Readers' Top Ten - Casca Amanquah Hackman

I have known Casca on Facebook for sometime and I guess we became friends because after scanning his profile I saw we share a lot of things, a lot. He loves to read and to talk about them. Then we met at one of the monthly Writers Project of Ghana's book discussions for the first time.

About Casca Amanquah Hackman: Casca 'Comrade' Amanqua Hackman is a graduate of the Universtiy of Ghana, a former school teacher and past editor of the Golden World Magazine. His short stories and articles have been published in Daily Graphic and Mirror.

Below is Casca's top ten African books. Note that I have linked the titles and authors to posts within ImageNations, where available. My views and his might not be the same and so beware when reading and judging them.

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Yes, a good book is a good book, and it’s enjoyed anywhere; yet it's enjoyed better by persons who find the setting, characters and themes familiar. There are good books from Africa too. And so, as an African, reading African stories are most convenient to me, primarily because the environment, challenges and events are familiar, and so I find it easy to adopt the story as mine and also understand the messages naturally. 

There is a vast array of African books. I know that as I read more, the list is likely to change, but for now these are my top ten in no particular order. 

MATIGARI (Ngugi wa Thiong'o). I am fond of the main character of this book, Matigari ma Njiruungi. Personally, I share his conviction for justice and his abhorrence for oppression. It has a strong message for the capitalist system that has made indigenous people slaves in their own land. 

HEAD ABOVE WATER (Buchi Emecheta). Of course Buchi Emecheta has always written from her personal experiences and in this autobiography she delves deeper into her roots, to the extent of even going as far back as the period before she was born. From her native town of Ibuza, through her luck in getting admission at the Methodist High School, her marriage at sixteen and sojourn to England, she has chronicled her life in 33 beautiful chapters. I can only say her life has been a miracle.

DIPLOMATIC POUNDS AND OTHER STORIES (Ama Ata Aidoo). Released just last year, this book contains twelve thoughtful short stories.  Women are at the center as usual. It’s a blend of the success, challenges and expectations, whether reasonable or not, that stare at women both home and abroad.

NO LONGER AT EASE (Chinua Achebe). Obi Okonkwo, the grandson of the famous Okonkwo of Things Fall Apart, is not able to escape the trap that Africans who had returned from studying abroad in pre-independence Nigeria had set for themselves. The economic and social expectations that welcomed him back home to Nigeria from studying in England, corrupts him against his own stance on morality. Although, it lives under the shadow of Things Fall Apart, its prophetic occurrence is not invisible.

MY FIRST COUP D'ETAT (John Dramani Mahama). It’s great to have political leaders writing their stories. Objectively, it helps the follower to know who their leader is and better assess his actions and ideas. Eighteen compelling chapters under different titles make this fine book. Mahama takes us through a tough and unforgettable journey from Damongo through Accra, Tamale, Nigeria and Russia. It’s an autobiography with very serious historical, social and political information that has either been hidden or misquoted all this while.

NEIGHBOURS (Lilia Momple). Have I heard any good thing about apartheid? This sad account of innocent people caught up in a bloody conspiracy they have nothing to do with adds up to all the evil of apartheid. In a quest to destabilize Mozambique, where ANC exiles were operating from, the South African government launches vicious campaigns, and peaceful people like Narguiss are caught up in the conspiracy they have nothing to do with. It’s an emotional story with a straight lesson; the fact that you don’t want trouble doesn't mean trouble wouldn't come your way.

THE THING AROUND YOUR NECK (Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie). Twelve nice short stories set in both Nigeria and USA, in which the complexities of love, career and many others are exposed to unexpected minds. The messages are straight and binding.

SO LONG A LETTER (Mariama Ba). It’s the most moving and emotional book I have read. This book can be placed alongside Buchi Emecheta’s Head Above Water, because of its candidness and emotional evocations. The style is skillful and the language is like music to the mind.

THE MEMORY OF LOVE (Aminatta Forna). Even in times of war and quagmire, people always fall in love. The difficult decisions to make and the complications in such situations are strongly highlighted by Aminatta in this lengthy novel. The style is subtle yet the theme is terse.

GATHERING SEAWEED (Jack Mapanje). All what we need to know about African freedom fighters are in this book. Even knowing the personal account of people like Kwame Nkrumah, Nelson Mandela, Ngugi wa Thiongo and many others is gratifying enough. In this collection, we have deeper insight into the challenges of fighting to free natives and lands from oppression and foreign rule.   

