or are they new or different?
--What is the context of the book--what was it influenced by or was it entirely novel? What influences did it have on subsequent literature?
--Would you include this book in your personal "library of classics"?
Above all: ENJOY!
This thread has been updated at paragraphs 9 et seq., and is now open for discussion.
ETA #1 2019 Welcome
I decided to continue the 2019 year-long Classics in Their Own Country in the 2012 thread because there’s lots of good information in the earlier threads. A new intro and updated author/book list will be entered in reserved paragraphs 9-15 below. In the meantime, feel free to peruse the 2012 entries to get started.
From 2012:
The Welcome to a year-long read of "Classics in Their Own Country." We are all familiar (or at least have heard of) many of the classics in the Western Canon. But what about the classics of Ghana or Egypt or other countries around the world? I was prompted to suggest this topic by a curiosity, maybe even a need, to know what other great books there are out there in the world that I might be missing.
But first, how do we know that a book is a "classic"? Is it a book people "praise and don't read" (Mark Twain), or "a bludgeon for preventing the free expression of beauty in new forms," (Oscar Wilde)?
All kidding aside, I like Italo Calvino's definition: "A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say." In Calvino's view, whether a book is a classic is personal, and classics are not limited to books widely accepted as such: "There is nothing for it but for all of us to invent our own ideal libraries of classics."
Some other definitions of classics:
Ezra Pound: A book is a classic "because of a certain eternal and irrepressible freshness."
Michael Dirda: A classic "can be read again and again with ever-deepening pleasure."
Charles Augustin Sainte Beuve: "A true classic...is an author who has enriched the human mind, increased its treasure, and caused it to advance a step....{Books are classics} not because they are old, but because they are powerful, fresh, and healthy."
My suggestion would be that as we read these "Classics in Their Own Country" we consider and discuss:
--Is the book a classic, and why?
--What about the book is universal, and what is unique to its country or region?
--Are the themes, characters, and/or plots familiar or alien? Timeless or dated?
--Are these books similar to those of classics in the Western canon, or are they new or different?
--What is the context of the book--what was it influenced by or was it entirely novel? What influences did it have on subsequent literature?
--Would you include this book in your personal "library of classics"?
Above all: ENJOY!
2arubabookwoman
Suggested Reading Africa
ALGERIA
Albert Camus
Assia Djebar b. 1936
Mohammed Dib b. 1920: The Savage Night; At the Cafe (1955); The Talisman (1966)
Franz Fanon b. 1925
Ahlam Mosteghanemi b. 1953; Memory in the Flesh--one of the top 100 Arab novels of the 20th century; best-selling female author in the Arabic world.
Tahar Djaout b. 1953; Last Summer of Reason
ANGOLA
Jose Luandino Vieira b. 1935: Luuanda: Short Stories of Angola (1963)
Jose Eduardo Agualusa b. 1960
BOTSWANA
Bessie Head b. 1937: Maru; A Question of Power
Norbert Zongo b. 1949: The Parachute Drop
CAMEROON
Mongo Beti: The Poor Christ of Bomba (1956); The Story of the Madman
Ferdinand Oyono b. 1929: Houseboy (1956)
Francis Bebey b. 1929 (Also claimed by Ghana): The Ashanti Doll; Agatha Moudio's Son
Werewere Liking b. 1950 (Also claimed by Ivory Coast): It Shall Be of Jasper and Coral; The Amputated Memory: A Song Novel
CHAD
Joseph Brahim Seid b. 1927: Told by Starlight in Chad
CONGO
Sony Lab'ou Tansi b. 1949: The Antipeople; The Seven Solitudes of Lorsa Lopez
Emmanuel Dongala b. 1941: Johnny Mad Dog; Little Boys Come From the Stars
COTE d'IVOIRE
Ahmadou Kourouma b. 1927: The Suns of Independence (1968); Waiting for Wild Beasts to Vote (1998); Allah Is Not Obliged (2006)
DJIBOUTI
Abdourahman Waberi b. 1965: The Land Without Shadows
EGYPT
Tawfiq al-Hakim b. 1898: Diary of a Country Prosecutor
Yusuf Idris b. 1927: City of Love and Ashes
Alifa Rifaat b. 1930: Distant View of a Minaret
Nawal El Saadawi b. 1931: Woman at Point Zero (1975)
Naguid Mahfouz
EQUATORIAL GUINEA
Maria Nsue Angue b. 1945: Ekomo
ETHIOPIA
Haddis Alemayehu b. 1910
Heruy Walda-Sellasse: The New World(1925); My Life and Ethiopia's Progress
Nega Mezlekia (a more recent author): The God Who Begat a Jackal; Notes From the Hyena's Belly
ALGERIA
Albert Camus
Assia Djebar b. 1936
Mohammed Dib b. 1920: The Savage Night; At the Cafe (1955); The Talisman (1966)
Franz Fanon b. 1925
Ahlam Mosteghanemi b. 1953; Memory in the Flesh--one of the top 100 Arab novels of the 20th century; best-selling female author in the Arabic world.
Tahar Djaout b. 1953; Last Summer of Reason
ANGOLA
Jose Luandino Vieira b. 1935: Luuanda: Short Stories of Angola (1963)
Jose Eduardo Agualusa b. 1960
BOTSWANA
Bessie Head b. 1937: Maru; A Question of Power
Norbert Zongo b. 1949: The Parachute Drop
CAMEROON
Mongo Beti: The Poor Christ of Bomba (1956); The Story of the Madman
Ferdinand Oyono b. 1929: Houseboy (1956)
Francis Bebey b. 1929 (Also claimed by Ghana): The Ashanti Doll; Agatha Moudio's Son
Werewere Liking b. 1950 (Also claimed by Ivory Coast): It Shall Be of Jasper and Coral; The Amputated Memory: A Song Novel
CHAD
Joseph Brahim Seid b. 1927: Told by Starlight in Chad
CONGO
Sony Lab'ou Tansi b. 1949: The Antipeople; The Seven Solitudes of Lorsa Lopez
Emmanuel Dongala b. 1941: Johnny Mad Dog; Little Boys Come From the Stars
COTE d'IVOIRE
Ahmadou Kourouma b. 1927: The Suns of Independence (1968); Waiting for Wild Beasts to Vote (1998); Allah Is Not Obliged (2006)
DJIBOUTI
Abdourahman Waberi b. 1965: The Land Without Shadows
EGYPT
Tawfiq al-Hakim b. 1898: Diary of a Country Prosecutor
Yusuf Idris b. 1927: City of Love and Ashes
Alifa Rifaat b. 1930: Distant View of a Minaret
Nawal El Saadawi b. 1931: Woman at Point Zero (1975)
Naguid Mahfouz
EQUATORIAL GUINEA
Maria Nsue Angue b. 1945: Ekomo
ETHIOPIA
Haddis Alemayehu b. 1910
Heruy Walda-Sellasse: The New World(1925); My Life and Ethiopia's Progress
Nega Mezlekia (a more recent author): The God Who Begat a Jackal; Notes From the Hyena's Belly
3arubabookwoman
Africa cont'd
GAMBIA
William Conton b. 1925 (Also claimed by Sierra Leone): The African
GABON
Rene Maran b. 1887: Batouala: A True Black Novel (1921) (Winner of Prix Goncourt)
GHANA
Ayi Kwei Armah b. 1939: The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born (1968); The Healers; Two Thousand Seasons; Osiris Rising
GOLD COAST
Kobina Sekyi b. 1892: The Blinkards
GUINEA
Camara Laye: The Dark Child (1953)
KENYA
