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DECEMBER '24 LIBRARY REVIEWS

CONTEMPORARY FICTION (NIGERIA)

We Were Girls Once by Aiwanose Odafen, 2024
R420 from The Book Lounge

A deft exploration of the many layers of oppression and separation present in our world, that manages to retain breathing space and an invitation to keep reading. Reading it made me think of the somatic practice of “penduluming” where you find a place of safety in your body that you can return to when you feel overwhelmed by pain and trauma. The safe place in this case is the powerful presence of female friendship – those people who do your hair, and know your shame, who recognise your girlhood self and who you can phone in a moment of heartbreak. The friendship between the three Nigerian women is what returns them home, returns them back to a sense of self, back to dignity. This is an exceptional read – nuanced, courageous and honest, weaving together the political and the personal. You will feel invited into the friendship circle, along for the ride of rage, heartbreak, loss, despair – and love and redemption. Shivani Ranchod

LEGACY FICTION (NIGERIA / DIASPORA)

The New Tribe by Buchi Emecheta, 2024 (2000)
R285 from The Book Lounge

The New Tribe is a touching story that follows Chester Arlington, a young Nigerian boy searching for his place in the world. Given up by his birth mother, Chester is adopted by the sweet and caring Ginny and Arthur Arlington. Despite their love and care, Chester grows up feeling out of place in his small English hometown. Soon, he begins to dream of a beautiful and magnificent African kingdom that feels like home, and he sets out on a journey to discover his identity – and the kingdom. Buchi Emecheta tells a compelling story about what it means to be loved and accepted. Rich in emotion, the novel is a poignant exploration of identity, family and the enduring quest to belong. Nokwanda Mngxitama

LEGACY FICTION (NIGERIA / DIASPORA)

The New Tribe by Buchi Emecheta, 2024 (2000)
R285 from The Book Lounge

The New Tribe is a touching story that follows Chester Arlington, a young Nigerian boy searching for his place in the world. Given up by his birth mother, Chester is adopted by the sweet and caring Ginny and Arthur Arlington. Despite their love and care, Chester grows up feeling out of place in his small English hometown. Soon, he begins to dream of a beautiful and magnificent African kingdom that feels like home, and he sets out on a journey to discover his identity – and the kingdom. Buchi Emecheta tells a compelling story about what it means to be loved and accepted. Rich in emotion, the novel is a poignant exploration of identity, family and the enduring quest to belong. Nokwanda Mngxitama

PHOTOGRAPHY / CINEMA (CONTINENT-WIDE)

The African Gaze: Photography, Cinema and Power by Amy Sall, 2024
R1485 from The Book Lounge

Thankfully more books like this are being published, which redress the dearth of accessible reference material documenting African visual culture as far back as colonial rule. This collection of striking images and comprehensive text is the result of strong interest in the course (of the same name as the book) that Amy Sall started teaching at The New School in New York in 2016. The photographers included are both the prolific – among these James Barnor (Ghana), Ernest Cole (South Africa), and Seydou Keïta and Malick Sidibé (both Mali) – and the lesser-known, such as Felicia Abban, one of the few women named and known in the realm. In addition, 25 filmmakers are reviewed, including Senegalese Ousmane Sembène, regarded as “the father of African cinema”. Sall is passionate about promoting culture while protecting it, and also founded SUNU Journal, a Pan-African platform for cultivating and archiving ideas concerning global blackness. A beautiful, moving, and important investment for anyone interested in Africa’s creative economy. Georgia Black

HISTORY (CONTINENT-WIDE)

An African History of Africa: From the Dawn of Civilisation to Independence by Zeinab Badawi, 2024
R420 from The Book Lounge

You would find it hard to object to the premise of this book, which covers the history of Africa from the origin of the species to the joyous freedoms of nations’ independence, and taking in ancient civilisations and oft-neglected African empires, as well as colonialism and its evils, but from the perspective of Africans themselves. Or ourselves, which is a crucial difference. As Sudanese-born Badawi writes in the introduction, “everyone is originally from Africa, and this book is therefore for everyone”. And it is a glorious read, although you might find yourself wishing the story had fewer historical events, and more narrative richness. But perhaps prompting the reader to seek more is precisely the point. Chris Roper

HISTORY (CONTINENT-WIDE)

An African History of Africa: From the Dawn of Civilisation to Independence by Zeinab Badawi, 2024
R420 from The Book Lounge

You would find it hard to object to the premise of this book, which covers the history of Africa from the origin of the species to the joyous freedoms of nations’ independence, and taking in ancient civilisations and oft-neglected African empires, as well as colonialism and its evils, but from the perspective of Africans themselves. Or ourselves, which is a crucial difference. As Sudanese-born Badawi writes in the introduction, “everyone is originally from Africa, and this book is therefore for everyone”. And it is a glorious read, although you might find yourself wishing the story had fewer historical events, and more narrative richness. But perhaps prompting the reader to seek more is precisely the point. Chris Roper

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