Bookshy: Five Books by African Women Writers I Absolutely Adore

from: http://www.bookshybooks.com/2018/03/what-books-by-african-women-writers.html

I didn't initially have any plans to do a post for International Women's Day, because as cheesy as it may sound - everyday is Women's Day for me, but as I was scrolling through twitter I read a tweet where someone mentioned what book would make it on their top 15 books of ALL time. This then got me thinking, which books by African women writers would make it on my top books of ALL time? 

Artwork by Nicholle Kobi Definitely not as glamourous when I'm reading.

Now, here's the catch - I am notoriously bad with deciding what my favourite books are. I struggle with choosing one favourite for many reasons - because different books have meant different things to me at different points in my life; because the ones that I love, I love them in different ways. At the same time, I also do know that there are some books that stay with me long after I have read them, that I would recommend if someone asks for a recommendation, and that I would shout (if I was the shouting type) at the top of my lungs about how absolutely awesome/amazing/epic/stunning/add other words to the list the book is. 

So, here I am about to share some of the contemporary books by African women writers that I absolutely adore, and would make my top books of ALL time. I'm starting with 5, mainly because when I asked myself, in the last 5 years which 5 books I've read would make it onto a list like this, they were the ones that instantly popped into my head. I'm also starting with 5 because I liked the sound of 5 books in 5 years :). Others came up afterwards, which makes me want to give myself more time to put together a longer list of my ALL time favourite books by African writers. That will soon come.

For now here are the first 5 - and in the order in which I first read them. I should add that four out of five of the books have one thing in common - they are either historical fiction, or have strong elements of historical fiction in them. While three of the five have strong elements of fantasy fiction and mythology. And, if there are two genres I stand hard for, it is fantasy and historical fiction. 

I first read Bryony Rheam's This September Sun in 2013 thanks to a copy sent by 'amaBooks (a Zimbabwean publisher). I instantly fell in love with the story and the characters. This September Sun is set mainly in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe and tells the story of Ellie - trying to make sense of her life and her grandmother, Evelyn - whom she had a really close relationship with. There was something about Ellie's constant sense of longing that I was drawn to. She never could quite fill it- she didn't quite fit in in her hometown, longed to escape but when she finally moved to the UK (thinking that void would be filled), it didn't quite make a difference. I loved the historical elements of the story, Evelyn's diaries and letters that Ellie finds when she returns home and begins to piece her grandmother's life together. 

I first read Irenosen Okojie's Butterfly Fish in 2015. As I have admitted in a review I wrote on the book, I never would have read this novel if it wasn't for a book chat I had with Irenosen Okojie at Ake Festival in 2015. What a travesty that would have been, because this book is everything I love in one - it's intergenerational (following a family), it's historical fiction (starting in 19th century Benin and going all the way to modern-day London), it's set across multiple locations (Benin, Lagos, London), there's somewhat of a curse (oh I love a good curse), there's the fantasy and mythical element, but there are also layers. In Butterfly Fish, the main character Joy's mother unexpectedly passes away and we see how Joy copes with that loss, especially as it's been only her and her mother since day one. There's more than that, as while Joy in modern-day London is trying to cope, we also go way back to 19th century Benin to the Oba's palace, where we meet his new and eighth wife, Adesuwa. There's more, of course, an inheritance, a brass head, a diary, and tons of secrets (I also love a good secret). Okojie is a beautiful storyteller, she creates fascinating worlds and I absolutely love the way her mind works.

Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi's Kintu, I first read in 2016 immediately after the Writivism Festival in Kampala. I had been wanting to read Kintusince it was published by Kwani?, but unfortunately it was extremely hard to access it outside of Kenya and Uganda. So, obviously when I was in Kampala, I knew I had to get a copy of it, which thankfully I did. I didn't even wait to get home - I read the book on the flight back to London from Entebbe. I was sucked into the world Makumbi created from the prologue in Kampala in 2004. Again, here was a book including elements of all the things I love - multi/intergenerational (it follows a family), historical fiction (going as far back as the Buddu Province in 1750), there's also the fantasy and mythical elements, a family curse (I really do love a good curse), and layers upon layers. Told in six parts, I loved how each part was separate, but also interconnected (as the family curse wove through). And I was intrigued by how one man's terrible action and even more terrible decision to hide that action affected his entire generation, which made me think about the scars we are left with based on actions made and decisions taken by our ancestors.