Ngugi Wa Thiongo b. 1938
Charles Mangua b. 1939: Son of Woman; A Tail in the Mouth
Meja Mwangi b. 1948: Kill Me Quick; Striving for the Wind; Cockroach Dance; Going Down River Road
Isak Denisen
Elspeth Huxley
LESOTHO
Thomas Mofolo b.1876: Chaka the Zulu (1925)
LIBERIA
Wilton Sankawulo b. 1937: The Marriage of Wisdom and Other Stories; The Rain and the Night
Bai T. Moore b. 1916: Murder in the Cassava Patch
LIBYA
Ibrahim al-Koni: Gold Dust; Anubis: A Desert Novel
MALI
Amadou Hampate Ba b. 1900: Fortunes of Wangrin; The Brightness of the Great Star
MALAWI
Aubrey Kachingwe b. 1926: No Easy Task (1966)
Felix Mnthali b. 1933: My Dear Anniversary
David Rubadiri b. 1930: No Bride Price (1967)
Legson Kayira: The Looming Shadow (1970); I Will Try (autobiography)
MAURITIUS
Lindsey Collen b. 1948: The Rape of Sita; Getting Rid of It
GAMBIA
William Conton b. 1925 (Also claimed by Sierra Leone): The African
GABON
Rene Maran b. 1887: Batouala: A True Black Novel (1921) (Winner of Prix Goncourt)
GHANA
Ayi Kwei Armah b. 1939: The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born (1968); The Healers; Two Thousand Seasons; Osiris Rising
GOLD COAST
Kobina Sekyi b. 1892: The Blinkards
GUINEA
Camara Laye: The Dark Child (1953)
KENYA
Ngugi Wa Thiongo b. 1938
Charles Mangua b. 1939: Son of Woman; A Tail in the Mouth
Meja Mwangi b. 1948: Kill Me Quick; Striving for the Wind; Cockroach Dance; Going Down River Road
Isak Denisen
Elspeth Huxley
LESOTHO
Thomas Mofolo b.1876: Chaka the Zulu (1925)
LIBERIA
Wilton Sankawulo b. 1937: The Marriage of Wisdom and Other Stories; The Rain and the Night
Bai T. Moore b. 1916: Murder in the Cassava Patch
LIBYA
Ibrahim al-Koni: Gold Dust; Anubis: A Desert Novel
MALI
Amadou Hampate Ba b. 1900: Fortunes of Wangrin; The Brightness of the Great Star
MALAWI
Aubrey Kachingwe b. 1926: No Easy Task (1966)
Felix Mnthali b. 1933: My Dear Anniversary
David Rubadiri b. 1930: No Bride Price (1967)
Legson Kayira: The Looming Shadow (1970); I Will Try (autobiography)
MAURITIUS
Lindsey Collen b. 1948: The Rape of Sita; Getting Rid of It
4arubabookwoman
Africa cont'd
MOROCCO
Driss Chraibi b. 1926: The Simple Past; Heirs to the Past; Mother Comes of Age
MOZAMBIQUE
Lluis Bernardo Honwana b. 1942: We Killed the Mangy Dog and Other Stories (1969)
Lina Magaia b. 1940: Dumba Nengue Run for Your Life: Peasant Tales of Tragedy in Mozambique; Double Massacre in Mozambique
Mia Couto b. 1955: Sleepwalking Land (named one of best African books of the 20th century)
NAMIBIA
Joseph Diescho b. 1955: Born of the Sun
NIGER
Abdoulaye Mamani b.1932: Sarraounia
NIGERIA
T.M. Aluko b. 1918: One Man One Wife
Flora Nwapa b. 1934: Efuru (called the "mother of modern African literature)
Amos Tutuola: The Palm Wine Drunkard (1952)
Elechi Amadi b. 1934: The Concubine
Cyprian Ekwensi People of the City (1963); The Drummer Boy (1960); Jagua Nana (1987)
John Munonye: The Only Son (1966); Oil Man of Obange
Buchi Emecheta
Chinua Achebe
SENEGAL
Ousmane Sembene: God's Bits of Wood (1960)
SIERRA LEONE
Ishmael Beah and Aminetta Forna (both fairly recent authors)
SOMALIA
Nuruddin Farah
SOUTH AFRICA
Es'kia Mphahlele: In Corner B (1967)
Alex La Guma: A Walk in the Night and Other Stories (1968)
Alan Paton
SUDAN
Tayeb Salih: Season of Migration to the North (1966); The Wedding of Zein
MOROCCO
Driss Chraibi b. 1926: The Simple Past; Heirs to the Past; Mother Comes of Age
MOZAMBIQUE
Lluis Bernardo Honwana b. 1942: We Killed the Mangy Dog and Other Stories (1969)
Lina Magaia b. 1940: Dumba Nengue Run for Your Life: Peasant Tales of Tragedy in Mozambique; Double Massacre in Mozambique
Mia Couto b. 1955: Sleepwalking Land (named one of best African books of the 20th century)
NAMIBIA
Joseph Diescho b. 1955: Born of the Sun
NIGER
Abdoulaye Mamani b.1932: Sarraounia
NIGERIA
T.M. Aluko b. 1918: One Man One Wife
Flora Nwapa b. 1934: Efuru (called the "mother of modern African literature)
Amos Tutuola: The Palm Wine Drunkard (1952)
Elechi Amadi b. 1934: The Concubine
Cyprian Ekwensi People of the City (1963); The Drummer Boy (1960); Jagua Nana (1987)
John Munonye: The Only Son (1966); Oil Man of Obange
Buchi Emecheta
Chinua Achebe
SENEGAL
Ousmane Sembene: God's Bits of Wood (1960)
SIERRA LEONE
Ishmael Beah and Aminetta Forna (both fairly recent authors)
SOMALIA
Nuruddin Farah
SOUTH AFRICA
Es'kia Mphahlele: In Corner B (1967)
Alex La Guma: A Walk in the Night and Other Stories (1968)
Alan Paton
SUDAN
Tayeb Salih: Season of Migration to the North (1966); The Wedding of Zein
5arubabookwoman
Africa cont'd
TANZANIA
Abdulrazak Gurnah b. 1948
Aniceti Kitereza b. 1896: Mister Myombekere and His Wife Bugonoka, Their Son Ntulanalwo and Daughter Bulinwali: The Story of an Ancient African Community(1945)
Martha Mvungi: Three Solid Stones (1975)
TOGO
David Ananou b. 1917
Tete-Michel Kpomassie b. 1941 An African in Greenland
TUNISIA
Albert Memmi b. 1920: The Pillar of Salt (1953)
UGANDA
Moses Isegawa b. 1963: Abyssinian Chronicles
Okello Oculi b. 1942: Prostitute (1968); Orphan; Kanti Riti
ZAMBIA
Kenneth D. Kaunda Zambia Shall Be Free: An Autobiography (1968); The Riddle of Violence
ZIMBABWE
Tsitsi Dangarembga b. 1959: Nervous Conditions
Chenjerai Hove b.1956: Bones; Shadows; Ancestors
Dambudzo Marechera b. 1952: The House of Hunger (1978);
Black Sunlight
Doris Lessing
Stanlake Samkange: The Mourned One (1975)
TANZANIA
Abdulrazak Gurnah b. 1948
Aniceti Kitereza b. 1896: Mister Myombekere and His Wife Bugonoka, Their Son Ntulanalwo and Daughter Bulinwali: The Story of an Ancient African Community(1945)
Martha Mvungi: Three Solid Stones (1975)
TOGO
David Ananou b. 1917
Tete-Michel Kpomassie b. 1941 An African in Greenland
TUNISIA
Albert Memmi b. 1920: The Pillar of Salt (1953)
UGANDA
Moses Isegawa b. 1963: Abyssinian Chronicles
Okello Oculi b. 1942: Prostitute (1968); Orphan; Kanti Riti
ZAMBIA
Kenneth D. Kaunda Zambia Shall Be Free: An Autobiography (1968); The Riddle of Violence
ZIMBABWE
Tsitsi Dangarembga b. 1959: Nervous Conditions
Chenjerai Hove b.1956: Bones; Shadows; Ancestors
Dambudzo Marechera b. 1952: The House of Hunger (1978);
Black Sunlight
Doris Lessing
Stanlake Samkange: The Mourned One (1975)
6StevenTX
EGYPT
Distant View of a Minaret and Other Stories by Alifa Rifaat
Short stories first published in Arabic
Translated into English by Denys Johnson-Davies and published as a collection 1983
