As the month of July wraps up, let us take a look at some of the books written by Africans that have been the talk of town, so to speak. Here are eight of these books that caught our attention:
-
1. An Orchestra of Minorities – By Chigozie Obioma
Published in January 2019, Obioma’s second book, set in the outskirts of Umuahia, Nigeria and narrated by a chi or personal god or guardian spirit, An Orchestra of Minorities, tells the story of Chinonso, a young poultry farmer whose soul is ignited when he sees a woman attempting to jump from a highway bridge. This book which has received a lot of accolade, recently made the Man Booker Prize long-list.
-
2. The Freedom Artist – By Ben Okri
Published in January 2019, the Man Booker award-winning author has blessed with yet another intriguing gift of story. Described as Ben Okri’s most significant novel since the Man Booker winning The Famished Roads, The Freedom Artist is an impassioned plea for freedom and justice, set in a world uncomfortably like our own.
-
3. Travellers – By Helon Habila
Published in June 2019, widely acclaimed author of “Waiting for an Angel,” “Oil on Water,” and Professor of creative writing at George Mason University, Helon Habila, examines in his most recent book, the lives of travelers, self-willed exiles and refugees alike.
-
4. The Dragonfly Sea – By Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor
Published in March 2019, Kenyan writer and 2003 winner of the Caine Prize for African Writing, Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor, resonates this vibrant, stunning, coming-of-age novel, about a woman struggling to find her place in a vast world.
-
5. A Particular Kind of Black Man – By Tope Folarin
To hit shelves in August 2019, Tope Folarin’s debut novel mirrors the life of an immigrant family in Utah, United States, grappling with the reality of the choice they made. A Particular Kind of Black Man, is on the long-list of the 2019 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize.
-
6. My Sister, the Serial Killer – By Oyinkan Braithwaite
Long-listed for the 2019 Man Booker Prize for Literature, My Sister, the Serial Killer, Braithwaite’s debut novel has received lots of positive acclaims and was shortlisted for the 2019 Women’s Prize for Fiction. It follows the story of a young lady with a tendency to murder her boyfriends.
-
7. Freshwater – By Akwaeke Emezi
Published in June 2019 by Faber & Faber, Emezi’s debut novel follows the story of Ada, the only child of Saul and Saachi. She is an Ogbanje or a spirit child, but unlike Ogbanje’s, she survives through childhood but not without a lot of emotional instability.
-
8. A Small Silence – By Jumoke Verrissimo
Due out on the 30th of July, 2019, author of “I am Memory,” a collection of poems, Jumoka Verrissimo explores in her new book the life of a retired academic Professor. Imprisoned for ten years for his rage against society, he resolves to live a life of darkness after his release from prison. He holes up in his apartment, pushing away friends and family.
