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JANUARY '24 LIBRARY REVIEWS

Black and Female by Tsitsi Dangarembga (2022)

ESSAYS (ZIMBABWE)
R295 from The Book Lounge

Zimbabwean novelist, playwright, activist, and filmmaker Tsitsi Dangarembga is no new name to the Southern African reader, having penned the highly acclaimed Tambudzai Trilogy of novels Nervous Condition (1988), The Book of Not (2006) and This Mournable Body (2018). Her newest title, Black and Female, examines the legacy of imperialism on her own life and on every aspect of black embodied African life. This collection weaves the personal and political in an illuminating exploration of race and gender. Listen to her chatting with Angela Davis, yes that Angela Davis, about the book by clicking here. JM

All Your Children, Scattered by Beata Umubyeyi Mairesse (2022)

CONTEMPORARY FICTION: NOVEL (RWANDA)
R400 from Clarke’s Bookshop

Beata Umubyeyi Mairesse was born in Butare, Rwanda and moved to France to study political science and work for humanitarian causes after surviving the 1994 Tutsi genocide. Her debut novel All Your Children, Scattered follows three generations torn apart by the genocide against the Tutsis, as they try to reconnect with one another, rebuild broken relationships, and find their place in today’s world. An intimate look at the inner lives of the people who lived through one of the world’s worst atrocities of the 20th century. JM

All Your Children, Scattered by Beata Umubyeyi Mairesse (2022)

CONTEMPORARY FICTION: NOVEL (RWANDA)
R400 from Clarke’s Bookshop

Beata Umubyeyi Mairesse was born in Butare, Rwanda and moved to France to study political science and work for humanitarian causes after surviving the 1994 Tutsi genocide. Her debut novel All Your Children, Scattered follows three generations torn apart by the genocide against the Tutsis, as they try to reconnect with one another, rebuild broken relationships, and find their place in today’s world. An intimate look at the inner lives of the people who lived through one of the world’s worst atrocities of the 20th century. JM

Pleasantview by Celeste Mohammed (2021)

CONTEMPORARY FICTION: SHORT STORIES (DIASPORA)
R285 from Exclusive Books

Trinidad and Tobago lawyer-turned-author Celeste Mohammed has had her work published in The New England Review, Litmag, Epiphany and The Rumpus, and other places. Her 2021 award-winning debut Pleasantview is a look at Caribbean life starting with the writer’s native Trinidad and Tobago, and going out to other parts of the American continent. Where the world has been fed a diet of life in the Caribbean as easy going and happy-go-lucky, this book shows its underbelly. Poverty and patriarchy savagely rule while, love and revenge often go hand in hand. This title won the 2022 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, arguably the most important award for Caribbean writing. JM

For What Are Butterflies Without Their Wings by Troy Onyango (2022)

CONTEMPORARY FICTION: SHORT STORIES (KENYA)
Price on request, to order from Masobe Books

The founder of Pan-African literary magazine, Lolwe,Troy Onyango is a Kenyan writer, editor and lawyer whose work has appeared in international journals and magazines including Prairie Schooner, Wasafiri, Brittle Paper and Transition Magazine. The Caine Prize nominee’s debut is also a short story collection, and this one shows his skill with sharp observations and gentle revelations about solitude, loneliness, connection, loss, love, and the infinite intricacies of daily human life. JM

For What Are Butterflies Without Their Wings by Troy Onyango (2022)

CONTEMPORARY FICTION: SHORT STORIES (KENYA)
Price on request, to order from Masobe Books

The founder of Pan-African literary magazine, Lolwe,Troy Onyango is a Kenyan writer, editor and lawyer whose work has appeared in international journals and magazines including Prairie Schooner, Wasafiri, Brittle Paper and Transition Magazine. The Caine Prize nominee’s debut is also a short story collection, and this one shows his skill with sharp observations and gentle revelations about solitude, loneliness, connection, loss, love, and the infinite intricacies of daily human life. JM

The Sex Lives of African Women by Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah (2021)

CONTEMPORARY NON-FICTION (GHANA)
R280 from The Book Lounge

Ghanaian feminist writer, blogger, and podcaster Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah co-founded award-winning blog ‘Adventures from the Bedrooms of African Women’, and has written for The Guardian and Open Democracy. In this debut, Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah shines a light on the quest of African women for sexual power and offers all women inspirational examples to live a truly liberated life. JM

The Sex Lives of African Women by Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah (2021)

CONTEMPORARY NON-FICTION (GHANA)
R280 from The Book Lounge

Ghanaian feminist writer, blogger, and podcaster Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah co-founded award-winning blog ‘Adventures from the Bedrooms of African Women’, and has written for The Guardian and Open Democracy. In this debut, Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah shines a light on the quest of African women for sexual power and offers all women inspirational examples to live a truly liberated life. JM

River Spirit by Leila Aboulela (2023)

CONTEMPORARY FICTION: NOVEL (SUDAN)
R429 from Takealot or about R510 to order from The Book Lounge