Distant View of a Minaret is a collection of 15 stories, all of them set in Egypt, mostly in Cairo. The protagonists are, in almost every case, women. They are women of all ages, economic circumstances, and states of mind. Most of the stories deal with times of passage: puberty, female circumcision, marriage, childbirth, separation, the death of a spouse or parent, and the death of the woman herself. All of the stories occur within the context of Islam, its daily rituals and its traditions governing sexual and family matters. Yet within this framework there is remarkable frankness. In the title story, "Distant View of a Minaret," a young married woman rues her husband's insensitivity to her sexual needs. In "An Incident in the Ghobashi Household," a mother finds a novel way to conceal her unmarried daughter's pregnancy. And in "My World of the Unknown," a story of scorching sensuality, a woman discovers sexual rapture with the help of an enchanted snake.
Other stories focus on the poignant issues of aging, loneliness and death, offering a look at household and community life. In "At the Time of the Jasmine," one of the few stories focusing on a male character, a man's journey back home to bury his father brings him back in touch with the traditions and values of his youth. In "The Flat in Nakshabandi Street" an elderly woman's life has been reduced to the view of a single street from her third story window. Finally, "Just Another Day" brings the collection to a close by following the thoughts of a woman as she slips peacefully from this life to the next.
Alifa Rifaat (1930-1996) was in most respects a typical Arab woman: she was a devout Muslim, did not attend college, spoke only Arabic, and seldom traveled outside her native Egypt. It is all the more surprising, therefore, that her work is that of an accomplished writer and that she so adeptly and candidly conveys to us the sense of her world and its values. She depicts women struggling for independence and fulfillment in a patriarchal society, but they are struggling within the structures and precepts of their religion, not against them.
Distant View of a Minaret and Other Stories by Alifa Rifaat
Short stories first published in Arabic
Translated into English by Denys Johnson-Davies and published as a collection 1983
Distant View of a Minaret is a collection of 15 stories, all of them set in Egypt, mostly in Cairo. The protagonists are, in almost every case, women. They are women of all ages, economic circumstances, and states of mind. Most of the stories deal with times of passage: puberty, female circumcision, marriage, childbirth, separation, the death of a spouse or parent, and the death of the woman herself. All of the stories occur within the context of Islam, its daily rituals and its traditions governing sexual and family matters. Yet within this framework there is remarkable frankness. In the title story, "Distant View of a Minaret," a young married woman rues her husband's insensitivity to her sexual needs. In "An Incident in the Ghobashi Household," a mother finds a novel way to conceal her unmarried daughter's pregnancy. And in "My World of the Unknown," a story of scorching sensuality, a woman discovers sexual rapture with the help of an enchanted snake.
Other stories focus on the poignant issues of aging, loneliness and death, offering a look at household and community life. In "At the Time of the Jasmine," one of the few stories focusing on a male character, a man's journey back home to bury his father brings him back in touch with the traditions and values of his youth. In "The Flat in Nakshabandi Street" an elderly woman's life has been reduced to the view of a single street from her third story window. Finally, "Just Another Day" brings the collection to a close by following the thoughts of a woman as she slips peacefully from this life to the next.
Alifa Rifaat (1930-1996) was in most respects a typical Arab woman: she was a devout Muslim, did not attend college, spoke only Arabic, and seldom traveled outside her native Egypt. It is all the more surprising, therefore, that her work is that of an accomplished writer and that she so adeptly and candidly conveys to us the sense of her world and its values. She depicts women struggling for independence and fulfillment in a patriarchal society, but they are struggling within the structures and precepts of their religion, not against them.
7whymaggiemay
Distant View of a Minaret and Other Stories sounds fascinating. Unfortunately, my library doesn't have a copy. I'll have to try to find it in the larger county library systems.
8Mercury57
#2 Hi all, have just discovered this group and am fascinated by some of the choices. I am looking for something written by authors who live in countries connected by the equatorial and prime meridian lines so this will be a tremendous resource. Question I have is on the Algerian list -you have Camus listed. I know he was from Algeria but most of his work was written while he was in France Sonia wondering how you came to choose him?
9arubabookwoman
2019 INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the year-long Classics in Their Own Country read for 2019. There are several threads for this read, divided roughly into regions of the world; this thread covers the countries of Africa. Hopefully, the various threads will not be too hard to keep track of.
I decided not to reinvent the wheel in setting up the 2019 threads, and so merely continued with, updated, and hopefully improved the 2012 threads. If you have not already done so, feel free to peruse Paragraphs 1-8 of this thread, where there are many great recommendations, reviews and comments from 2012.
In the following paragraphs, I am listing by African country (alphabetically) authors (chronologically) who have written books recognized as "classics." as well as authors whose books may be considered as "potential classics." (Or not.) I tried to include a few book titles for each of the authors listed, and though I've put a lot of effort into making sure the touchstones link correctly, LT seems to make it particularly difficult where more obscure titles are involved. So let me know if you find any errors.
Obviously, some countries have a rich and long literary heritage, and there are many, many candidates for those countries. For some countries, I could find only a few candidates, and sometimes those were relatively recent.
A few words on how I picked the books included: I interpreted the term "classics" very liberally. I wanted there to be lots of books to choose from, so I erred on the side of inclusivity. I wanted to include not only recognized classics, but also books that have been around awhile that people are still reading, books that are being studied in schools, books that a country seems to feel a particular pride about "owning," and in some cases just books that sounded interesting or important to me. Wherever possible I tried not to include too many recently published books, using an informal cut-off date of 2000, but there are a few 21st century books included.