I first read Ireonsen Okojie's Speak Gigantular late 2016, while in Jos for work. If Butterfly Fish didn't already make me a fan of Okojie, Speak Gigantular definitely cemented it. It felt like Speak Gigantular was written for women like me who love reading about weird and twisted things. Most (but not all of the stories) are set in London. There's one in a Danish town with a boy who is growing a tail (like I said wonderfully weird). There are tales of suicide and ghosts haunting the London underground; twin sisters, impersonation, and inner demons coming to life; deadly foot fetishes and more. After reading it I posted on instagram that it was 'without a doubt ... now one of my favourite short story collections. It's so so so good. It's also really disturbing, but I like my oh so very weird and wonderful reads'. I still feel that way 18 months later.

Laila Lalami's The Moor's Account is the most recent book I've read on this list - having read it in 2017. I will admit when I first picked it up to read I wasn't feeling it. So, I put it aside and read something else. A few weeks later, I decided to give it another try, and I.was.blown.away. The Moor's Account is epic - I can't think of any other word to describe it. In the acknowledgement of the book Laila Lalami writes '... my protagonist, about whose background nothing is known, except for one line in Cabeza de Vaca's "Relacion" ("The fourth survivor is Estevanico, an Arab Negro from Azamor")'. From that one line, Lalami gifted us with 428 pages of Estevancio's life. From how he came into this world, to his life in Azamor, to wilfully selling himself as a slave, to his first 'owner', to how he happened to be on this voyage to the Americas, to their experiences in the Americas. I could not put the book down. It's rich, it's gripping, it's remarkable ... I could go on.

As I mentioned earlier these were the first five books that came to my mind when I asked myself the question, but since then I've thought of at least ten more books I would add to this list (by women writers alone). So I definitely am going to put together a list of my ALL time top books by African writers. Until then, what would be in your top 5?

Belated Thoughts on Two Very Different (Im)migrant Stories: 'African Titanics' and 'The Maestro, The Magistrate & The Mathematician'

from http://bookshybooks.blogspot.com/2016/03/belated-thoughts-on-two-very-different.html

This is my very belated thoughts on two books I read at some point towards the end of 2014 and the beginning 2015 (did I say it was very belated). Two books that I am reviewing not because I intend to draw parallels between them, although there could be some - they do cover themes of migration/being a migrant, bring us closer to the psyche of migrants and have multiple characters that are central to the story.

I'm sharing my thoughts because I think they are two very beautiful books that cover the theme of (Im)migration (be it trying to get there or what happens once you are there) in their own unique ways. African Titanics is extremely poetic and says a lot in a really short book about migrants journeying across the Mediterranean; while The Maestro, The Magistrate and The Mathematician takes us into the psyche of three very different Zimbabwean immigrants once they have settled in Scotland. 

African Titanics by Eritrean novelist, Abu Bakr Hamid Kahal, was originally published in Arabic in 2008.Thanks to Darf publishers, we got the English translation (translated by Charis Bredin) in 2014. This is a short, but poetic novel about a group of African migrants journey across the Mediterranean. The main character, Abdar - is a young Eritrean man who was 'plucked from Eritrea, swept across the Sudanese border and on into Libya, in the dark night', and in 122 pages we get a sense of not only Abdar, but other migrants' journey - through the desert and across sea - and what happens along the way.

The journey isn't cheap - Abdar will require one thousand dollars for passage aboard the Titanic to Lampedusa in Italy. There is also no guarantee of safe arrival on the other side - even with the best captains of the Titanic. The journey to the Titanic is also arduous - in Land Rovers being driven across the desert; lost and thirsty in the desert and hovering between life and death.Then the wait in Tripoli for the few survivors from the desert journey who still want to carry on at the smuggler hide-out. There you learn just how many migrants have passed through this place over the years - their many messages of fear and doubt, in Arabic, French, English, Amharic and Tigré  - on the wall as they wait for their own departure on the Titanic. Of Terhas - another Eritrean women whose body was wasted during the desert journey but survived; and young Malouk, the great Liberian storyteller with his faithful companion - his guitar that he has owned since he was fourteen - and his many stories and poems. There's also a treacherous late night border crossing in Tunisia; and the journey across the sea hasn't even begun.

