Difference between revisions of "Top Ten Books About Africa"
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Africa is a magical and mystical place, at once both troubled and inspirational. It's the sort of place that many people want to visit, but often don't. As the cold winter nights draw in, it becomes increasingly tempting to lose yourself in a book about warmer climes, to discover a world you're not familiar with, and get to know a fascinating continent. Our selection mixes fiction and non-fiction, books looking back and those looking forward, and books explicitly about Africa with those simply set there. They're all wonderful reads. Why not [mailto:sue@thebookbag.co.uk tell us] about your favourite books about Africa? | Africa is a magical and mystical place, at once both troubled and inspirational. It's the sort of place that many people want to visit, but often don't. As the cold winter nights draw in, it becomes increasingly tempting to lose yourself in a book about warmer climes, to discover a world you're not familiar with, and get to know a fascinating continent. Our selection mixes fiction and non-fiction, books looking back and those looking forward, and books explicitly about Africa with those simply set there. They're all wonderful reads. Why not [mailto:sue@thebookbag.co.uk tell us] about your favourite books about Africa? | ||
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|title=The Voluptuous Delights of Peanut Butter and Jam | |title=The Voluptuous Delights of Peanut Butter and Jam | ||
|author=Lauren Liebenberg | |author=Lauren Liebenberg | ||
|rating=5 | |rating=5 | ||
|summary=A beautiful but unsettling book set in pre-Zimbabwe Rhodesia. It ticks all Bookbag's boxes with its love of language, vivid voice of childhood, and underlying menace. Don't miss it. | |summary=A beautiful but unsettling book set in pre-Zimbabwe Rhodesia. It ticks all Bookbag's boxes with its love of language, vivid voice of childhood, and underlying menace. Don't miss it. | ||
| − | | | + | |isbn=1844084647 |
| + | |genre=General Fiction | ||
}} | }} | ||
| − | + | {{Frontpage | |
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|title=Twenty Chickens for a Saddle | |title=Twenty Chickens for a Saddle | ||
|author=Robyn Scott | |author=Robyn Scott | ||
|rating=5 | |rating=5 | ||
|summary=Robyn Scott is nearly 7 when her family moved from genteel New Zealand to the rigours of the Botswana bush. Her anecdotes of the next ten years or so paint a beautiful picture of an amazing country and in many ways of a truly remarkable family. An absolute pleasure. | |summary=Robyn Scott is nearly 7 when her family moved from genteel New Zealand to the rigours of the Botswana bush. Her anecdotes of the next ten years or so paint a beautiful picture of an amazing country and in many ways of a truly remarkable family. An absolute pleasure. | ||
| − | | | + | |isbn=0747595968 |
| + | |genre=Autobiography | ||
}} | }} | ||
| − | + | {{Frontpage | |
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|title=Mukiwa: A White Boy in Africa | |title=Mukiwa: A White Boy in Africa | ||
|author=Peter Godwin | |author=Peter Godwin | ||
|rating=5 | |rating=5 | ||
|summary=Three books for the price of one in this impeccable and non-judgemental book - an evocative childhood memoir, a personal story of war and the difficult job of trying to report it. Outstanding. Peter Godwin's [[When a Crocodile Eats the Sun by Peter Godwin|When a Crocodile Eats the Sun]] is also highly recommended. | |summary=Three books for the price of one in this impeccable and non-judgemental book - an evocative childhood memoir, a personal story of war and the difficult job of trying to report it. Outstanding. Peter Godwin's [[When a Crocodile Eats the Sun by Peter Godwin|When a Crocodile Eats the Sun]] is also highly recommended. | ||
| − | | | + | |isbn=0330450107 |
| + | |genre=Politics and Society | ||
}} | }} | ||
| − | + | {{Frontpage | |
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|title=Heart of Darfur | |title=Heart of Darfur | ||
|author=Lisa French Blaker | |author=Lisa French Blaker | ||
|rating=4 | |rating=4 | ||
|summary=A memoir chronicling a mission to Darfur for a Medecins Sans Frontieres nurse. Simply and honestly written, it tells a difficult and uncomfortable story that absolutely demands to be read. It is a Radio 4 book of the week. | |summary=A memoir chronicling a mission to Darfur for a Medecins Sans Frontieres nurse. Simply and honestly written, it tells a difficult and uncomfortable story that absolutely demands to be read. It is a Radio 4 book of the week. | ||
| − | | | + | |isbn=0340952318 |
| + | |genre=Autobiography | ||
}} | }} | ||
| − | + | {{Frontpage | |
| − | {{ | ||
|title=Blood River | |title=Blood River | ||
|author=Tim Butcher | |author=Tim Butcher | ||
|rating=5 | |rating=5 | ||
|summary=Recreating Stanley’s epic expedition through the Congo & along its eponymous river, Tim Butcher explores the modern country and its history. An enthralling rendition of what is effectively the rape of a nation. Buy it for everyone you know. | |summary=Recreating Stanley’s epic expedition through the Congo & along its eponymous river, Tim Butcher explores the modern country and its history. An enthralling rendition of what is effectively the rape of a nation. Buy it for everyone you know. | ||
| − | | | + | |isbn=0099494280 |
| + | |genre=Travel | ||
}} | }} | ||
| − | + | {{Frontpage | |
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|title=The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency | |title=The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency | ||