I know we have lots of LT members from countries other than the US or UK, so feel free to let us know of books/authors from your country that you think should be included. Also, I mostly tried to include only books that had at one time or another been translated into English, and you may be aware other books that have not been translated (or not into English) that you feel should be included.
Back in 2012, I suggested that in reading/commenting for this theme, we should consider:
--Is the book a classic, and why?
--What about the book is universal, and what is unique to its country or region?
--Are the themes, characters, and/or plots familiar or alien? Timeless or dated?
--Are these books similar to those of classics in the Western canon, or are they new or different?
--What is the context of the book--what was it influenced by or was it entirely novel? What influences did it have on subsequent literature?
--Would you include this book in your personal "library of classics"?
These are only suggestions for discussion. Most of all, I hope everyone finds lots of books that interest them, reads a few, and enjoys the journey
Welcome to the year-long Classics in Their Own Country read for 2019. There are several threads for this read, divided roughly into regions of the world; this thread covers the countries of Africa. Hopefully, the various threads will not be too hard to keep track of.
I decided not to reinvent the wheel in setting up the 2019 threads, and so merely continued with, updated, and hopefully improved the 2012 threads. If you have not already done so, feel free to peruse Paragraphs 1-8 of this thread, where there are many great recommendations, reviews and comments from 2012.
In the following paragraphs, I am listing by African country (alphabetically) authors (chronologically) who have written books recognized as "classics." as well as authors whose books may be considered as "potential classics." (Or not.) I tried to include a few book titles for each of the authors listed, and though I've put a lot of effort into making sure the touchstones link correctly, LT seems to make it particularly difficult where more obscure titles are involved. So let me know if you find any errors.
Obviously, some countries have a rich and long literary heritage, and there are many, many candidates for those countries. For some countries, I could find only a few candidates, and sometimes those were relatively recent.
A few words on how I picked the books included: I interpreted the term "classics" very liberally. I wanted there to be lots of books to choose from, so I erred on the side of inclusivity. I wanted to include not only recognized classics, but also books that have been around awhile that people are still reading, books that are being studied in schools, books that a country seems to feel a particular pride about "owning," and in some cases just books that sounded interesting or important to me. Wherever possible I tried not to include too many recently published books, using an informal cut-off date of 2000, but there are a few 21st century books included.
I know we have lots of LT members from countries other than the US or UK, so feel free to let us know of books/authors from your country that you think should be included. Also, I mostly tried to include only books that had at one time or another been translated into English, and you may be aware other books that have not been translated (or not into English) that you feel should be included.
Back in 2012, I suggested that in reading/commenting for this theme, we should consider:
--Is the book a classic, and why?
--What about the book is universal, and what is unique to its country or region?
--Are the themes, characters, and/or plots familiar or alien? Timeless or dated?
--Are these books similar to those of classics in the Western canon, or are they new or different?
--What is the context of the book--what was it influenced by or was it entirely novel? What influences did it have on subsequent literature?
--Would you include this book in your personal "library of classics"?
These are only suggestions for discussion. Most of all, I hope everyone finds lots of books that interest them, reads a few, and enjoys the journey
10arubabookwoman
ALGERIA
Mouloud Feraoun (1913-1962) The Poor Man's Son (1950); Earth and Blood(1953)
Albert Camus (1913-1960) (See also France) Nobelist The Stranger (1942); The Plague (1947)
Mouloud Mammeri (1917-1989) The Forgotten Hill (1952); The Sleep of the Just (1952); The Crossing (1982)
Mohammed Dib (1920-2003) The Great House (1952) (vol. 1 of the Algerian Trilogy; An African Summer (1959); The Savage Night (1995); At the Café (1955)
Kateb Yacine (1929-1989) Nedjima (1956)
Assia Djebar (1936-2015) Children of the New World (1962); Fantasia: An Algerian Cavalcade (1985); So Vast the Prison (1995)
Rachid Boudjedra (b. 1941) The Repudiation (1969)
Ahlam Mosteghanemi (b. 1953) Memory in the Flesh (1993)--one of the top 100 Arab novels of the 20th century; best-selling female author in the Arabic world.
Tahar Djaout (1953-1993) The Last Summer of Reason (1999); The Watchers (1991)
ANGOLA
Jose Luandino Vieira (b. 1935) Luuanda: Short Stories of Angola (1963)
Pepetela (b. 1941) Yaka (1984); Mayombe (1980)
Jose Eduardo Agualusa (b. 1960) Creole (1997); The Book of the Chameleons (2004)
BOTSWANA
Bessie Head (1937-1986) Maru (1971); A Question of Power (1973)
BURKINA FASO
Nazi Boni (1909-1969) The Twilight of the Bygone Days (1962)
Norbert Zongo (1949-1998) The Parachute Drop (1988)
Monique Ilboudo (b. 1959) The Ill of the Skin (1992); Muve Katete (2001)
CAMEROON
Ferdinand Oyono (1929-2010) Houseboy (1956); The Old Man and the Medal (1956)
Mongo Beti (1932-2001) The Poor Christ of Bomba (1956); Mission to Kala (1957); The Story of the Madman (1994)
Francis Bebey (1929-2001) (Also claimed by Ghana): The Ashanti Doll (1977); Agatha Moudio's Son (1967)
CAPE VERDE
Baltasar Lopes da Silva (1907-1989) Chiquinho (1947)
Manuel Lopes (1907-2005) Wild Rain (1956)
Henrique Teixeira de Sousa (1919-2006) The Island of Contenda (1978)
Germano Almeida (b. 1945) The Last Will and Testament of Senhor da Silva Araujo (1989)
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
Rene Maran (1937-1960) (b. Martinique) Batouala (1921)
CHAD
Joseph Brahim Seid (1927-1980) Told by Starlight in Chad (1960's)
CONGO
Henri Lopes (b. 1937) The Laughing Cry (1982)
Emmanuel Dongala (b. 1941) Johnny Mad Dog (2002); Little Boys Come From the Stars (1998)
Sony Lab'ou Tansi (1947-1995) The Antipeople (1983); The Seven Solitudes of Lorsa Lopez (1985)
Alain Mabanckou (b. 1966) African Blue White Red (1999)
COTE d'IVOIRE
Ahmadou Kourouma (1927-2003) The Suns of Independence (1968); Waiting for Wild Beasts to Vote (1998); Allah Is Not Obliged (2000)
Werewere Liking (b. 1950) The Amputated Memory (2004)
DJIBOUTI
Abdourahman Waberi (b. 1965) The Land Without Shadows (1994)
EGYPT
Tawfiq al-Hakim (1898-1987) Diary of a Country Prosecutor (1933)
Naguid Mahfouz (1911-2006) Nobelist The Cairo Trilogy (1956-57); Midaq Alley (1947); Miramar (1967); Wedding Song (1981)
Yusuf Idris (1927-1991) The Sinners (1984); City of Love and Ashes (1999)
Alifa Rifaat (1930-1996) Distant View of a Minaret (1983)
Nawal El Saadawi (b. 1931) Memoirs of a Woman Doctor (1958); Woman at at Point Zero (1975)
Bahaa Taher (b. 1935) Sunset Oasis (2007)
Ibrahim Aslan (1935-2012) The Heron (1983); Nile Sparrows (1999)
Sonallah Ibrahim (b. 1937) Zaat (1992)
Gamal al-Ghitani (1945-2015) Zayni Barakat (1974)
Ahdaf Soueif (b. 1950) The Map of Love (1999)
EQUATORIAL GUINEA
Maria Nsue Angue (1945-2017) Ekomo (1985)
ETHIOPIA
Haddis Alemayehu (1910-2003) Love to the Grave(1968)
Daniachew Worku (1936-1994) The Thirteenth Sun (1973)
Nega Mezlekia (b. 1958) The God Who Begat a Jackal (2001); Notes From the Hyena's Belly (2000)
EQUITORIAL GUINEA
Juan Tomas Avila (b. 1966) By Night the Mountain Burns (2009)
Mouloud Feraoun (1913-1962) The Poor Man's Son (1950); Earth and Blood(1953)
Albert Camus (1913-1960) (See also France) Nobelist The Stranger (1942); The Plague (1947)
Mouloud Mammeri (1917-1989) The Forgotten Hill (1952); The Sleep of the Just (1952); The Crossing (1982)
Mohammed Dib (1920-2003) The Great House (1952) (vol. 1 of the Algerian Trilogy; An African Summer (1959); The Savage Night (1995); At the Café (1955)
Kateb Yacine (1929-1989) Nedjima (1956)
Assia Djebar (1936-2015) Children of the New World (1962); Fantasia: An Algerian Cavalcade (1985); So Vast the Prison (1995)
Rachid Boudjedra (b. 1941) The Repudiation (1969)
Ahlam Mosteghanemi (b. 1953) Memory in the Flesh (1993)--one of the top 100 Arab novels of the 20th century; best-selling female author in the Arabic world.