This is a perilous journey that these men and women take and without saying it we know that not everyone will make it to Europe, but beauty in African Titanics is that it does not only focus on the extremely dangerous journey that this group of migrants go through, but it also brings out the conversation, music, poetry and stories migrants share with each other as they attempt to get to Europe; of their hopes and dreams in the midst of despair; and the bravery of men and women who enter these Titanics not knowing whether they will get to the other side or not. This is a beautiful, haunting  novel, and while it was first published i 2008 before the height of the crisis gripping Europe, it brings us closer to the humanity of men and women who make the decision to go to Europe.

Second is The Maestro, The Magistrate & The Mathematician by Tendai Huchu, first published by 'amaBooks in 2014. This is Huchu's second novel - following The Hairdresser of Harare. I like Huchu's writing, there is humour present throughout the pages of this novel - even if sometimes the topic is quite bleak. One of my favourite parts of the book would have to be his descriptions of Edinburgh - I've been to the city twice and only for a few days. So never enough to really know it, but I got a sense of the terrain and the streets through The Magistrate who wandered the city with his walkman in tow, as he held on to pieces of home through music (guess that's another parallel - music and migration).

So who are the Three M's and what's this story all about? Well, it's about three very different Zimbabwean migrants in Edinburgh trying to figure things out, in a certain period in both the UK and Zimbabwe's political and economic history - pre-2010. There's The Magistrate. Baba Chenai who was a big deal in Zimbabwe - a magistrate - but now lives with his wife and their fifteen-year-old daughter. His wife is the main breadwinner, his daughter is growing up (a little too quickly) and unemployed, until recently - he got a job as a caregiver in an old persons home - he's trying to come to terms with his new life and identity in Edinburgh with music as his companion as he walks.

Then there's The Mathematician, Farai, doing his PhD on some complex topic I can't wrap my head around but it's about hyperinflation - and he has found the work of a deceased Angolan economist who wrote on fiscal policy in Angola whose work he finds quite influential for his own writings. Living with his friends and flatmates, Brian and Scott, Farai seems to be prefer 'slumming' it even though he is wealthy, or at least his family is. He also seems to be conflicted between a longing for Zimbabwe, as well a sense of alienation from it.

Finally, there's The Maestro - isolated with his drugs, literature and endless stream of consciousness. A white Zimbabwean, stacking shelves in Tesco - he definitely reveals that you're not spared from the harshness of being an immigrant just because you might be the same race as the indigenes. The Maestro is the most broken, the most fragile, the most alone (internally) of all the immigrants in the story.  Then there's a fourth migrant - the infuriating Alfonso - who strange enough grew on me as the story went on; who is connected - loosely or otherwise to these three men. For one, he gives The Magistrate a new purpose in life, through politics, even though initially he is reluctant to take part in any of it.

Through these three characters, Huchu captures how frustrating and tiring it can be to find a place to belong once you're far away from home, and the many ways to escape - drugs and books with The Maestro - or be closer to home - music with The Magistrate escapes in his music.

Together both African Titanics and The Maestro, The Magistrate & The Mathematician capture the many experiences of (Im)migration from the scorching Sahara to freezing Edinburgh, shaped by hope and despair.

Novuyo Rosa Tshuma's 'Shadows' longlisted for Etisalat Prize

Photograph courtesy Fungai Machirori

Novuyo Rosa Tshuma's debut novella and short story collection, Shadows, has been longlisted for the 2014 Etisalat Prize for Literature. Novuyo's stories have appeared in several anthologies, including the 'amaBooks anthologies Silent Cry: Echoes of Young Zimbabwe Voices and Where to Now? Short Stories from Zimbabwe. Shadows contains Novuyo's short story, 'Crossroads', which was previously published in Where to Now? and, in isiNdebele, in Siqondephi Manje?Indatshana zaseZimbabwe. Where to Now? was co-published with Parthian Books in the United Kingdom.

This is the second year of the Etisalat Prize, the first recipient of the award was NoViolet Bulawayo for her novel We Need New Names. Both Novuyo and NoViolet come from Bulawayo.

