The year in books
As chosen by Jacqueline Nyathi, founder of Harare Review of Books and The Continent’s book reviewer.
Promises by Goretti Kyomuhendo
The dream of a settled middle-class life through the power of the almighty pound drives young people in former British colonies to the United Kingdom. The couple in this story may be fictitious, but their trajectory – from hope to despair, and then picking up the pieces again – is all too real.
Will This Be A Problem? The Anthology: Issue V, edited by Olivia Kidula and Somto Ihezue
This spectacular collection features speculative fiction from Kenya, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, South Africa, Lesotho, Malawi and Zimbabwe. In it you’ll find shifty markets, njuzu, tech, cosmic battles, alt-history, anti-capitalist rebellion and maybe even the reason why donkeys have 44 teeth.
Everything is Fine Here by Iryn Tushabe
Another book about African lives, which are so often a dance between the rural and urban. This great novel shows both these aspects. It’s a heartwarming coming-of-age story of two Ugandan sisters, with themes exploring queerness and the tensions of family – whether that’s one’s family of origin, or chosen family.
The Second Emancipation by Howard W French
French’s biography of Kwame Nkrumah evaluates the impact of Ghana’s first post-independence leader on Africa and the world and his claim to pan-Africanism. It demonstrates links from Africa to the diaspora and illuminates how events on the continent shaped and were shaped by world affairs. Keep reading us next year for a more substantive review.
Cursed Daughters by Oyinkan Braithwaite
A late-year surprise, Braithwaite’s wonderful tale of generations of women getting into trouble with men is a balance of the lighthearted and the serious. It’s a well-executed exploration of desire, love, loss, desperation, and the apparent power of self-fulfilling prophecies. A glorious work.
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Fantastic curation here. The way "Promises" captures that specific hope-to-dispair arc for folks chasing economic mobility abroad really gets at something deeper than just immigration narratives. I rememer a friend from Lagos who went through almost the exact same trajectory in Manchester, and seeing fiction map that so precisely makes me think we're finally getting past surface-level diaspora stories. What strikes me most is how the "picking up the peices" part often gets left out of these conversations when it's maybe the most important phase.