Tahar Djaout (1953-1993) The Last Summer of Reason (1999); The Watchers (1991)
ANGOLA
Jose Luandino Vieira (b. 1935) Luuanda: Short Stories of Angola (1963)
Pepetela (b. 1941) Yaka (1984); Mayombe (1980)
Jose Eduardo Agualusa (b. 1960) Creole (1997); The Book of the Chameleons (2004)
BOTSWANA
Bessie Head (1937-1986) Maru (1971); A Question of Power (1973)
BURKINA FASO
Nazi Boni (1909-1969) The Twilight of the Bygone Days (1962)
Norbert Zongo (1949-1998) The Parachute Drop (1988)
Monique Ilboudo (b. 1959) The Ill of the Skin (1992); Muve Katete (2001)
CAMEROON
Ferdinand Oyono (1929-2010) Houseboy (1956); The Old Man and the Medal (1956)
Mongo Beti (1932-2001) The Poor Christ of Bomba (1956); Mission to Kala (1957); The Story of the Madman (1994)
Francis Bebey (1929-2001) (Also claimed by Ghana): The Ashanti Doll (1977); Agatha Moudio's Son (1967)
CAPE VERDE
Baltasar Lopes da Silva (1907-1989) Chiquinho (1947)
Manuel Lopes (1907-2005) Wild Rain (1956)
Henrique Teixeira de Sousa (1919-2006) The Island of Contenda (1978)
Germano Almeida (b. 1945) The Last Will and Testament of Senhor da Silva Araujo (1989)
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
Rene Maran (1937-1960) (b. Martinique) Batouala (1921)
CHAD
Joseph Brahim Seid (1927-1980) Told by Starlight in Chad (1960's)
CONGO
Henri Lopes (b. 1937) The Laughing Cry (1982)
Emmanuel Dongala (b. 1941) Johnny Mad Dog (2002); Little Boys Come From the Stars (1998)
Sony Lab'ou Tansi (1947-1995) The Antipeople (1983); The Seven Solitudes of Lorsa Lopez (1985)
Alain Mabanckou (b. 1966) African Blue White Red (1999)
COTE d'IVOIRE
Ahmadou Kourouma (1927-2003) The Suns of Independence (1968); Waiting for Wild Beasts to Vote (1998); Allah Is Not Obliged (2000)
Werewere Liking (b. 1950) The Amputated Memory (2004)
DJIBOUTI
Abdourahman Waberi (b. 1965) The Land Without Shadows (1994)
EGYPT
Tawfiq al-Hakim (1898-1987) Diary of a Country Prosecutor (1933)
Naguid Mahfouz (1911-2006) Nobelist The Cairo Trilogy (1956-57); Midaq Alley (1947); Miramar (1967); Wedding Song (1981)
Yusuf Idris (1927-1991) The Sinners (1984); City of Love and Ashes (1999)
Alifa Rifaat (1930-1996) Distant View of a Minaret (1983)
Nawal El Saadawi (b. 1931) Memoirs of a Woman Doctor (1958); Woman at at Point Zero (1975)
Bahaa Taher (b. 1935) Sunset Oasis (2007)
Ibrahim Aslan (1935-2012) The Heron (1983); Nile Sparrows (1999)
Sonallah Ibrahim (b. 1937) Zaat (1992)
Gamal al-Ghitani (1945-2015) Zayni Barakat (1974)
Ahdaf Soueif (b. 1950) The Map of Love (1999)
EQUATORIAL GUINEA
Maria Nsue Angue (1945-2017) Ekomo (1985)
ETHIOPIA
Haddis Alemayehu (1910-2003) Love to the Grave(1968)
Daniachew Worku (1936-1994) The Thirteenth Sun (1973)
Nega Mezlekia (b. 1958) The God Who Begat a Jackal (2001); Notes From the Hyena's Belly (2000)
EQUITORIAL GUINEA
Juan Tomas Avila (b. 1966) By Night the Mountain Burns (2009)
11arubabookwoman
GHANA
Ayi Kwei Armah (b. 1939) The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born (1968)
Ama Ata Aidoo (b. 1942) Our Sister Killjoy (1977); Changes (1992)
GOLD COAST
Kobina SekyI (1892-1956) The Blinkards (1915)
GUINEA
Camara Laye (1928-1980) The Dark Child (1953); The Radiance of the King (1954)
KENYA
Muthoni Likimani (b. 1926) Passbook Number F. 47927: Women and Mau Mau in Kenya (1985)
Marjorie Oludhe Macgoye (1928-2015) Coming to Birth (1986)
Grace Ogot (1930-2015) The Strange Bride (1983)
Ali A. Mazrui (1933-2014) The Trial of Christopher Okigbo (1971)
Charity Waciuma (b. 1936) Daughter of Mumbi (1969)
Ngugi Wa Thiong'o (b. 1938) Weep Not Child (1964); A Grain of Wheat (1967); Petals of Blood (1977); The River Between (1965); The Wizard of Crow (2006)
Charles Mangua (b. 1939) Son of Woman (1971); A Tail in the Mouth (1972)
Meja Mwangi (b. 1948) Kill Me Quick (1974); Carcase for Hounds (1974); Going Down River Road (1976)
LESOTHO
Thomas Mofolo (1876-1948) Chaka the Zulu (1925)
LIBERIA
Bai T. Moore (1916-1988) Murder in the Cassava Patch (1968); The Money Doubler (1976)
Wilton Sankawulo (1937-2009) The Marriage of Wisdom and Other Tales (1974); The Rain and the Night (1979)
LIBYA
Ahmed Fagih (b. 1942) There Is No Water in the Sea (1965); Gardens of the Night Trilogy
Ibrahim al-Koni (b. 1948) The Bleeding of the Stone (2002); Gold Dust (1990); Anubis: A Desert Novel (2005)
MADAGASCAR
Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo (1903-1957) Poetry
MALAWI
Aubrey Kachingwe (b. 1926) No Easy Task (1966)
David Rubadiri (1930-2018) No Bride Price (1967)
Felix Mnthali (b.1933) My Dear Anniversary (1992)
Legson Kayira (1942-2012) The Looming Shadow (1970); I Will Try (1965) (autobiography)
MALI
Amadou Hampate Ba (1900-1991) The Fortunes of Wangrin (1973); The Brightness of the Great Star (1974)
Yambo Ouologuem (1940-2017) Bound to Violence (1968)
MAURITIUS
Lindsey Collen (b. 1948)The Rape of Sita (1993); Getting Rid of It (1997)
Natacha Appanah (b. 1973) The Last Brother (2011)
Ayi Kwei Armah (b. 1939) The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born (1968)
Ama Ata Aidoo (b. 1942) Our Sister Killjoy (1977); Changes (1992)
GOLD COAST
Kobina SekyI (1892-1956) The Blinkards (1915)
GUINEA
Camara Laye (1928-1980) The Dark Child (1953); The Radiance of the King (1954)
KENYA
Muthoni Likimani (b. 1926) Passbook Number F. 47927: Women and Mau Mau in Kenya (1985)