Novuyo first came to the attention of 'amaBooks as a participant in the British Council's ‘Identity and Diversities’ Project, which culminated in us publishing the young people’s anthology Silent Cry: Echoes of Young Zimbabwe Voices, in which Novuyo was first published. At nineteen, her short story, 'Scattered Hearts', published in this anthology, was described by Dr Petros Ndlovu as ‘beautiful and powerful prose which fosters an appreciation of the personality of the young author who is so gifted in thought, analysis, problem-solving as well as English expression’. Novuyo went on to represent the project at the Identities and Diversities Youth Summit in Lusaka, Zambia 2007, and later at the Global Change-makers Africa Youth Summit in Cape Town, South Africa 2009.

Shadows is a winner of the 2014 Herman Charles Bosman Prize. bookshybooks.blogspot.com, in her review of the Etisalat longlist, commented, 'With this debut novella and collection of short stories the reader is introduced to a startling new voice in African literature. Novuyo Tshuma sketches, with astounding accuracy, the realities of daily life in Zimbabwe and the peculiar intricacies of being a foreigner in Johannesburg. Vivid, sparse and, at times, tragically beautiful.'

50 Books By African Women That Everyone Should Read

Bryony Rheam's debut novel, 'This September Sun', has been chosen as one of the 50 books by African women that everyone should read before they die. The list has been compiled by Dele Meiji Fatunia and Zahrah Nesbitt-Ahmed ahead of Africa Writes - the Royal African Society's annual literary festival - which is possibly the UK's largest celebration of African books and literature.
Bryony joins other Zimbabwean women writers on the list - Yvonne Vera, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Zukiswa Wanner and NoViolet Bulawayo.

'This September Sun' won Best First Book at the Zimbabwe Book Publishers Awards in 2010 after being published in Zimbabwe by 'amaBooks and went on to be published in the United Kingdom by Parthian Books. It is soon to be published in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and South Sudan by Longhorn Press.

The full list of the 50 books can be found through the following links:

http://bookshybooks.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/50-books-by-african-women-that-everyone.html

http://www.gatewayforafrica.org/blog/50-books-african-women-everyone-should-read

Bookshy Meets ... Bryony Rheam

bookshy: an African book lover

http://bookshybooks.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/meet-bryony-rheam.html

Wednesday, 17 April 2013

Meet ... Bryony Rheam

The 'Meet' Series will be a chance for me to interview anyone I would love to meet that is involved with African literature.

So I absolutely love Zimbabwean literature, and I really, really loved this novel when I read it a few months ago. So I am extremely happy to announce the next person in the series is Bryony Rheam author of This September Sun, published by amaBooks in Zimbabwe and Parthian in the UK. Enjoy!!! 

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself (where you’re from, what you do, interests and hobbies, any fun details)

I was born in Kadoma in Zimbabwe and spent my early years moving around the country quite a bit.  My dad was in mining and in 1982 we moved to a mine near Bulawayo.  I went to school in Bulawayo until I left Zimbabwe in 1993, after completing my A levels.  After that I spent some time travelling and working in the UK and then went back to study there in 1994.  When I finally finished university, I worked for a year in Singapore and then returned to Zimbabwe where I worked for the next seven years.  My partner and I moved to Zambia in 2008, which is where I currently live. 

I have two children who take up most of my time (in a good way!) but of course I enjoy getting some time to myself.  I have always loved reading and my idea of a perfect day is to spend it absorbed in a book. 

I love anything to do with the 1920s, 30s and 40s.  I enjoy collecting old bits of furniture from this period and things like crockery and books.  I was certainly born in the wrong age and often wish I could escape into the past, where I believe I live my parallel existence!  For exercise, I do yoga which I thoroughly enjoy.

What was the first piece you ever wrote?

If by ‘ever’ you include my childhood, it was probably a story about fairies.  I have always wanted to be an author so I used to write quite a bit as a child.  When I was about eleven, I wrote a book of short stories about a mischievous dog called Merlin.  My first published piece was a children’s story in The Chronicle – a Bulawayo based newspaper when I was about 13. It was about a Warthog named Winston.  My first published story as an adult was ‘The Queue’ in Short Writings From Bulawayo in 2003.