Sudan-born, Scotland-based fiction writer, essayist and playwright Leila Aboulela is the author of numerous novels, including The Kindness of Enemies, The Translator, Minaret and Lyrics Alley. River Spirit, the newest book from this multiple award winner (Caine Prize, Scottish Book Awards, New York Times Notable Author), follows Akuany, an embattled young woman’s coming of age during the Mahdist War in 19th century Sudan. Historical fiction at its best. JM

River Spirit by Leila Aboulela (2023)

CONTEMPORARY FICTION: NOVEL (SUDAN)
R429 from Takealot or about R510 to order from The Book Lounge

Sudan-born, Scotland-based fiction writer, essayist and playwright Leila Aboulela is the author of numerous novels, including The Kindness of Enemies, The Translator, Minaret and Lyrics Alley. River Spirit, the newest book from this multiple award winner (Caine Prize, Scottish Book Awards, New York Times Notable Author), follows Akuany, an embattled young woman’s coming of age during the Mahdist War in 19th century Sudan. Historical fiction at its best. JM

When We Were Fireflies by Abubakar Adam Ibrahim (2023)

CONTEMPORARY NON-FICTION (GHANA)
R280 from The Book Lounge

Nigerian writer and journalist Abubakar Adam Ibrahim is the author of The Whispering Trees (2012), Season of Crimson Blossoms (2015), and Dreams and Assorted Nightmares (2022). The newest title from the multiple award winner (including the Nigerian Prize for Literature) is When We Were Fireflies, which follows brooding artist Yarima Lalo – who has had several lives – and Aziza, an older woman who he meets in one of his previous lives. The Abujan writes sensitive, fully fleshed-out characters and this is as unputdownable as his previous titles. Read an excerpt from our friends at the Johannesburg Review of Books by clicking here. JM

Days Come and Go by Hemley Boum (2022)

CONTEMPORARY FICTION: NOVEL (CAMEROON)
R340 at The Book Lounge

Cameroonian novelist, poet, and essayist Hemley Boum regularly publishes articles in Jeune Afrique, Le Point Afrique, and Le Monde Afrique, and speaks at universities and literary festivals. The author – who writes principally in French – is also the author of the books Si d’Aimer (2012) and Les Maquisards (2015). Days Come and Go is a translation of Les Jours Viennent et Passent (2019) into English, by Nchanji Njamnsi. It follows Anna, a matriarch living out her final days in Paris; Abi, Anna’s thoroughly European daughter (at least in her mother’s eyes); and Tina, a teenager who comes under the sway of a militant terrorist faction. JM

Days Come and Go by Hemley Boum (2022)

CONTEMPORARY FICTION: NOVEL (CAMEROON)
R340 at The Book Lounge

Cameroonian novelist, poet, and essayist Hemley Boum regularly publishes articles in Jeune Afrique, Le Point Afrique, and Le Monde Afrique, and speaks at universities and literary festivals. The author – who writes principally in French – is also the author of the books Si d’Aimer (2012) and Les Maquisards (2015). Days Come and Go is a translation of Les Jours Viennent et Passent (2019) into English, by Nchanji Njamnsi. It follows Anna, a matriarch living out her final days in Paris; Abi, Anna’s thoroughly European daughter (at least in her mother’s eyes); and Tina, a teenager who comes under the sway of a militant terrorist faction. JM

Milk The Beloved Country by Sihle Khumalo (2023)

CONTEMPORARY NON-FICTION (SOUTH AFRICA)
R300 at Clarke’s Bookshop

South African writer Sihle Khumalo is the writer of the travel masterpieces Dark Continent My Black Arse (2007), Heart of Africa (2009), Almost Sleeping My Way To Timbuktu (2013), and Rainbow Nation My Black Arse (2018). His newest title is Milk The Beloved Country, a thought-provoking account by a South African who asks uncomfortable questions and forces his compatriots to contemplate what the future of this country might be. JM

In The End, It Was All About Love by Musa Okwonga (2021)

CONTEMPORARY NON-FICTION: MEMOIR (DIASPORA)
R481 at Exclusive Books

British author, podcaster and musician Musa Okwonga is primarily the author of nonfiction, having penned books such as One of Them: An Eton College Memoir (2021), Raheem Sterling (Football Legends #1) (2020) and A Cultured Left Foot: The Eleven Elements of Footballing Greatness (2008). His memoir In The End, It Was All About Love (2021) explores the inner life of a man with Ugandan roots, an immigrant in Berlin. JM

In The End, It Was All About Love by Musa Okwonga (2021)

CONTEMPORARY NON-FICTION: MEMOIR (DIASPORA)
R481 at Exclusive Books

British author, podcaster and musician Musa Okwonga is primarily the author of nonfiction, having penned books such as One of Them: An Eton College Memoir (2021), Raheem Sterling (Football Legends #1) (2020) and A Cultured Left Foot: The Eleven Elements of Footballing Greatness (2008). His memoir In The End, It Was All About Love (2021) explores the inner life of a man with Ugandan roots, an immigrant in Berlin. JM

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