5 Books By African Authors You Should Read

If you have seen any of my reviews, you would know that I have been reading more African books lately. No, I am not being racist, I am only taking interest in books I can relate with.

I was raised in Africa but I was raised on the classics; heartsong romances, the mills and boons, the Sidney Sheldon novels, the John Grishams, the Stephen Kings, the J.D Robb or Nora Roberts, Bronte sisters and so much more.

While those were great books, they were set in locations I wasn’t familiar with and could hardly relate to. This was because there were very few African writers writing about Africa.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved the few African Literature that I could get my hands on. Some of them were books by icons like Wole Soyinka and Femi Osofisan who wrote ‘Women of Owu’ which has been described as an adaptation of the trojan war.

As I grew, I wanted more books that I could relate to so I understand and support black fairy tale characters. Then came Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie into my life with books like ‘Purple Hibiscus, Half of a Yellow Sun, Americanah’

Anyway, that’s not why we are here, we are here to discuss 5 African books I totally enjoyed reading and writing reviews about

This one is one of my favorite books of all time. Aiwanose Odafen finished work on this book, I could almost see her dropping the mic after the last word has been typed and the entire manuscript sent to her editor and publisher.

This book will have you in your feelings, I cried when the women cried and I got upset every time a victim was blamed for her abuser’s actions. I also got angry at some of the female characters when they made bad decisions.

This book will have you questioning your marriage or relationships and if you weren’t already team marriage, ‘Tomorrow I become a Woman’ will have you wondering what exactly the reward of being a good woman is if it’s not a good husband and marriage. I already have the review on my profile.

This book will make you laugh at some characters while you empathize with others. They are like your Twitter relationship stories come to life.

‘Nearly all the men in Lagos are mad’ is that book that makes you feel that you are merely gisting with your besties like your bestie is telling you about that friend who knows a friend who recently got served ‘breakfast’ in their relationship and before you know it, the gossip has gone in so many directions.

‘His Only Wife’ is a book about a young bride who discovers that she’s the other woman soon after her marriage. Of course, there’s a lot of suspense before she does that.

One day, she’s languishing in her husband’s wealth and her growing wealth, and then she arrives at a stranger’s door and realizes she wasn’t his wife all along but the woman his family chose for him because they didn’t like the woman he chose for himself.

The book exposes a couple of red flags every lover should watch out for. This book will have you questioning all you have been told about that estranged family member, all you have been told makes a good woman or wife, and fighting for a fictional character.

While the book is akin to ‘Tomorrow I become a Woman’; it provides the reader fresh perspective on marriage and marital issues.

‘The Smart Money Woman’ by Arese Ugwu is a book that teaches finance without boring you with its Jargon. I would say that this book should be every girl, woman, and lady’s guide to financial freedom. The author uses everyday lifestyle to teach how you can achieve financial freedom without starving yourself.

The review is also available on my profile.

This one shook me, the book is as colorful as its title and book cover. Bolu Babalola took every single historical story, legend, or even folktale I thought I knew and retold it in such a beautiful way that most chapters left me wishing it didn’t end.

I said most chapters because some chapters didn’t really do justice to the story they were trying to tell but yes, the book is very enjoyable.

The first chapter was phenomenal and I have never heard the story of Osun and Sango told in that way. Bolu Babalola took me on a ride into the past and I almost felt like I was watching history being made.

These books have everything from street food to famous hangout locations that would make you homesick, to norms and traditions. They are the kinds of books you wish you grew up reading.

Reviews amongst other articles are available on my profile; https://medium.com/me/stories/public