Marjorie Oludhe Macgoye (1928-2015) Coming to Birth (1986)
Grace Ogot (1930-2015) The Strange Bride (1983)
Ali A. Mazrui (1933-2014) The Trial of Christopher Okigbo (1971)
Charity Waciuma (b. 1936) Daughter of Mumbi (1969)
Ngugi Wa Thiong'o (b. 1938) Weep Not Child (1964); A Grain of Wheat (1967); Petals of Blood (1977); The River Between (1965); The Wizard of Crow (2006)
Charles Mangua (b. 1939) Son of Woman (1971); A Tail in the Mouth (1972)
Meja Mwangi (b. 1948) Kill Me Quick (1974); Carcase for Hounds (1974); Going Down River Road (1976)
LESOTHO
Thomas Mofolo (1876-1948) Chaka the Zulu (1925)
LIBERIA
Bai T. Moore (1916-1988) Murder in the Cassava Patch (1968); The Money Doubler (1976)
Wilton Sankawulo (1937-2009) The Marriage of Wisdom and Other Tales (1974); The Rain and the Night (1979)
LIBYA
Ahmed Fagih (b. 1942) There Is No Water in the Sea (1965); Gardens of the Night Trilogy
Ibrahim al-Koni (b. 1948) The Bleeding of the Stone (2002); Gold Dust (1990); Anubis: A Desert Novel (2005)
MADAGASCAR
Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo (1903-1957) Poetry
MALAWI
Aubrey Kachingwe (b. 1926) No Easy Task (1966)
David Rubadiri (1930-2018) No Bride Price (1967)
Felix Mnthali (b.1933) My Dear Anniversary (1992)
Legson Kayira (1942-2012) The Looming Shadow (1970); I Will Try (1965) (autobiography)
MALI
Amadou Hampate Ba (1900-1991) The Fortunes of Wangrin (1973); The Brightness of the Great Star (1974)
Yambo Ouologuem (1940-2017) Bound to Violence (1968)
MAURITIUS
Lindsey Collen (b. 1948)The Rape of Sita (1993); Getting Rid of It (1997)
Natacha Appanah (b. 1973) The Last Brother (2011)
12arubabookwoman
MOROCCO
Abdelmajid Benjelloun (1919-1981) In Childhood (1957)
Driss Chraibi (1926-2007) The Butts (1955); Mother Comes of Age (1973); The Flutes of Death (1981)
Mohamed Choukri (1935-2003) For Bread Alone (1973)
Mohammed Berrada (b. 1938) The Game of Forgetting (1986); Fugitive Light (1993)
Tahar Ben Jelloun (b. 1944) The Sand Child (1985); This Blinding Absence of Light (2001)
Leila Abouzeid (b. 1950) Year of the Elephant: A Moroccan Woman's Journey Toward Independence (1980)
MOZAMBIQUE
Lina Magaia (1940-2011) Dumba Nengue Run for Your Life: Peasant Tales of Tragedy in Mozambique (1987); Double Massacre in Mozambique (1989)
Luis Bernardo Honwana (b. 1942) We Killed Mangy Dog and Other Stories (1969)
Mia Couto (1955) Sleepwalking Land (1992) (named one of best African books of the 20th century); Under the Frangipani (1996)
Ungulani Ba Ba Khosa (b. 1942) Ualalapi (1987)
NAMIBIA
Joseph Diescho (b. 1955) Born of the Sun (1988)
Neshani Andreas (1964-2011) The Purple Violet of Oshaantu (2001)
NIGER
Abdoulaye Mamani (1932-1993) Sarraounia (1980)
NIGERIA
Daniel O. Fagunwa (1903-1963) The Forest of A Thousand Demons (1938) (ISBN 9780872866300); The Great Hunter in the Forest of God (1949)
T.M. Aluko (1918-2010) One Man One Wife (1959) One Man, One Matchet (1964); Kinsman and Foreman (1966)
Amos Tutuola (1920-1997) The Palm-Wine Drinkard (1952)
Cyprian Ekwensi (1921-2017) People of the City (1954); The Drummer Boy (1960); Jagua Nana (1961)
John Munonye (1929-1999) The Only Son (1966); Oil Man of Obange (1971)
Chinua Achebe (1930-2013) Things Fall Apart (1958); No Longer at Ease (1960); Arrow of God (1964); A Man of the People (1966); Anthills of the Savannah (1987)
Flora Nwapa (1931-1993) Efuru (1966); Idu (1970); (called the "mother of modern African literature
Wole Soyinka (b. 1934) Nobelist Ake: The Years of Childhood (1981); The Interpreters (1984)
Elechi Amadi (1934-2016) The Concubine (1966)
Nkem Nwankwo (1936-2001) Danda (1963)
Ifeoma Okoye (b. 1937) The Village Boy (1981); Behind the Clouds (1982)
Ken Saro-Wiwa (1941-1995) Sozaboy (1985)
Isidore Okpewho (1941-2016) The Victims (1970); The Last Duty (1976); Tides (1993); Call Me By My Rightful Name (2004)
Buchi Emecheta (1944-2017) The Bride Price (1976); The Joys of Motherhood (1979)
Ben Okri (b. 1959) The Famished Road (1991)
Chris Abani (b. 1966) Graceland (2005)
SENEGAL
Ousmane Sembene (1923-2007) God's Bits of Wood (1960)
Mariama Ba (1929-1981) So Long A Letter (1980)
Ken Bugul (b. 1947) The Abandoned Baobab (1982)
SIERRA LEONE
William Conton (1925-2002) The African (1960)
Aminatta Forna (b. 1964) Ancestor Stones (2006)
Ishmael Beah (b. 1980) A Long Way Gone (2007)
SOMALIA
Farah Cawl (1937-1991) Ignorance Is the Enemy of Love (1974)
Nuruddin Farah (b. 1945) Sardines (1981); Maps (1986); Gifts (1993)
SOUTH AFRICA
Olive Schneiner (1855-1920) The Story of an African Farm (1883)
Sol T. Plaatje (1876-1932) Mhudi (1932)
Alan Paton (1903-1988) Cry the Beloved Country (1948)
Peter Abrahams (1919-2017) Mine Boy (1946); Wreath for Udomo (1956)
Es'kia Mphahlele (1919-2008) Down Second Avenue (1959); In Corner B (1967)
Nadine Gordimer (1923-2014) Nobelist Burger's Daughter (1979); July's People (1981); The Conservationist (1974)
Alex La Guma (1924-1985) A Walk in the Night and Other Stories (1962); The Stone Country (1967); In the Fog of the Season's End (1972)
Athol Fugard (b. 1932) Tsotsi (1980)
Andre Brink (1935-2015) Rumors of Rain (1978); A Dry White Season (1979)
Lewis Nkosi (1936-2010) Mating Birds (1983)
Breyten Breytenbach (b. 1939) Poetry
J. M. Coetzee (b. 1940) Nobelist Dusklands (1974); The Life and Times of Michael K (1983); Disgrace (1999)
