Reading My Way Through Africa 🦁
a very personal challenge
Friends,
This challenge owes its inspiration to a fellow book lover I subscribe to on Substack (Martha’s Monthly1) and her own challenge to read translated works from every country in the world.
As an African — born in South Africa and now migrated to the UK, I’m a little ashamed to admit that the majority of my reading is heavily European focused. As of January 2024, and according to the United Nations, there are 54 countries in Africa and I am aiming to read a book from every one of those. And here’s the basics of how it will work —
🌍 I will read only books written by authors born in the African country listed. Because so many of us migrate to other countries, it is not a stipulation that the author still resides in Africa.
🌍 Because Africa was historically so heavily colonised by Europeans and a lot of indigenous languages were eradicated as part of that process, I will search for translated works in local languages in the first instance, but books written in English will also be accepted.
🌍 Black African authors will be prioritised2.
🌍 Books can be both fiction and non-fiction.
🌍 Only reads from January 2024 will be counted as part of the challenge with no time limit or deadline set.
🌍 I will update this list and share the progress monthly. I’ll rate each book here on StoryGraph.
🌍 A little bonus (for me) will be if I manage to visit the African country I’m reading at the same time.
African Countries (alphabetically)
Algeria 🇩🇿
Women of Algiers in Their Apartment - Assia Djebar (translated from the French by Marjolijn De Jager)
Angola 🇦🇴
A General Theory of Oblivion - José Eduardo Agualusa (translated from the Portuguese by Daniel Hahn)
Granma Nineteen and the Soviet's Secret - Ndalu de Almeida ‘Ondjaki’ (translated from the Portuguese by Stephen Henighan)
The Living and The Rest - José Eduardo Agualusa (translated from the Portuguese by Daniel Hahn)
Benin
Botswana 🇧🇼
An/Other Pastoral - Tjawangwa Dema (illustrated by Teboga Cranwell)
Call and Response - Gothataone Moeng
Burkina Faso 🇧🇫
So Distant From My Life - Monique Ilboudo (translated from the French by Yarri Kamara)
Burundi 🇧🇮
Small Country - Gaël Faye (translated from the French by Sarah Ardizzone)
Cabo Verde
Cameroon 🇨🇲
A Long Way From Douala - Max Lobe (translated by Ros Schwartz from the Camfranglais)3
Central African Republic
Chad
Comoros
Congo
Côte d'Ivoire
Djibouti
DR Congo
Egypt
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Eswatini
Ethiopia
Gabon
Gambia
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Kenya 🇰🇪
Western Lane - Chetna Maroo
No Edges / Swahili Stories - Various Authors
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya 🇱🇾
Catalogue of a Private Life - Najwa Bin Shatwan (translated from the Arabic by Sawad Hussain)
Madagascar
Malawi 🇲🇼
The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind - William Kamkwamba
Mali
Mauritania
Mauritius 🇲🇺
Riambel - Priya Hein (translated from the French by Haddiyyah Tegally)
Morocco 🇲🇦
My Mother’s Language - Abdellatif Laâbi (translated from the French by André Naffis-Sahely)
Something Strange, Like Hunger - Malika Moustadraf (translated from the Arabic by Alice Guthrie)
Mozambique 🇲🇿
The First Wife A Tale of Polygamy - Paulina Chiziane (translated from the Portuguese by David Brookshaw)
Namibia
Niger
Nigeria
Rwanda 🇷🇼
Kibogo - Scholastique Mukasonga (translated from the French by Mark Polizzotti)
Sao Tome & Principe
Senegal
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Somalia 🇸🇴
Strangers (Look Again) - Ismail Einashe
South Africa 🇿🇦
Innards: Stories - Magogodi oaMphela Makhene
The Rich Man of Pietermaritzburg - Sibusiso Nyembezi (translated from the Zulu)
No Fears Expressed: Quotes from Steve Biko
July's People - Nadine Gordimer
MALIBONGWE: Poems From The Struggle By ANC Women Edited by Sono Molefe
history keeps me awake at night - christy edwall
Hum If You Don’t Know The Words - Bianca Marais
For You, I’d Steal A Goat - Niq Mhlongo
The Expedition to the Baobab tree - Wilma Stockenström (translated from the Afrikaans by J.M. Coetzee)
Place (South African Literary Journeys) - Justin Fox
South Sudan
Sudan 🇸🇩
The January Children - Safia Elhillo
Tanzania 🇹🇿
Gravel Heart - Abdulrazak Gurnah
No Edges / Swahili Stories - Various Authors
Togo 🇹🇬
Michel the Giant: An African in Greenland - Tété-Michel Kpomassie
Tunisia
Uganda
Zambia 🇿🇲
Patchwork - Ellen Banda-Aaku
Zimbabwe 🇿🇼
Shebeen Tales - Chenjerai Hove
We Need New Names - NoViolet Bulawayo
Helpful book links I’ve used for my research:
You can follow along as she does just that here — Martha’s Map.
I may include non-Black authors as part of this list but for South Africa only as I am in the process of learning and unlearning the history I was taught in school.
Camfranglais is a hybrid slang language spoken by young people in Cameroon where English, French and some 250 indigenous languages exist