What draws you to writing?

I really don’t think I can answer that question!  I’ve always been a very shy person and found a way of expressing myself through my writing.  People are often surprised that I am the author behind my work.  When you are quiet, people often underestimate you.

What do you do when you are not writing?

I am an English teacher, for my sins.  I’d love to be a full-time writer.

On Publishing, Being an Author, and African Literature

Can you tell us about your challenges in getting your first book published?

I must say I think I was quite lucky in this regard.  I knew Jane Morris and Brian Jones of ‘amaBooks because they had published various short stories of mine.  They were quite interested in reading the manuscript of This September Sun and thought it had potential.  Finding the finance to publish the book was a consideration though and I am indebted to The Culture Fund of Zimbabwe and the Beit Trust for their assistance. 

I have, however, not found it so easy to find a publisher outside of Zimbabwe.  South African publishers, in particular, have shown little interest as they seem to want a particular story from Zimbabwe. 

As an author, what’s the toughest criticism and best compliment you have received?

I think the worst criticism I have had so far of This September Sun is that it is ‘insular’, focusing on a white, middle class world, instead of mentioning politics in every two sentences.  The best compliment came from a woman who came to see me after I had given a talk about the novel in which I had said it wasn’t a true story.  She said that for her it would always be a true story and that’s the way she’d like to think of it.  I’ve found numerous people very disappointed when they’ve found out it isn’t true!

As a white Zimbabwean author, are there any obstacles or challenges you particularly face in writing about Zimbabwe, or even Africa?

If you are white in Africa, it will always be assumed that you had a privileged upbringing, and because of that, somehow you have no right to write about it.  If you write anything that isn’t to do with poverty, AIDS, corruption or racial issues then somehow it is ‘lacking’ and this can only be attributed to the fact that you are white and haven’t suffered enough!

I also think that a certain type of writing is expected from white writers.  It used to be the ‘anti-apartheid’ novel, usually featuring a white character who gets drawn to a ‘black world’ and realises how insular their life has been.  At the moment it’s the ‘African memoir’ – my days growing up in Africa and how it made me the person I am.  They’re perfectly acceptable; I enjoy reading them myself.   The key, however, is that the writer does not live here anymore.  

I don’t know why, but the Western publishing world doesn’t seem to like white writers who still live in Africa or who consider it their home.

I am a great lover of African literature, could you suggest a book, new or old, that people should read?

'Things Fall Apart' by Chinua Achebe.  I remember when I first read this and when I put it down, I was completely in awe of this writer who had captured a specific turning point in history so well.  He revealed how insidious the process of colonisation was and how, for it to work, it must also bring benefits.

On This September Sun

How would you describe your debut novel This September Sun?

I’m not quite sure!  It’s not quite a romance or a mystery.  Drama?

What inspired you to write This September Sun?

I did my Masters in Postcolonial Writing, a course which I enjoyed very much, but one that also frustrated me.  I read a lot of what is termed ‘colonial’ writing – Out of Africa and A Passage to India – and lots of postcolonial stuff, but I never saw ‘myself’ in any of it.  White characters were often polarised into ‘good’ (the idealist) or ‘bad’ (the racist/colonial administrator).  No one was ‘real’.  I began to think about writing a novel and I had already got a few bits and pieces that I had written before I did my Masters.  However, I did NOT write the novel to prove a point or anything along those lines.  The most important thing to me is a story, not a message!

This September Sun felt so real. I related so much with Ellie’s character, and even Evelyn seemed like she was a real character. Did personal experiences or people you may know inspire the characters in your novel?

I did my Masters in Postcolonial Writing, a course which I enjoyed very much, but one that also frustrated me.  I read a lot of what is termed ‘colonial’ writing – Out of Africa and A Passage to India – and lots of postcolonial stuff, but I never saw ‘myself’ in any of it.  White characters were often polarised into ‘good’ (the idealist) or ‘bad’ (the racist/colonial administrator).  No one was ‘real’.  I began to think about writing a novel and I had already got a few bits and pieces that I had written before I did my Masters.  However, I did NOT write the novel to prove a point or anything along those lines.  The most important thing to me is a story, not a message!

