Basma Abdel Aziz is a force to be reckoned with, and I have to admit to being more interested in her author bio than the start of this book. But if shBasma Abdel Aziz is a force to be reckoned with, and I have to admit to being more interested in her author bio than the start of this book. But if she had not written the futility of the world she created (or reflected, really) it would not have been as effective. Everyone is in a queue, they think, to get the forms to prove they are good citizens. Only good citizens can work, rent properties, own land, and be considered for bullet removal (which is illegal.) There are tastes of 1984 and many other dystopian influences here but it's a quick read with one awful and memorable scene. And an ending that will get you thinking....more
Another reason is that Safia is Sudanese-American, so her background and themes fit nicely with my Africa 2016 reading project. She says herself that she is from nowhere, or at least that must be how it feels.
Highlights:
asmarani makes prayer "...a border-shaped wound will be licked clean...."
vocabulary (this one must be seen because it combines Arabic words with English.. for now listen to her read it)
Another poem, untitled, is in the video above. When she performs them, she threads them together like a larger story, which is amazing. There is a series of poems about her mother in a former version of Sudan, beautiful. "did our mothers invent loneliness or did it make them our mothers were we fathered by silence or just looking to explain away this quiet..."
to make use of water (another one to hear, a slightly different version is here)
Powerful, moving, personal... this is what I always want poetry to be.
(Thanks to the publisher for granting me early access via NetGalley)...more
This set contains nine chapbooks with beautiful cover art on each one. The poets are Yasmin Belkhyr (Moroccan-born, NYC-raised), Victoria Adukwei BullThis set contains nine chapbooks with beautiful cover art on each one. The poets are Yasmin Belkhyr (Moroccan-born, NYC-raised), Victoria Adukwei Bulley (British-born Ghanaian), Mary-Alice Daniel (Nigerian-born, London/Nashville-raised), Chekwube O. Danladi (Nigerian born and raised but also Baltimore and DC), Lena Bezawork Grönlund (born in Ethiopia, adopted in Sweden), Ashley Makue (South African), Momtaza Mehri (parents are Eritrean/Somalian/Yemeni, she lives in London), Famia Nkansa (Ghanaian), Ejiofor Ugwu (Nigerian), and Chimwemwe Undi (southern African - South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia; now living in Manitoba, Canada). I mention their cultural backgrounds because so many have either left Africa as children, have lived in Africa and elsewhere, or are born to African parents elsewhere. Consequently, the issues of home and belonging surface as themes in these chapbooks. The editors Kwame Dawes and Chris Abani have made a great effort not only to collect poets from an upcoming generation, but I was also impressed that the number of female poets outnumbered the male.
Some of my highlights:
from Yasmin Belkhyr Eid Al-Adha "...When I speak of bodies, I mean: I'm afraid of mine. When I speak of bodies, I mean: I wonder what yours is capable of...."
Menara Gardens
Our Mothers Fed Us Well "...Even here, she does not fit. Even here, she is a stranger...."
from Victoria Adukwei Bulley Girl "Your dozy tongue, stacking it over words you really should know how to pronounce by now...."
Luna "...she'll forget what she heard about God and her body; seeing what difference is left, knowing how books have burned over both...."
Girls in Arpeggio "...For these girls it was a violent act...."
from Chekwube O. Danladi Arpeggio
Communion
A BA A
from Ashley Makue peace offering "i have decided that love may no longer summon me to war...."
from Ejiofor Ugwu The Plague "...There is life in our dust."
Listing "...There is too much to say for this mouth built for praying. There are too many names to unhear so I don't have to remember...."
Mzungu "...I wish I did not crave your flood of fluorescence...."
Thanks to the publisher for giving me early access to this collection through Edelweiss. I really wanted to read it during my year of reading Africa. Keep up the good work!...more
Abie returns home from England to West Africa to visit her family after years of civil war, and to reclaim the family plantation, Kholifa Estates, forAbie returns home from England to West Africa to visit her family after years of civil war, and to reclaim the family plantation, Kholifa Estates, formerly owned by her grandfather. There to meet her are her aunts: Asana, Mariama, Hawa, and Serah, and so begins her gathering of the family and the country’s history through the tales of her aunts.