Zakes Mda (b. 1948) Ways of Dying (1995); The Heart of Redness (2000)
Etienne van Heerden (b. 1954) Ancestral Voices (1986)
Marlene van Niekerk (b. 1954) Triomf (1994); Agaat (2004)
K. Sello Duiker (1974- 2005) Thirteen Cents (2000)
SUDAN
Tayeb Salih (1929-2009) Season of Migration to the North (1966); The Wedding of Zein (1969
Abdelmajid Benjelloun (1919-1981) In Childhood (1957)
Driss Chraibi (1926-2007) The Butts (1955); Mother Comes of Age (1973); The Flutes of Death (1981)
Mohamed Choukri (1935-2003) For Bread Alone (1973)
Mohammed Berrada (b. 1938) The Game of Forgetting (1986); Fugitive Light (1993)
Tahar Ben Jelloun (b. 1944) The Sand Child (1985); This Blinding Absence of Light (2001)
Leila Abouzeid (b. 1950) Year of the Elephant: A Moroccan Woman's Journey Toward Independence (1980)
MOZAMBIQUE
Lina Magaia (1940-2011) Dumba Nengue Run for Your Life: Peasant Tales of Tragedy in Mozambique (1987); Double Massacre in Mozambique (1989)
Luis Bernardo Honwana (b. 1942) We Killed Mangy Dog and Other Stories (1969)
Mia Couto (1955) Sleepwalking Land (1992) (named one of best African books of the 20th century); Under the Frangipani (1996)
Ungulani Ba Ba Khosa (b. 1942) Ualalapi (1987)
NAMIBIA
Joseph Diescho (b. 1955) Born of the Sun (1988)
Neshani Andreas (1964-2011) The Purple Violet of Oshaantu (2001)
NIGER
Abdoulaye Mamani (1932-1993) Sarraounia (1980)
NIGERIA
Daniel O. Fagunwa (1903-1963) The Forest of A Thousand Demons (1938) (ISBN 9780872866300); The Great Hunter in the Forest of God (1949)
T.M. Aluko (1918-2010) One Man One Wife (1959) One Man, One Matchet (1964); Kinsman and Foreman (1966)
Amos Tutuola (1920-1997) The Palm-Wine Drinkard (1952)
Cyprian Ekwensi (1921-2017) People of the City (1954); The Drummer Boy (1960); Jagua Nana (1961)
John Munonye (1929-1999) The Only Son (1966); Oil Man of Obange (1971)
Chinua Achebe (1930-2013) Things Fall Apart (1958); No Longer at Ease (1960); Arrow of God (1964); A Man of the People (1966); Anthills of the Savannah (1987)
Flora Nwapa (1931-1993) Efuru (1966); Idu (1970); (called the "mother of modern African literature
Wole Soyinka (b. 1934) Nobelist Ake: The Years of Childhood (1981); The Interpreters (1984)
Elechi Amadi (1934-2016) The Concubine (1966)
Nkem Nwankwo (1936-2001) Danda (1963)
Ifeoma Okoye (b. 1937) The Village Boy (1981); Behind the Clouds (1982)
Ken Saro-Wiwa (1941-1995) Sozaboy (1985)
Isidore Okpewho (1941-2016) The Victims (1970); The Last Duty (1976); Tides (1993); Call Me By My Rightful Name (2004)
Buchi Emecheta (1944-2017) The Bride Price (1976); The Joys of Motherhood (1979)
Ben Okri (b. 1959) The Famished Road (1991)
Chris Abani (b. 1966) Graceland (2005)
SENEGAL
Ousmane Sembene (1923-2007) God's Bits of Wood (1960)
Mariama Ba (1929-1981) So Long A Letter (1980)
Ken Bugul (b. 1947) The Abandoned Baobab (1982)
SIERRA LEONE
William Conton (1925-2002) The African (1960)
Aminatta Forna (b. 1964) Ancestor Stones (2006)
Ishmael Beah (b. 1980) A Long Way Gone (2007)
SOMALIA
Farah Cawl (1937-1991) Ignorance Is the Enemy of Love (1974)
Nuruddin Farah (b. 1945) Sardines (1981); Maps (1986); Gifts (1993)
SOUTH AFRICA
Olive Schneiner (1855-1920) The Story of an African Farm (1883)
Sol T. Plaatje (1876-1932) Mhudi (1932)
Alan Paton (1903-1988) Cry the Beloved Country (1948)
Peter Abrahams (1919-2017) Mine Boy (1946); Wreath for Udomo (1956)
Es'kia Mphahlele (1919-2008) Down Second Avenue (1959); In Corner B (1967)
Nadine Gordimer (1923-2014) Nobelist Burger's Daughter (1979); July's People (1981); The Conservationist (1974)
Alex La Guma (1924-1985) A Walk in the Night and Other Stories (1962); The Stone Country (1967); In the Fog of the Season's End (1972)
Athol Fugard (b. 1932) Tsotsi (1980)
Andre Brink (1935-2015) Rumors of Rain (1978); A Dry White Season (1979)
Lewis Nkosi (1936-2010) Mating Birds (1983)
Breyten Breytenbach (b. 1939) Poetry
J. M. Coetzee (b. 1940) Nobelist Dusklands (1974); The Life and Times of Michael K (1983); Disgrace (1999)
Zakes Mda (b. 1948) Ways of Dying (1995); The Heart of Redness (2000)
Etienne van Heerden (b. 1954) Ancestral Voices (1986)
Marlene van Niekerk (b. 1954) Triomf (1994); Agaat (2004)
K. Sello Duiker (1974- 2005) Thirteen Cents (2000)
SUDAN
Tayeb Salih (1929-2009) Season of Migration to the North (1966); The Wedding of Zein (1969
13arubabookwoman
TANZANIA
Aniceti Kitereza (1896-1981) Mr. Myombekere and His Wife Bugonoka, Their Son Ntulanalwo and Daughter Bulihwali (1945)
Muhammed Said Abdulla (1918-1991) Shrine of the Ancestors (1960); In the World There Are People (1973)
Peter K. Palangyo (1939-1993) Dying in the Sun (1968)
Abdulrazak Gurnah (b. 1948) Memory of Departure (1987); Paradise (1994)
Martha Mvungi Three Solid Stones (1975)
TOGO
Tete-Michel Kpomassie (b. 1941) An African in Greenland (1977)
TUNISIA
Ali Douagi (1909-1949) Sleepless Nights (1969)
Albert Memmi (b. 1920) The Pillar of Salt (1953)
Abdelwahab Meddeb (1946-2014) Talismano (1979)
UGANDA
Okot P'Bitek (1931-1993) Song of Lawino (1966)
Bonnie Lubega (b. 1929) The Burning Bush(1970); The Outcasts (1971)
Okello Oculi (b. 1942) Prostitute (1968); Kanti Riti (1972)
Violet Barungi (b. 1943) Cassandra (1999)
Moses Isegawa (b. 1963) Abyssinian Chronicles (1998)
ZAMBIA