|author=Alexander McCall Smith | |author=Alexander McCall Smith | ||
|rating=4 | |rating=4 | ||
|summary=The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is a sweet book with engaging characters. It is not a challenging read but it is an uplifting one. McCall Smith makes serious points with an admirable lightness of touch and without a hint of lecture. Reading it is a very pleasant way of spending an afternoon. | |summary=The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is a sweet book with engaging characters. It is not a challenging read but it is an uplifting one. McCall Smith makes serious points with an admirable lightness of touch and without a hint of lecture. Reading it is a very pleasant way of spending an afternoon. | ||
| − | | | + | |isbn=034911675X |
| + | |genre=General Fictiom | ||
}} | }} | ||
| − | + | {{Frontpage | |
| − | {{ | ||
|title=Disgrace | |title=Disgrace | ||
|author=J M Coetzee | |author=J M Coetzee | ||
|rating=5 | |rating=5 | ||
|summary=Professor David Lurie thought that his sexual needs were taken care of by a weekly visit to a prostitute, but when the arrangement came to an end he began an affair with one of his students. She wasn't exactly unwilling, but there was an air of coercion rather than romance about their encounters and it was almost inevitable that the university authorities would become involved. Lurie could have salvaged something of his career but he couldn't bend to the will of those judging him and his job was no more. At a loose end he went to stay with his daughter, Lucy, on her smallholding in the South African bush and for a while it looked as though life on the land might restore some balance to his life, but a savage attack brings all that to an end. ''Disgrace'' won the Booker Prize in 1999 and is probably the best book I have ever read. Highly recommended. | |summary=Professor David Lurie thought that his sexual needs were taken care of by a weekly visit to a prostitute, but when the arrangement came to an end he began an affair with one of his students. She wasn't exactly unwilling, but there was an air of coercion rather than romance about their encounters and it was almost inevitable that the university authorities would become involved. Lurie could have salvaged something of his career but he couldn't bend to the will of those judging him and his job was no more. At a loose end he went to stay with his daughter, Lucy, on her smallholding in the South African bush and for a while it looked as though life on the land might restore some balance to his life, but a savage attack brings all that to an end. ''Disgrace'' won the Booker Prize in 1999 and is probably the best book I have ever read. Highly recommended. | ||
| − | | | + | |isbn=0099535149 |
| + | |genre=Literary Fiction | ||
}} | }} | ||
| − | + | {{Frontpage | |
| − | {{ | ||
|title=The Grand Slave Emporium: Cape Coast Castle and the British Slave Trade | |title=The Grand Slave Emporium: Cape Coast Castle and the British Slave Trade | ||
|author=William St Clair | |author=William St Clair | ||
|rating=4 | |rating=4 | ||
|summary=An accessible account of life in and around Cape Coast Castle on the coast of Ghana, the main point of departure for the British Slave Trade ships with their human cargoes. Recommended for lovers of historical detail. | |summary=An accessible account of life in and around Cape Coast Castle on the coast of Ghana, the main point of departure for the British Slave Trade ships with their human cargoes. Recommended for lovers of historical detail. | ||
| − | | | + | |isbn=1861979886 |
| + | |genre=HIstory | ||
}} | }} | ||
| − | + | {{Frontpage | |
| − | {{ | ||
|title=Forgive Me | |title=Forgive Me | ||
|author=Amanda Eyre Ward | |author=Amanda Eyre Ward | ||
|rating=4.5 | |rating=4.5 | ||
|summary=A journalist with commitment phobia returns to South Africa for a Truth and Reconciliation Hearing. A superb, sparely written look at some big themes and a real pleasure to read. Highly recommended. | |summary=A journalist with commitment phobia returns to South Africa for a Truth and Reconciliation Hearing. A superb, sparely written look at some big themes and a real pleasure to read. Highly recommended. | ||
| − | | | + | |isbn=000723385X |
| + | |genre=Literary Fiction | ||
}} | }} | ||
| − | + | {{Frontpage | |
| − | {{ | ||
|title=Half of a Yellow Sun | |title=Half of a Yellow Sun | ||
|author=Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | |author=Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | ||
|rating=4 | |rating=4 | ||
|summary=Ambitious, evocative and heartbreaking, Half of a Yellow Sun is a courageous novel, full of integrity. More than a historical record, it also has resonance for current world issues. | |summary=Ambitious, evocative and heartbreaking, Half of a Yellow Sun is a courageous novel, full of integrity. More than a historical record, it also has resonance for current world issues. | ||
| − | | | + | |isbn=0007200285 |
| + | |genre=Literary Fiction | ||
}} | }} | ||
| − | |||
{{commentfeature}} | {{commentfeature}} | ||
Latest revision as of 09:07, 30 January 2024
Africa is a magical and mystical place, at once both troubled and inspirational. It's the sort of place that many people want to visit, but often don't. As the cold winter nights draw in, it becomes increasingly tempting to lose yourself in a book about warmer climes, to discover a world you're not familiar with, and get to know a fascinating continent. Our selection mixes fiction and non-fiction, books looking back and those looking forward, and books explicitly about Africa with those simply set there. They're all wonderful reads. Why not tell us about your favourite books about Africa?