If you read the description above, you will understand how this is a "fixup" novel - a grouping of stories from the point of various aunts. They fit together nicely and present different time periods and different perspectives of one family in Sierra Leone, but always from the female perspective in a society where women are traded as commodities. It showed strength and community and I really enjoyed it. ...more
This book is in the public domain and can be found online for free, but I read it through Hoopla. This is the first known memoir of an Arab woman, andThis book is in the public domain and can be found online for free, but I read it through Hoopla. This is the first known memoir of an Arab woman, and she is the daughter of the Sultan of Omar and Zanzibar. This is a peek into harem life, wealthy life, Muslim life but also the contrast between the "east" (as she calls it) and "European" customs because the author marries a German, converts to Christianity, and moves there. Fascinating!...more
This was a difficult book to read! It is bit stream-of-consciousness from a man who is supposed to be recording about his life in a journal but is busThis was a difficult book to read! It is bit stream-of-consciousness from a man who is supposed to be recording about his life in a journal but is busier drinking. It was originally on my Africa 2016 reading list because otherwise, the only book I've read set in the Congo is the typical Heart of Darkness. This book is the opposite of a colonial novel. The technology, the society, the politics, are all post-colonial, 21st century Africa, and for that reason I was glad to dip into it, even if I was a bit ungrounded most of the time. ...more
All the stories in this volume come from the entries to the "Short Story Day Africa" project’s annual short story competition from last year. All are All the stories in this volume come from the entries to the "Short Story Day Africa" project’s annual short story competition from last year. All are directly or tangentially related to the theme of water, and that spans from water shortages to water symbolism. Many of the authors are South African but others come from Botswana, Malawi, Swaziland, Rwanda, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and Kenya.
I was interested to read the stories that had mermaid folklore as a basis. I think of mermaids as being very northern creatures, so to see them alongside Yemaya was entertaining. Mermaids seem to have a connection to disappearing women, witchcraft, and anti-religious leanings.
Speaking of religion, it was interesting to see the various portrayal of religion in the stories, especially since most were set in a future Africa struggling with greater water issues. Some see the future as post-religion, where traditional Muslim or Christian ways are abandoned for secular life. Some see the threat of evangelical government outlawing hybrid people/hyenas. So there is really quite a collection here, well representing some of the diversity in 21st century African short fiction.
Thanks to the publisher for a review copy, although this came out earlier in 2016 and may be read now. It fit well inside my original goal of reading more from Africa in 2016....more
I read a more recent novel by this author earlier this year, A General Theory of Oblivion. Both novels are set after the 1975 revolution in Angola, whI read a more recent novel by this author earlier this year, A General Theory of Oblivion. Both novels are set after the 1975 revolution in Angola, where the Portuguese felt a shift in power and empire. A General Theory of Oblivion focuses on a woman who walls herself up in her apartment for decades and experiences the conflict through what she hears and in how her food stores disappear; Chameleons tells the story of Felix Ventura, a man who helps people construct new backstories through fake lineages. The story is told by a former librarian who is reincarnated as a gecko. (Read that sentence again.)
The chapters are short. They alternate between characters coming in for a new skin and dreams the gecko is having. Felix starts to share dreams with the gecko. The violence happens between the events of the novel, which is an interesting way for it to happen. The characters have strong bonds that he may not know himself. Very readable, kept me hooked, great cover.
I also think the translation deserves a mention because it is passages like this that kept me reading: "The two guests remained, seated opposite each other. Neither spoke. The silence that hung between them was full of murmurings, of shadows, of things that run along in the distance, in some remote time, dark and furtive."...more
After seeing the author read from what will be Akata Witch #2, I realized I had overlooked a book I should seek out. Akata Witch soon pulled itself ahAfter seeing the author read from what will be Akata Witch #2, I realized I had overlooked a book I should seek out. Akata Witch soon pulled itself ahead of the other books in my tbr pile.
