Reading literature from the farthest reaches of the West is always an adventure full of obstacles, but one that is well worth it. The big publishers bombard the reader with proposals, mostly from European or American authors, giants in sales and in making people believe that the West is the center of the world. However, a group of irreducible publishers, mostly small and independent, strive to offer their audience different voices and realities from other continents. Not an easy task, because the sales and advertising channels are being taken over by very powerful publishing groups. Nevertheless, they manage to make their proposals accessible to a limited audience via alternative media. These other literatures have the virtue of opening the minds of those who delve into the pages of their books to other realities and points of view. And they invite you to dream, to travel and to meet people facing similar problems in other parts of the world, with answers not very different from those the reader would give.
Here are nine novels by African-born writers and eight essays to help better understand some countries or issues of this vast continent. An opportunity to open your mind and heart and be questioned by the hundreds of voices that transcend the boundaries that constrict the dominant culture.
novels
The Secret Lives of Baba Segi Women, by Lola Shoneyin (Books of Bad Companies, 2022). In this novel, the Nigerian writer and cultural promoter argues against patriarchy and machismo through the life of a polygamous family. With a lot of irony and a wealth of detail, it describes the everyday life of Baba Segi’s four wives and their children. At the same time, it justifies women’s education as the only way out of the fate to which society and tradition subject them.
The big publishers bombard the reader with proposals, mostly from European or American authors, giants in sales and in making people believe that the West is the center of the world.
Our Enchanted Abyss, by Yamen Manai (Txalaparta, 2023; Translated from French by Sandra Buenaventura). A 15-year-old boy, a victim of family and social violence, and his dog serve as an excuse for the author to immerse himself in contemporary Tunisia. A country characterized by structural violence, hierarchy and corruption, where young people are crowded into neighborhoods. The authorities are demanding that the animal be sacrificed to keep the anger from spreading and the discontent of the youth deep down inside not turning against them.
What Killed Young Abdoulaye Cissé?, by Donato Ndongo (Ediciones Sequitur, 2023). After a few years of silence, a new novel by the Equatorial Guinean writer whose legacy is preserved in the Caja de las Letras of the Cervantes Institute is published. In this novel, Ndongo returns to the subject of migration and racism in Spain. A young Malian man fleeing the crisis in his country to continue his studies cannot achieve his dream. Then he decides to return, but for this he needs a job that will allow him to earn some money. As he walks through downtown Madrid to an employment office, he collapses. what killed him
The Maquis, by Hemley Boum (Baile del Sol / Casa África, 2022. French translation by Pilar Altinier). A historical novel narrating the involvement of the Bassa people in the struggle for Cameroon’s independence. And the settlers’ efforts to continue to control the country through puppet governments. Multiple characters, some real and some fictional, lead to a plot full of intrigue, sacrifice, love and soap-opera touches that challenges the official story, both that of the colonizers and that of the leaders who, after the march, die power takeovers from these
Neighbors, by Lília Momplé (Books of Bad Company, 2022. Translated from Portuguese by Alejandro de los Santos Pérez). The title of this work can cause confusion as it is written in English, but that is not the case, there is an excellent translation into Spanish. Momplé tells a long night in May about the life of four women in a neighborhood of Maputo and some assassins from abroad. In the background the Cold War, apartheid and the dirty tricks so that the newly independent African countries cannot go their own way. A true story with touches of a thriller that keeps the suspense up to the last moment.
The Promise, by Damon Galgut (Asteroid Books, 2022. English translation by Celia Filipetto). The South African author never disappoints. Also in this novel, which features four funerals, is the story of a white family, the Swarts, living on the outskirts of Pretoria. By a promise to the black servant. The narration, as if it were a movie camera, gives voice to the various members of the saga while also recounting the events of recent South African history.
Watch us dance, by Leila Slimani (Cabaret Voltaire 2023. French translation by Malika Embarek López). Amin is proud that he has worked hard to become a member of the new Moroccan bourgeoisie. His wife Mathilde, on the other hand, believes that he wasted the best years of his life taking care of the house and children after the war. Under this pretext, Slimani delves into the early years of an independent Morocco, searching for its own identity between tradition and the mirage of western modernity.
The Winter of the Goldfinches, by Mohamed El Morabet (Galaxia Gutenberg, 2022). The gaze of an innocent child, known only to Al Hoceima, describes everyday life in his city and the lives of its people. He later moved to Tetouan to study and met Olga there. It’s the other look of the book, that of the woman leaving Madrid behind and wanting to make a new home in North Africa. Two overlapping ways of seeing and understanding the world. A novel full of sensations, smells and colors.
The Fox’s Footprint, by Moussa Konaté (Books of Bad Companies, 2023. Translated from French by Alejandro de los Santos Pérez). Noir novel at its finest. Commissioner Habib and his assistant Sosso are forced to leave the comforts of Bamako and move to Dogon country, where a number of bodies have turned up. The Dogon are known for living out of state and for the strength of their magic. In the background, the eternal question of how to integrate tradition and modernity.
Essays
The moon is in Duala and my destiny is in knowledge, by Sani Ladan (Plaza y Janés, 2023). A book that does not stop at the migration process of the young Cameroonian who leaves his hometown and his family to study. If not, it deals with the personal and spiritual development of the author. And that describes the awareness that has made him one of the leading figures in the fight against racism and in defense of migrants in Spain.
Don’t touch my hair. Origin and History of Afro Hair, by Emma Dabiri (Captain Swing, 2023. English translation by Esther Cruz Sataella). Black hair is never hair. The author explores how Afro hair can be viewed as a model of decolonization. A journey from pre-colonial Africa to the present day, through the various movements that have claimed black power.
South of Tangier. A journey into the cultures of Morocco, by Gonzalo Fernández Parrilla (La Línea del Horizonte, 2022). Spaniards can only see Morocco through the clichés and prejudices that have been cultivated for generations. But Fernández Parrilla shows the cultural and social richness of the Alaouite kingdom. Essay, memory and fiction are discussed in this book in order to offer the reader numerous viewpoints that will help him to better explore and get to know the neighboring country.
Seasons, by Tarek Eltayed (Oriental and Mediterranean Editions, 2022). A very original autobiography that immerses the reader in the Cairo of the author’s childhood and adolescence: its neighborhoods, its people, its dreams and the discovery of reading. And then, in exile, how important it is not to lose your roots.
The Last Days of Wild Africa, by Amador Guallar (Editorial Diëresis, 2023). Africa’s wildlife is disappearing rapidly as a result of human activity and climate change. Guallar, journalist, photographer and author, travels to the most remote corners of the continent to tell from the ground what is happening to endangered animals.
The Armed Groups of the Sahel, by Beatriz Mesa (Catarata / Casa África, 2022). It is possible to analyze such a complex topic and make it interesting for the reader. In this work, Mesa examines what is happening in the Sahel and how the armed groups operating there are driven not so much by political or religious ideologies as by a desire to control the criminal economy (drug trafficking, human trafficking, smuggling). .) . Money keeps moving the world.
History of Ethiopia, by Mario Lozano Alonso (Waterfall / Casa África, 2022). Centuries of history brilliantly summarized in just a few pages. A work full of surprises that introduces the reader to a very unknown country and debunks many of the myths that reign over African nations.
History of Somalia, by Pablo Arconada Ledesma (Waterfall / Casa África, 2023). All we know about Somalia is that it has been at war for years. But this country has a rich history. Arconada covers history from prehistory to the present, providing the keys to understanding why the current conflict arose.
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