Color, color, which color do you choose?

After George Floyd, the world has once again been jolted into inquiring the concept of racism. Race, what I believed, simply from observing the word, is the wider gene pool a person belongs to and the part of world it originated from. A mere historical fact. Is it a point of difference, as we have been taught and have inadvertently practiced? Is it a meter of rank? I thought not, but then honest probing revealed that even I have been a contributor, a perpetrator and a receiver of racism. Although, I disassociate myself completely from this inhumanity yet these are deep ingrained concepts that in the most truthful and vulnerable moments expose us. Being a colored South Asian, I am just a few shades different than George Floyd then why did I ever presume to treat and be treated differently? I realized my own biased treatment, while curating this blog into clever little categories and self-important genres, I realized that I had no categories for African novels, I had no African authored books (save Adichie's Half of a yellow sun) to boast about, I had not even given a thought to the entire continent that is Africa. Why? I'm sure that their literature and books are widely read and recognized, yet this was a small wake up call for me, that I so claim to be a reader and had woefully forgone an entire race.

In my own mini attempt to abhor racism, I have compiled a list of books that I will, for my foray into the African world, read.

10 books I will read as soon as I finish writing this blog!

1. Things Fall Apart (1958)

by Chinua Achebe

The story of Nigeria in colonial times told through the life of Okonkwa - an Igbo wrestler. A subject that resonates close home, as being Indian we have also had our share of colonialism. Though published in 1958 the book has remained relevant till date and tops all the suggestion lists I found, thus being the no.1 on my list too.

2. Season of Crimson Blossoms

by Abubakar Adam Ibrahim

Romance is universal and its appeal is so that even differences of language matter not. Just learning that this is a romantic book was enough to get me on board. How different or how surprisingly similar will the culture of love be in Nigeria to India?

3. A Grain of Wheat

by Ngugi wa Thiong’o

The entire novel spans the 10 days before Kenya got its independence in 1963. The story focuses on the impact of political changes on the locals of Kenyan society. Narrated using Mugo - a hermit as the vessel, the story is a touching artistry about what happens to the ordinary people while leaders and rulers wield their power.

4. The Famished Road

by Ben Okri

A tale that is juxtaposed between human and spirit world, through the cycle of birth-death-rebirth. A tale of one's choice, of the world one belongs to and the world one chooses. A tale of depravity and a tale of magic. A plot as curious as this was sure to grab eyeballs and its certainly got my vote!

5. The Woman Next Door

by Yewande Omotoso

Have you ever been at loggerheads with someone all your life? Someone who was a constant pain and for whom you were equally detestable? Meet Hortensia and Marion, two South Africans who've been neighbors in Cape Town forever. Yet even at the forgiving age of 80, they still can't wait to be well shot of the other, until the unthinkable happens which may force them to rethink their relationship. How? Well, even I can't wait to find that out, might as well place the order for my copy!

6. The Wormwood Trilogy

by Tade Thompson

Trilogies, sequels and parts, oh I love stories that seem to go on forever, because every time I'm about to finish a book I can't help being sad that it's going to end. Anyway, the plot of this trilogy is so riveting that it seems to include everything that a fantasy fiction could have - sci-fi, aliens, human extinction and an unstable government. What more would you want!

7. A General Theory of Oblivion

by Jose Eduardo Agualusa

Angola got its independence in 1975. And while the nation became unbound, Ludovica a Portuguese expatriate shut herself inside her apartment fearing for her life in the free Angola. She ends up living alone, locked up for the next 30 years as Angola descends into civil war. The story is rife with history and adventure and is a must read, especially in these times. Ludovica's 30 year isolation would surely put our 4 months suffering into perspective.

8. The old drift

by Namwali Serpell

A saga of 3 Zambian families spanning across 3 generations. A saga of love and greed and betrayal. A saga of business and politics and power. A 563 page novel spanning decades from Zambia's independence to the present and future. I've always been a fan of family driven drama plots that enfold from one generation to the other, takes me back to fond memories of Ken Follet's renditions that were almost always of similar nature. Well, this time we are going to embark on a Zambian adventure!

9. Harvest of skulls

by Abdourahman A. Waberi

Perhaps the most common knowledge that everyone has about Africa is of the Rwandan genocide. A bloody affair that consumed the lives of a million people. This book was written in the immediate aftermath of the event in 1994. Waberi chronicles the genocide and also covers the tempestuousness that threatened to overwhelm the African continent in those years.

10. Tram 83

by Fiston Mwanza Mujila

Sardonic and sarcastic with dry humor, the book is a huge attempt at showcasing all the institutions that have failed humanity. The never ending stratification and classification that has deluded us into being hollow impersonations of humans. This one might challenge us to re-think what we know about the society and the world.

Those were my picks of the first 10 novels that I would explore from Africa, and I'm sure that there are hundreds more that are as brilliant or even better. By the time, I finish devouring these I will be slightly more educated and aware of where next to head in Africa. Until then, as our dear brothers and sisters in Swahili would say goodbye, Kwaheri!