If you like books about magic, particularly teens finding out they have special abilities, learning to use them, and building a community with others like them, this is the book for you. Added to those well-loved tropes is a new landscape with new traditions and rules. Setting it in Nigeria, with Igbo people but also Efik, allows for new magic, new histories, and more possibilities.
I loved the character of Sunny, who starts out as an outsider for two reasons - she is albino, and while this is a noticeable character trait it also prevents her from social activities like football; she also was born in America and lived there most of her childhood. That is where the word "akata" comes from, it is a word that means something very negative. Apparently the Nigerian edition of the novel had to have a different title!...more
This was a quick, enjoyable read, set in the Senegal of the 1970s. Post-colonial, funny, a man marrying his third wife but then when he can't perform,This was a quick, enjoyable read, set in the Senegal of the 1970s. Post-colonial, funny, a man marrying his third wife but then when he can't perform, the entire community is there to offer an opinion or (less often) to help him undo the curse (the xala). It was interesting to see some concepts of Islam applied (the "I get up to four wives" idea) next to weddings where everyone gets drunk. His daughter rejects polygamy despite being Muslim, she is clearly a "modern" woman and is reprimanded accordingly.
As far as my African reading project goes, this was a good choice because it is a native author. It is translated from the French. ...more
I only read this book because it is set on Reunion Island off the east coast of Madagascar, wanting to read as many books set as many places in AfricaI only read this book because it is set on Reunion Island off the east coast of Madagascar, wanting to read as many books set as many places in Africa as I cross countries and occupied territories off of my list. Technically Reunion is part of France, but isn't anywhere near it.
I know of George Sand from her relationship with Chopin, but this is the first book I have read by her. It is the story of a "Creole" woman (the older version of the word, meaning anyone born in the islands, no matter their ethnicity. She marries a much older man, one who is commanding but she does not love. Most of the novel takes place around the July Revolution (1830) in France, events that lead to the loss of some of his financial stability. This along with her friend's death and her discovered love affair inspires him to move them back to Reunion. So half the novel takes place in gloomy France, and the second half takes place in Reunion.
The landscape of Reunion becomes important in the story (just do a Google image search for Bernica, so beautiful!) Indiana's cousin Sir Ralph helped raise her during her childhood on the island, has accompanied her to France when she gets married, and returns with them to the island. This becomes very important because while it is obvious to the reader, it is not obvious to Indiana that he has been pining for her.
The man she has the love affair with causes all sorts of dramatic problems (to be expected, considering the era), but it was frustrating that even with the death of her friend, she still feels entitled to this relationship.
Most of the dramatic moments in the book take place through angst-ridden letters or long declarative speeches. Not my favorite thing.
Also entwined in this novel is commentary on women and their place in society, how they have no control over their own lives, but Sand fights back a bit. In passages like this, Indiana reasserts the right to her personhood. Most of what I marked are versions of this sentiment:
"‘I know I’m the slave and you’re the lord. The law of the land has made you my master. You can tie up my body, bind my hands, control my actions. You have the right of the stronger, and society confirms you in it. But over my will, Monsieur, you have no power. God alone can bend and subdue it. So look for a law, a dungeon, an instrument of torture that gives you a hold over me! It’s as if you wanted to touch the air and grasp space.’"
And she does prove exactly how much will she has by following the direction of another man in the end. Yeah. Spoiler alert. ...more
I took stock of my reading goals at the end of June and felt I had not made sufficient progress on my African project! This book was one I had found fI took stock of my reading goals at the end of June and felt I had not made sufficient progress on my African project! This book was one I had found for Cape Verde and had to buy from the Kindle store. It is a memoir from a woman who moved there for two years to teach for the Peace Corps, as a newlywed.
