Reading Through West Africa

Benin (Republic of Benin)

Biafra (now a part of Nigeria)
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
Sunset in Biafra by Elechi Amadi.

Burkina Faso

Cape Verde (Republic of Cape Verde

Côte d’Ivoire (Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, Ivory Coast)

Gambia (Republic of The Gambia)

Ghana (Republic of Ghana)
The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born by Ayi Kwei Armah.
Changes by Ama Ata Aidoo. Reviewed by Amy at Amy Reads.
Harmattan Rain by Ayesha Harruna Attah.
Local Customs by Audrey Thomas, reviewed at Book Trails.
Measuring Time by Helon Habila. Reviewed at BookShy: An African BookLover.
Powder Necklace by Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond. Reviewed by Amy at Amy Reads.
The Prophet of Zongo Street by Mohammed Nassehu Ali. Reviewed by Amy at Amy Reads.
Wife of the Gods: An Inspector Dawson Darko Mystery by Kwei Quartey. Semicolon review.

Guinea (Republic of Guinea)
Dark Child by Camara Laye.
The Radiance of the King by Camara Laye.

Guinea-Bissau (Republic of Guinea-Bissau)

Liberia (Republic of Liberia)
Mamba Point by Kurtis Scaletta. Reviewed by Katy at BooksYALove.
And Still Peace Did Not Come: A Memoir of Reconciliation by Agnes Kamara-Umunna and Emily Holland.
This Child Will Be Great: Memoir of a Remarkable Life by Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.

Nigeria (Federal Republic of Nigeria)
Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor.
Amadi’s Snowman by Katia Novet Saint-lot, illustrated by Dimitria Tokunbo. Recommended at The Well Read Child.
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Semicolon review.
Arrow of God by Chinua Achebe. Recommended by Krakovianka. Reviewed at Page Plucker.
Efuru by Flora Nwapa. Reviewed at Amy Reads.
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Recommended at Trish’s Reading Nook.
I Do Not Come to You by Chance by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani. Semicolon review. Reviewed at BookShy: An African BookLover.
The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta. Recommended at BrownGirl Speaks.
Little Bee by Chris Cleave. Recommended at Fresh Ink Books.
Many Thing You No Understand by Adaora Lily Ulasi. Recommended by Krakovianka.
No Laughter Here by Rita Williams-Garcia. Featured at Mitali Perkins’ blog.
The Orphan Girl and Other Stories: West African Folk Tales by Buchi Offodile.
The Other Side of Truth (HarperTrophy) by Beverly Naidoo. Featured at Mitali Perkins’ blog.
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Semicolon review. Recommended at Book Addiction. Reviewed at BookShy: An African BookLover. Featured at Mitali Perkins’ blog.
Say You’re One of Them by Uwem Akpan. Recommended at lotusreads.
The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives: A Novel by Lola Shoneyin. Reviewed by LazyGal.
The Spider King’s Daughter by Chibundi Onuzo.
The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Recommended at 1 More Chapter.
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. Thoughts from BookShy: An African Booklover.
Tiny Sunbirds Far Away by Christie Watson. Reviewed at BookShy: An African Booklover.
The Trouble With Nigeria by Chinua Achebe. Recommended at Amy Reads.
Waiting for an Angel by Helon Habila. Reviewed at BookShy: An African Booklover.
A Worthy Legacy by Tomi Akinyanmi. Recommended by Corinne at The Book Nest.
Helon Habila: the Five Best Books from Nigeria.
Amy Reads: Nigerian Literature Amy has written and continues to write quite a few reviews of books in the canon of Nigerian literature.

Senegal (Republic of Senegal)
Ambiguous Adventure by Cheikh Hamidou Kane. Reviewed by Donovan at Where Pen Meets Paper
Race to Dakar by Charlie Boorman. Recommended by kimbofo.
So Long a Letter by Miriama Ba.
A Senegalese Reading List at Wuthering Expectations.

Sierra Leone (Republic of Sierra Leone)
Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishamel Beah.
The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna. Recommended by Laura’s Musings. Also reviewed at ANZ LitLovers Lit Blog. Reviewed at BookShy: An African BookLover.
The Secret Keeper by Paul Harris. Semicolon review here.

Togo (Togolese Republic)
The Village Is Waiting by George Packer.

5 Comments

5 thoughts on “Reading Through West Africa

  1. If you want more Nigerian links, I link up all my Nigerian Lit Friday posts here: http://amckiereads.com/nigerian-literature-fridays/

    Also, Adura Ojo is a Nigerian blogger who blogs quite a bit of Nigerian lit as well. http://aduraojo.blogspot.com/

    Nana Fredua-Agyeman of [Image Nation] (http://freduagyeman.blogspot.com/), Geosi Reads (http://geosireads.wordpress.com/), and Kinna Reads (http://kinnareads.wordpress.com/) are all Ghanaian bloggers who blog a significant amount of general African literature.

  2. I’ve read your blog with keen interest and like the fact you are a christian and offer no apologies for that. It’s heartening to know and meet other Christian bloggers. I am a Ghanaian who blogs on books and literature and have a couple of reviews of African books on my blog including Changes by Ama Ata Aidoo. You could visit my blog for your perusal:
    http://readinpleasure.wordpress.com

  3. Pingback: 12 Projects for 2013 » Semicolon

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *