7 of my favourite books about Africa

By Roxanne Reid
Over the Christmas break I've been doing some reading and re-reading of old favourites. Some of you might still be on holiday for another few days. Whether you're lazing on the beach, hiking in the mountains or even chilling at home, you're bound to have more time to read. So I've chosen 7 of my favourite books about Africa to share with you.

From Zimbabwe, Zambia, Kenya and Ethiopia to Nigeria, the DRC and Liberia, these 7 books range from novels to memoirs, but they all have one thing in common; they're well written and held my attention from the first to the last page.

Non-fiction

When a Crocodile Eats the Sun: A Memoir of Africa

​Brought up in Zimbabwe, Godwin discovers a 50-year-old family secret that changes everything he thought he knew about his dad. Godwin writes superbly, weaving reportage and personal stories together into a book that's by far one of the best to come out of the conflict that is Zimbabwe.
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The Flame Trees of Thika: Memories of an African Childhood

A delightful book about a young girl growing up in the Kenya bush in the early 20th century. Full of her adventures, some of them with the local Kikuyu people, it will appeal to anyone who loves the harshness and beauty of East Africa.
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The Africa House

​​Who would have wanted to build a sprawling English country manor in the bush of Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia)? Stewart Gore-Brown, that's who. It's a fascinating story showing just how feudal, arrogant and frankly mad he could be, but it's also a story of love, dreams and sadness. The house, Shiwa Ngandu, still stands in northern Zambia and has been restored for use as a guest lodge.
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The House at Sugar Beach

​Journalist Helene Cooper grew up at Sugar Beach, a vast seaside mansion in Liberia. Her childhood was privileged and happy. When she was eight her parents took in a foster child, Eunice. Then came the military coup of 1980 and her family came under attack. Helene, her mother and sisters left for America, leaving Eunice behind. Some 20 years later Helene returns to find out what happened to her. It's a personal, honest memoir of tragedy and forgiveness, a search for a lost African childhood.

Fiction

Cutting for Stone

​Twin brothers come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution. Their Indian mother has died and the British surgeon father has disappeared. The book moves from Addis Ababa to New York as it follows the story of the two brothers, their love and betrayal and the small miracles of medicine. Beautifully written in a way that will keep you reading to unravel the story.
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Half of a Yellow Sun

​I'm a huge Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie fan. But when I saw that this novel was set against a background of Biafra's struggle to establish an independent republic in Nigeria in the 1960s, I thought it would be heavy and depressing. But Adichie's characters are wonderful, her writing beautiful and her powers of story-telling so good that I got swept up and couldn't put it down. Through twin sisters, you'll feel the hope and disappointment of the Biafran war.
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The Poisonwood Bible

​This novel follows the family of a Baptist missionary to the Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of Congo/DRC) at the time of its fight for independence from Belgium. Nothing they know seems relevant or helpful in Africa. It's narrated by the missionary's wife and four daughters, giving insight into their preconceptions and adaptations, many of which can be darkly amusing. Despite the characters' failures, the novel does point to the possibility of hope.

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