The Cape Verde Islands are unique in that they had never been inhabited by Africans (that they know of) until the Portuguese colonized them in the 15th century. They were an essential port location for the slave trade. As a result, the Africans living there now are a mix of ethnic backgrounds, with the unifying language of Portuguese.
The archipelago is tiny, isolated, and intermittently volcanic. The handful of Peace Corps volunteers were equally isolated from one another; Eleanor and Paul attempted to live outside of the larger town and within the community, which almost ended their marriage. Eleanor writes of her struggles with an eating disorder at the same time, something which must have been difficult to address in such isolation.
Cape Verde has been an independent nation since 1975....more
I examined my 2016 reading goals mid-year and decided I needed to up my Africa reading game! This looked like a quick read of lake myths set largely iI examined my 2016 reading goals mid-year and decided I needed to up my Africa reading game! This looked like a quick read of lake myths set largely in Cameroon, but also Ghana and Lake Victoria (bordering three countries.) I learned a lot about basic African lake mythology like why you never throw anything into the water, and how you can't fish on Thursdays, and the lake's opinion on the leaders of the village, and the underwater village that comes out at night. Most of it was brand new and I loved looking up pictures of the people and lakes mentioned. I'm uncertain why each myth was preceded with a Bible verse because they seemed largely unrelated (and certainly would predate the Bible.) Also this is badly in need of editing - awkward extra commas and misspelled words increase once I got past the first myth or two. It is still worth a read. ...more
I selected this for my Africa 2016 reading project, but I had it listed under Zambia. Unfortunately for my project, it is almost entirely set in ZimbaI selected this for my Africa 2016 reading project, but I had it listed under Zambia. Unfortunately for my project, it is almost entirely set in Zimbabwe, right when Rhodesia is at the end of the civil war, when the author was a child. Near the end the family spends some time in Malawi and Zambia, but I'll have to add this to the pile of books I've already read from Zimbabwe/Rhodesia. (We Need New Names is probably the one I would recommend the most set in that country; followed by The Boy Next Door.)
I think there is a good reason I have been trying to find more authors writing novels or memoirs in Africa who are actually from Africa. Alexandra Fuller is not African or Rhodesian or Zimbabwean. In fact her mother is furious that the civil war did not go in her favor, and clings to this idea of "White Rhodesia." Throughout the book they refer to the Africans who are trying to take back their country as "terrorists." I kept balking at the word; terrorism doesn't seem to be quite accurate although surely war is filled with terror. Alexandra's parents are forced to move when their farm is given as a reward to allies of the new ruler, and that was definitely a time of stress.
I know there is a followup memoir, Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness, and I do think that would be interesting to read because I do like the voice of the child, but to really read about this region I will be looking for non-colonial voices (really needing recommendations for Zambia if you have any!) Another interesting element for me personally is that I grew up knowing missionaries to Zambia, and most white people I know who relocate to Africa are missionaries. The Fullers seem to be entrepreneurs so the culture of their family is there for quite a different purpose (the mother may just be there to drink.)...more
This is absolutely the hardest book I have ever read. Cockroaches is a memoir from Scholastique Mukasonga, author of the award-winning novel Our Lady This is absolutely the hardest book I have ever read. Cockroaches is a memoir from Scholastique Mukasonga, author of the award-winning novel Our Lady of the Nile. This book actually came first in French, but is being translated second into English.
I have a vague awareness of the Rwandan genocide. I am shamefully aware of my lack of knowledge. What I didn't know is how far back the persecution of the Tutsi people began.
Mukasonga's memoir starts with her birth, where families of Tutsi background are already being forcibly removed from their homes and relocated. But this was back in the 1950s and 1960s, not the 1990s. As the decades go by, the increased violence and fear gets worse and worse. She was able to escape Rwanda to Burundi, and then by some miracle ended up in France to continue her social work career in 1992. 27 of her family members were killed in the genocide centered in Nyamata, but of course they are only 27 of the as many as 800,000 killed just that year. But Mukasonga makes it clear that this was only the culminating event. People were being killed all along. Even more of them had their spirits, educations, and hopes killed for decades before. And when she returned back to Rwanda ten years after the massacre, the people remaining, the neighbors she remembers from her childhood were most definitely parties to the killing in some way. Because they live on the land. Because they survived. Her home and land were unrecognizable, and her family had been effectively erased from existence. How does a person face such a thing?