|
|
Review ofThe Voluptuous Delights of Peanut Butter and Jam by Lauren LiebenbergA beautiful but unsettling book set in pre-Zimbabwe Rhodesia. It ticks all Bookbag's boxes with its love of language, vivid voice of childhood, and underlying menace. Don't miss it. Full Review |
|
|
Review ofTwenty Chickens for a Saddle by Robyn ScottRobyn Scott is nearly 7 when her family moved from genteel New Zealand to the rigours of the Botswana bush. Her anecdotes of the next ten years or so paint a beautiful picture of an amazing country and in many ways of a truly remarkable family. An absolute pleasure. Full Review |
|
|
Review ofMukiwa: A White Boy in Africa by Peter GodwinThree books for the price of one in this impeccable and non-judgemental book - an evocative childhood memoir, a personal story of war and the difficult job of trying to report it. Outstanding. Peter Godwin's When a Crocodile Eats the Sun is also highly recommended. Full Review |
|
|
Review ofHeart of Darfur by Lisa French BlakerA memoir chronicling a mission to Darfur for a Medecins Sans Frontieres nurse. Simply and honestly written, it tells a difficult and uncomfortable story that absolutely demands to be read. It is a Radio 4 book of the week. Full Review |
|
|
Review ofBlood River by Tim ButcherRecreating Stanley’s epic expedition through the Congo & along its eponymous river, Tim Butcher explores the modern country and its history. An enthralling rendition of what is effectively the rape of a nation. Buy it for everyone you know. Full Review |
|
|
Review ofThe No 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall SmithThe No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is a sweet book with engaging characters. It is not a challenging read but it is an uplifting one. McCall Smith makes serious points with an admirable lightness of touch and without a hint of lecture. Reading it is a very pleasant way of spending an afternoon. Full Review |
|
|
Review ofDisgrace by J M CoetzeeProfessor David Lurie thought that his sexual needs were taken care of by a weekly visit to a prostitute, but when the arrangement came to an end he began an affair with one of his students. She wasn't exactly unwilling, but there was an air of coercion rather than romance about their encounters and it was almost inevitable that the university authorities would become involved. Lurie could have salvaged something of his career but he couldn't bend to the will of those judging him and his job was no more. At a loose end he went to stay with his daughter, Lucy, on her smallholding in the South African bush and for a while it looked as though life on the land might restore some balance to his life, but a savage attack brings all that to an end. Disgrace won the Booker Prize in 1999 and is probably the best book I have ever read. Highly recommended. Full Review |
|
|
Review ofThe Grand Slave Emporium: Cape Coast Castle and the British Slave Trade by William St ClairAn accessible account of life in and around Cape Coast Castle on the coast of Ghana, the main point of departure for the British Slave Trade ships with their human cargoes. Recommended for lovers of historical detail. Full Review |
|
|
Review ofForgive Me by Amanda Eyre WardA journalist with commitment phobia returns to South Africa for a Truth and Reconciliation Hearing. A superb, sparely written look at some big themes and a real pleasure to read. Highly recommended. Full Review |
|
|
Review ofHalf of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieAmbitious, evocative and heartbreaking, Half of a Yellow Sun is a courageous novel, full of integrity. More than a historical record, it also has resonance for current world issues. Full Review |
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