Chinua Achebe offers observations on the challenges of political life in this 1987 work of fiction that could be about any post independence African nation. In the fictional West African nation Kangan, newly independent of British rule, the hopes and dreams of democracy have been quashed by a fierce military dictatorship. Chris Oriko is a [...]
Synopsis “Mireille, daughter of a French Diplomat, Ousmane, son of a poor Muslim family in Senegal: Two childhood sweethearts forced to share their love in secret. Their marriage shocks and dismays both sets of parents, but it soon becomes clear that their youthful optimism and love is a poor defense against the pressures of society. [...]
Restless Nation is William Gumede’s (author of Thabo Mbeki and the Battle for the Soul of the ANC) collection of opinion pieces on the political landscape of South Africa. With all the controversy surrounding the ongoing strike at Lonmin’s Marikana Mine, questions of the country’s leadership and what this all means for South Africa’s future; [...]
The House of Hunger is Dambudzo Marechera’s most popular work. The book was published in 1978 and won the British newspaper, The Guardian’s Fiction Prize in that same year. House of Hunger is a collection of nine short stories that focus on township life in Zimbabwe(then Rhodesia) under the rule of Ian Smith. Marechera [...]
The Caine Prize for African Writing is one of the most prestigious literary awards for African authors. It is named after the late Sir Michael Caine who intended that the award be, ”open to writers from anywhere in Africa for work published in English. Its focus is on the short story, as reflecting the contemporary development of the [...]
Nigerian author, Ben Okri published The Famished Road in 1991. Synopsis The narrator, Azaro, is an abiku, a spirit child, who in the Yoruba tradition of Nigeria exists between life and death. The life he foresees for himself and the tale he tells is full of sadness and tragedy, but inexplicably he is born with a [...]