One of the important things this book does, and one of the reasons I think it is so important to read it - it takes the time to name the names. Not only her family but the people in her village. The friends she had, the neighbors she knew, all destroyed.
I've already recommended this book to a friend who teaches conflict literature. It seems like maybe if you can read this and understand how far back the intentional marginalization of the Tutsi goes, how institutionalized and government-sanctioned it became, perhaps then a parallel can be drawn to other situations in the world. Those that aren't there yet, but are headed there. History repeats. We need to be paying attention.
Thanks to the publisher for providing early access to this title via Edelweiss. This is slated to be available in October 2016....more
"Long walks in open spaces are like ujjayi breath for the mind. Human feet evolved to measure out steady steps on hot, dry, flat land, and the human b
"Long walks in open spaces are like ujjayi breath for the mind. Human feet evolved to measure out steady steps on hot, dry, flat land, and the human brain evolved to absorb boundless geology at the speed of three miles per hour. The sheer volume of lucid air fills the mind, the distant skyline paces of a spirit level of peace. The expanse around you unburdens the space within."
I finished this as part of the 24in48 readathon in July 2016. I actually thought I might take this back to the library unread because I had already read two non-fiction books from Mali but once I started reading this one I had to keep going. I think I was expecting it to be more dry, more of a journalistic account, but Badkhen winds in archeological facts about the region, history, her own story, and I was pulled in. Her dedication not only in spending an entire year with the Fulani but in learning the language and attempting to gain understanding of their lives through their perspectives would have made most anthropologists proud.
"'Is there a land without death, Anna Ba?' she said. 'We are used to leaving everything.'
To spend a lifetime walking away. To bid farewell over and over, all the time. To anchor your heart to the next campsite and then move on. To have your heart broken and reset like a bone."
I learned a lot about how Islam is practiced among the nomadic groups, as it has been practiced for centuries. Fulani men learn to recite the Koran before they ever have a chance to read or learn Arabic (and understand what it is that it says.) They follow most of the traditions, including Ramadan, although there are some different interpretations on halal. In the year Badkhen traveled with the Fulani, Ramadan coincided with the start of rainy season and the impetus for a major relocation.
"We broke fast with boiri and dates and millet toh, our first meal in seventeen hours. We drank tea and river water and more tea. Cicadas drowned out thunder. After dinner Hassan took the cattle out to pasture. The storm crashed into the camp all at once. The air filled suddenly with thick dust an dafter a few beats a tremendous squall spun into the plateau...."
It was interesting to see the Fulani family unit portrayed in the juxtaposition between commercial goods (pop culture t-shirts, canned food, plastic) and traditional ways (still moving between areas with their cattle), traditional threats (flood, famine, other groups like the Bwa) vs. modern day (ISIS, Al Qaeda, etc.) As I know from the previous two books about Mali, some of the outlying areas along the Niger river have served as training grounds for terrorist groups, making the nomadic life more dangerous than it previously was. Because some terrorists have masqueraded as nomads, the Fulani have had to carry identification that ties them to a specific country, which isn't how they see themselves.
"If you are a Fulani you travel with your cows, with your family. Not all by yourself. The Fulani are always moving. But the movement is never arbitrary."
I also like the writing in this book. I feel Badkhen is able to describe how the Savanna feels, not just the facts. This is the major element that kept me reading. I also added ten books to my to-read list based on writings she mentions in passing. Clearly the book is well researched but it does not read as academic. Her connections to the people she traveled with is clear, and I can only imagine that it was difficult to leave. There are drawings throughout the book by the author; I would have loved to also see some photography of this rich landscape and the people in it....more
Jenny (Reading Envy)
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