A mixture of poetry, plays, memoirs, and novels awaits the reader, showcasing the best of Africa and the diaspora this year. A much-anticipated translation from Portuguese and a second effort by multi-talented Ghanaian writer Nii Ayikwei Parkes are part of our selections below.
The Middle Daughter, Chika Unigwe
Unigwe’s third novel is a haunting story of 17-year-old Nani who, losing her elder sister and her father within years of each other, is forced into marriage. Told in unsettling prose, it examines gender-based violence and the complicity of organised religion. Unigwe’s triumph is her characterisation and the extent to which she showcases the protagonist’s resilience.
Strange and Difficult Times: Notes on a Global Pandemic, Nanjala Nyabola
Described by African Arguments as “an important body of work that highlights unforgivable injustices and the courageous systems and voices trying to counter them”, Nyabola’s essay collection sizzles with righteous anger. She calls out the financial impropriety, negligence and racism in full glare as the world struggled with the multidimensional health crisis that was the Covid-19 pandemic.
When We Were Fireflies, Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
Arguably Nigeria’s most prolific and decorated storyteller of his generation, Ibrahim’s latest novel begins with an arresting opening. Yarima Lalo, its protagonist, a painter, perceives from an approaching train that he was violently killed in a previous life. Merging deja vu, reincarnation and other psychic phenomena into a mesh of rollicking and fantastical prose, this novel was hailed by Afapinen magazine’s Carl Terver as “…perhaps the greatest Nigerian novel written in the first quarter of the 21st century.”
Saltwater Demands A Psalm, Kweku Abimbola
Described by The Poetry Foundation as “a powerful and stirring debut from one of the most unique voices”, Saltwater Demands A Psalm is a nuanced description of life in the diaspora as an African immigrant. These poems testify to Abimbola’s handle on technique in service of meaning as he invokes Breonna Taylor and Tamir Rice while drawing on Adinkra symbols.
Whites Can Dance Too, Kalaf Epalanga
Originally written in Portuguese, Epalanga’s autobiographical novel arrived in English this year, translated by Daniel Hahn. An anticipated debut of sorts, Whites Can Dance Too is a fascinating narrative about precarious sojourns in Europe and Kuduro, that “musical genre born in the intersection of house, techno and kizomba in the late 1980s”. Kalaf, the protagonist, is a culture agitator and ambassador of this genre arrested en route to Europe’s most iconic music festival in Oslo on suspicion of being an illegal immigrant.
Azúcar, Nii Ayikwei Parkes
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The talented writer, performer, and broadcaster’s second novel, Azucar, 14 years after his acclaimed debut, has been described by Guardian UK as “a honey-sweet fable”. Set in a fictional Caribbean island reminiscent of Cuba with similar trade restrictions, this novel of ideas explores the Black diasporic experience through the eyes of Yunior, a crop scientist and guitarist of Ghanaian ancestry, employed to diversify the food platter in the troubled country. Parkes pays homage to food, music, cuisine, and the sentient touch.
A Spell of Good Things, Ayobami Adebayo
Nominated for the Booker Prize, Adebayo’s second novel examines the jarring disparity in class divide, the fickle nature of the middle class, and the ricocheting effects of social inequality. It follows the fates of Wuraola and Eniola, who are at the mercy of the country’s murky sociocultural terrain. Adebayo plays to her strengths here, rendering this story in accessible prose rich in cultural nuances.
River Spirit, Leila Aboulela
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The 19th-century Sudan is the canvas on which Aboulela paints this historical novel about siblings orphaned and enslaved as their country revolts against Ottoman rule. Aboulela’s storytelling has been praised by the New York Times as “swift, galloping over momentous events, stating profound changes with unsettling directness”.
I Am Still With You: A Reckoning With Silence, Inheritance and History, Emmanuel Iduma
Rendered in compelling and rhythmic prose, this book traverses time, identity and the intricacies of grief as the author chronicles his search for his missing paternal uncle, last seen during the Nigerian Civil War. Like his previous book, Iduma embarks on a quest to unravel the various dimensions of loss, trauma, and the fear of being forgotten.
Mass for Shut-Ins, Mary Alice Daniel
Winner of the Yale Series for Younger Poets, Mary Alice Daniel’s debut poetry collection explores African and Western belief systems, milking them for meaning, rituals, chants and myths. Her tricontinental culture shock and polytheist socialisation are gently weaponised as a way of finding her place.