Dominic Mulaisho (1933-2013) The Tongue of the Dumb (1973); Smoke That Thunders (1979)
ZIMBABWE
Stanlake Samkange (1922-1988) The Mourned One (1975)
Solomon Mutswairo (1924-2005) Feso (1974)
Dambudzo Marechera (1952-1987) The House of Hunger (1978);
Black Sunlight
Chenjerai Hove (1956-2015) Bones (1988); Shadows (1991)
Tsitsi Dangarembga (b. 1959) Nervous Conditions (1988)
Yvonne Vera (1964-2005) Butterfly Burning (1998)
No Violet Bulawayo (b. 1981) We Need New Names
Aniceti Kitereza (1896-1981) Mr. Myombekere and His Wife Bugonoka, Their Son Ntulanalwo and Daughter Bulihwali (1945)
Muhammed Said Abdulla (1918-1991) Shrine of the Ancestors (1960); In the World There Are People (1973)
Peter K. Palangyo (1939-1993) Dying in the Sun (1968)
Abdulrazak Gurnah (b. 1948) Memory of Departure (1987); Paradise (1994)
Martha Mvungi Three Solid Stones (1975)
TOGO
Tete-Michel Kpomassie (b. 1941) An African in Greenland (1977)
TUNISIA
Ali Douagi (1909-1949) Sleepless Nights (1969)
Albert Memmi (b. 1920) The Pillar of Salt (1953)
Abdelwahab Meddeb (1946-2014) Talismano (1979)
UGANDA
Okot P'Bitek (1931-1993) Song of Lawino (1966)
Bonnie Lubega (b. 1929) The Burning Bush(1970); The Outcasts (1971)
Okello Oculi (b. 1942) Prostitute (1968); Kanti Riti (1972)
Violet Barungi (b. 1943) Cassandra (1999)
Moses Isegawa (b. 1963) Abyssinian Chronicles (1998)
ZAMBIA
Dominic Mulaisho (1933-2013) The Tongue of the Dumb (1973); Smoke That Thunders (1979)
ZIMBABWE
Stanlake Samkange (1922-1988) The Mourned One (1975)
Solomon Mutswairo (1924-2005) Feso (1974)
Dambudzo Marechera (1952-1987) The House of Hunger (1978);
Black Sunlight
Chenjerai Hove (1956-2015) Bones (1988); Shadows (1991)
Tsitsi Dangarembga (b. 1959) Nervous Conditions (1988)
Yvonne Vera (1964-2005) Butterfly Burning (1998)
No Violet Bulawayo (b. 1981) We Need New Names
14arubabookwoman
This thread is now open!
15thorold
Brief thoughts on a few that I've read recently, already in the list above:
Mr. Myombekere and his wife Bugonoka, their son Ntulanalwo and daughter Bulihwali : the story of an ancient African community (1946) by Aniceti Kitereza (Tanzania, 1896-1981)
- This is interesting because it's one of the very few African books of its time that was originally written in an African language (i.e. not English, French, Arabic, etc.). But it was only published after the author, towards the end of his life, translated it from Kikerewe (ca. 50 000 speakers) to Kiswahili (ca. 100 million), when it quickly became seen as a classic in Tanzania. It became known outside Africa through a German translation (from the Kiswahili version) in the 1980s.
The interpreters (1965) by Wole Soyinka (Nigeria, 1934- )
Ìsarà: a voyage around "Essay" (1990) by Wole Soyinka (Nigeria, 1934- )
- Soyinka hasn't written many prose works, he's mainly known as a playwright (and academic). The Interpreters is a very 60s novel about a group of idealistic young people trying to create a new, modern, postcolonial Nigeria; Ìsarà is oddly similar, but the characters are from the generation of Soyinka's father, in the 1930s.
Une enquête au pays (1981) by Driss Chraïbi (Morocco, 1926-2007)
La Civilisation, ma Mère !... (1972) by Driss Chraïbi (Morocco, 1926-2007)
- Two lovely subversive novels about what happens when traditional and modern ideas meet and common sense triumphs - in the first, a police officer from the city finds that the logic of the crime story doesn't apply to villagers living in a subsistence culture; in the second we watch a woman who has never in her life been allowed out of the house suddenly discovering what she's been missing, with the help of her teenage sons.
Mr. Myombekere and his wife Bugonoka, their son Ntulanalwo and daughter Bulihwali : the story of an ancient African community (1946) by Aniceti Kitereza (Tanzania, 1896-1981)
- This is interesting because it's one of the very few African books of its time that was originally written in an African language (i.e. not English, French, Arabic, etc.). But it was only published after the author, towards the end of his life, translated it from Kikerewe (ca. 50 000 speakers) to Kiswahili (ca. 100 million), when it quickly became seen as a classic in Tanzania. It became known outside Africa through a German translation (from the Kiswahili version) in the 1980s.
The interpreters (1965) by Wole Soyinka (Nigeria, 1934- )
Ìsarà: a voyage around "Essay" (1990) by Wole Soyinka (Nigeria, 1934- )
- Soyinka hasn't written many prose works, he's mainly known as a playwright (and academic). The Interpreters is a very 60s novel about a group of idealistic young people trying to create a new, modern, postcolonial Nigeria; Ìsarà is oddly similar, but the characters are from the generation of Soyinka's father, in the 1930s.
Une enquête au pays (1981) by Driss Chraïbi (Morocco, 1926-2007)
La Civilisation, ma Mère !... (1972) by Driss Chraïbi (Morocco, 1926-2007)
- Two lovely subversive novels about what happens when traditional and modern ideas meet and common sense triumphs - in the first, a police officer from the city finds that the logic of the crime story doesn't apply to villagers living in a subsistence culture; in the second we watch a woman who has never in her life been allowed out of the house suddenly discovering what she's been missing, with the help of her teenage sons.