This September Sun also has a very strong historical element, and it gives a great sense of what life in Rhodesia in the 1940s and 50s would have been like. What was it like researching it?

I really enjoyed it!  Basically, most people love having someone to talk to, especially about the past.  I spoke to a number of elderly people, who were always very willing to chat.  Doing that gave me more of a feel for the past than just researching facts.  I think most of us have a conventional idea of a time such as the 1940s, and would be quite surprised to hear some of the stories of what went on.  Affairs, especially during the War, were very common and many men came home to find that they had children they couldn’t possibly have fathered, but they generally seemed to accept it.

Writing about the past is difficult though.  You have to make sure you get all your facts correct, including minor details such as expressions people used that they might not do now and vice versa.

What was your favourite chapter (or part) to write and why?

I really enjoyed writing about Ellie’s time in London, probably because it was so real to me.

On Being a Booklover (Questions I’ve always wanted to ask authors)

What are you reading right now?

Agatha Christie’s autobiography.  I’m quite a fan of hers. 

Is there any particular author (living or dead) or book that influenced you in any way either growing up or as an adult - and why?

I love The Great Gatsby.  I love the way it is narrated.  I like books where the story is told by one of the characters.  I also like Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, again because of the narrative technique and because it is so beautifully written. 

Which, novel or character in a novel do you wish you had written?

The Great Gatsby.

Have you ever judged a book by its cover (i.e. bought a book based on its looks)? Which?

I can’t really think of a particular occasion.  I tend to know something about the author or the novel before buying it.

           

Hard copy or e-book? Bookstore or Amazon?

I’m old-fashioned and can quite honestly say that I have never read an e-book.  I have used Amazon, but I’d much prefer to be able to walk into a bookstore.

Final Question – I promise

What’s next after This September Sun?

I’ve started writing another novel, but at the moment I have put it on hold in order to finish some short stories which have been bothering me!  I need to get them down and finished so that I can carry on with other things.

Thank you very much for taking the time to answer these questions. I really appreciate it. 

Bookshy: an African Book Lover reviews 'This September Sun'

Book Review: Bryony Rheam's "This September Sun"

... and so my love for Zimbabwean literature just keeps on growing. I absolutely enjoyed reading Bryony Rheam’s debut novel This September Sun, and would like to say a big thank you to Jane Morris from ’amaBooks for sending me a copy of this book to read. 

Set mainly in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, This September Sun tells the story of two women - Ellie who is just trying to make sense of her life, and her grandmother, Evelyn, whom she had a really close relationship with.

Growing up in post-Independent Zimbabwe, Ellie never quite fitted in and felt stifled in her hometown and just longed to escape. In the hope that she would finally find what she was looking for, she moved to the UK for her undergraduate degree, only to find out that something was still missing. While Ellie is trying to make sense of her life, we get flashbacks to her childhood in Bulawayo, the times she spent with her grandmother, as well as glimpses into what it was like being white in pre- and post-independent Zimbabwe. Ellie’ s life was also filled with secrets - well her family, and especially her grandmother’s. It’s not until Evelyn is brutally murdered and Ellie discovers her grandmother’ s diaries and letters that she is able to piece together Evelyn’s life. It is only then Ellie is finally able to answer the many questions that were left unanswered, and in a way start making sense of her life.

In This September Sun, Bryony Rheam goes back and forth in time (between 1940s and 2000s), to expertly weave two different women’s accounts of their lives and paint possibly one of the most beautiful stories I have read in a while. Reading Evelyn’ s story and her life, I felt like I had found someone’ s diaries and letters. And I think I loved this book because it felt so real - the characters, the setting, their lives. At the end of the day we are all human beings with flaws. We laugh, we cry, we make mistakes, we do silly things, and we can all be annoying. Even more than that, I have never resonated more with a character than I did with Ellie - there were elements of her, which in a strange way mirrored me. And probably added to why the characters and the novel felt so real.

This September Sun won the Best First Book Award at the 2010 Zimbabwe International Book Fair, and I can see why. Reading novels like this is what makes me love not just African literature, but really literature in general. I can only hope that more people get the chance to read this beautiful story.

5 out of 5 stars

from: http://bookshybooks.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/book-review-bryony-rheams-this.html