In her review for the Los Angeles Review of Books, Chloe Xiang notes, “…Daniel boldly mocks religious fervour while also understanding its vitality in a community that must rely on religion as a resource to fight infection…”
The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa, Stephen Buoro
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Stephen Buoro’s anticipated debut novel follows a male teenager whose love for poetry and mathematics is matched by his fetish for white blondes. It is as much a coming-of-age story for its protagonist as it is a portrait of Nigeria’s grim reality of postcolonial reckoning. In his review for Africa Book Link, Chris Herbert notes, “…Stephen Buoro’s The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa is a thrilling and masterful debut that not only entertains but asks important questions.”
The Widow Who Died With Flowers In Her Mouth, Obinna Udenwe
Ordinary people morph into colourful, multilayered characters in Udenwe’s collection of short stories, The Widow Who Died With Flowers In Her Mouth. From libertine seamstresses to fatalistic plumbers and lovelorn medics, the 2021 Nigeria Prize for Literature finalist’s plush, vibrant, high-octane penmanship provides a window into the unfolding of everyday life in urban Nigeria.
Relations: An Anthology of African and Diaspora Voices, Edited by Nana Brew-Hammond
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Ghanaian-American author and culture writer Nana Brew-Hammond curated and edited a melange of African and diaspora writing into a polyphonic chorus of poetry and prose contemplating shared humanity. Publishers Weekly has praised this book for standout works by Sudanese writer Reem Gaafar, Rwandese-born Namibian Rémy Ngamije and Nigerian-American Enuma Okoro. ‘This Tangible Thing’, Nigerian-Canadian author Yejide Kilanko’s story, was shortlisted for the Caine Prize for African Writing.
There’s More, Uchechukwu Peter Umezurike
Multi-hyphenate writer and academic Umezurike returns to his first love, poetry, in There’s More, a spare but aching collection of poems that reflects on the themes of dislocation, despair, discrimination and the occasional joys of migrant life. Drawing from his lived experience in Canada, these poems are elegant and quiet depictions of universal human experiences.
Grit, Obari Gomba
For poet and academic Obari Gomba, the fifth time is the charm. Last month, he was awarded the Nigeria Prize for Literature Prize for his play, Grit. The chairperson of the judges described Gomba’s play as “…lifelike manner with apt characterisation and purposeful manipulation of plot and conflict”. Gomba boldly embraces his self-appointed role of literary activism and confronts the essence of nationhood by focusing on a tragic family drama of sibling rivalry.
And Then He Sang a Lullaby, Ani Kayode Somtochukwu
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Described by the New York Times as a book that “asserts a commitment to queer resistance”, Somtochukwu’s elegant debut questions the depths to which same-sex love can go in a society grappling with homophobia. August and Segun forge a connection after a fortuitous meeting, but their romance faces its strongest test when an anti-gay law is enacted.
Tisa: New Generation of African Poets, edited by Kwame Dawes and Chris Abani
Twelve years into the service of promoting African poets at home and abroad, the African Book Poetry Fund continues to discover and elevate new talents. Tisa features 11 poets–Samuel A. Adeyemi, Nikitta Dede Adjirakor, O-Jeremiah Agbaakin, Rabha Ashry, Jakky Bankong-Obi, Hazem Fahmy, Alain Jules Hirwa, Jay Kophy, Tawiah Naana Akua Mensah, Phodiso Modirwa, and Nneoma Veronica Nwogu–in a limited edition box set of poetry chapbook generously introduced by accomplished poets.
Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Insha Allah: How The Journey Back to My Roots Became An Adventurous Escape, Sara Cheikh
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Described by Ms Magazine as “evocative” and “harrowing”, Cheikh’s heartfelt debut beams the spotlight on the plight and perils of the Sahrawi people. Through an intense first-hand account, she narrates how a long-awaited homecoming quickly goes awry and flings her into an adventure (featuring candy bars, border patrol guards and abductors) that interrogates heritage, displacement, and the meaning of home.
Small by Small, Ike Anya
In his memoir, author and physician Ike Anya offers his experience of medical school in Nigeria, which ironically also serves as a communal memoir of a specific tumultuous period in Nigeria’s history: the twilight of military dictatorship and how close the country veered towards the precipice under General Sani Abacha, the most infamous dictator in Nigeria’s recent history. Small by Small blends truth with humour while providing insight into the decimation of the Nigerian intellectual class of this era.
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