Readers' Top Ten - Amma Konadu

About Hannah Amma Konadu Anarfi: Amma Konadu is blogger - at Amma K's Outlet - and a final year student at the Department of English at the University of Ghana, focusing on advanced creative writing and African/African-American literature. She is the current president of the department and a founding member of the Creative Writers' Club (CWC). She prefers to describe herself as a developing writer and poet.

Below is Amma's Top Ten. Note that I have linked the titles and authors to posts within ImageNations, where available. My views and hers might not be the same and so beware when reading them.

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I’m almost ashamed to say, I have read more books from foreign writers than from African writers. But thankfully I have read enough to list my top ten. I must thank Writers’ Project of Ghana for introducing me to amazing reads. School has also helped. Alright so here goes...

Purple Hibiscus – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

It is my number one, because my, oh my! I have read that book about 4 times now and you should see it now…with notes made on almost each page! I love, love, love the read, the characters (God knows I fell in love with Father Amadi) and the emotions it triggered in me. I was angry at a point, frustrated at a point, sad, I wanted to kill Eugene with my bare hands, I tell you! Simply beautiful!

Diaries of a Dead African – Chuma Nwokolo

Let me first start by laughing out loud! I rise and salute this man for his witty humour! It blew me away. The richness of the book in terms of language…it is a sad story he tells. But he does so in a much laid back way, you just take the story in cool. I loved the second diary best and that particular character too. He was fiery enough for my liking. It was sad that he died too. 

The Ghost of Sani Abacha – Chuma Nwokolo

It’s him again, yes. I loved this one too. Again for the humour and particularly because he raised very important issues that we see in the present. I still remember this part, to paraphrase..

If I had grown a beard and bleated through my campaign speech, I would still have won the election because I was in the ruling party.

You can’t help but laugh at the raw truth. Just candid and I love it!

As the Crow Flies – Veronique Tadjo

This I know a lot of my peers will not agree with me when I say it’s a good read, because I have shared the book with a few of my friends and they couldn't even finish it. They were not getting the story. But I remember what one of my professors told me in a criticism class. He said; "The story, can sometimes start right from its front cover". And this book is one of such. The art on the cover page is in itself a story, before you even begin to read. What I loved about the book was its style. How she told the story in an almost poetic way. I have favorite lines from this book that reads like a poem. Take this for instance;

I do not understand this story that crosses my life diagonally, poisoning my existence and leading me towards hell. I do not understand this musty story…

 And this too

A hand in a half-lit cinema, a hand whose intention I could not fathom. It grabbed mine. Urgent. The music. The film. Voices. The dark. A moist penis. The man running away. An irreparable sensation.

What is there not to love?

A man of the people – Chinua Achebe

Truly it is “a very funny satire”. Again, something we can easily relate to; the corruption in our governments and dirty politics. I loved the love story in there and especially how it ended.

Kongi’s Harvest – Wole Soyinka

The richness in proverbs, the humour in there -The elders just cracked me up! (By now you know I love me some humour). My best part of the book is the sexually suggestive dialogue between Daudo and Segi. Priceless!

The Palm-Wine Drinkard – Amos Tutuola

This I read just recently and it was a good read. This book became personal to me because when my mother saw me reading it she was so happy, I had the longest chat with her and for the first time she told me many other fantastic tales. So this book I will forever remember. I admire the author for his determination to put his stories out there.

Faceless, Not Without Flowers, and Beyond the Horizon – Amma Darko

These three books I read a while back and I enjoyed. I think she did a good job capturing the true nature of things, especially looking at street life which she captured in Faceless. She did not exaggerate. What she wrote about are things that happen day in day out. I’d choose her books over Peggy Oppong’s any day (I must be candid here).

There are other books I've read and enjoyed including those from African-American writers like Toni Morrison (I love that woman). I have drawn lots of inspiration from her book, Zora Neale Hurston’s  “Their Eyes Were Watching God”, Du-Bois’ “Souls of Black Folk”…they are not African Writers but they do throw some light on the realities in the lives of Africans in the diaspora. 

Readers' Top Ten - Mary Okeke Reviews

The Readers' Top Ten continues this week with Mary Okeke. One of the aims of this series is to introduce readers to the rich literature Africa has to offer.

About Mary Okeke: Mary is a reader and book blogger, at Mary Okeke Reviews She reads wide but mostly review African books. She lives in Barcelona, Spain where she studied Anesthesiology, Pain-therapy and CPR during her post-graduate studies. On her blog, Mary says:

I take so much pleasure in reading books! Specifically, those written by African Writers.

It is based on this that Mary shares her Top Ten African Books with us below.

Note: I have linked some of the books to posts within ImageNations - where available. Note that my views and Mary's might not be the same and so must be read with that in mind.

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The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta

A novel beautifully written that insightfully deals with issues affecting us as African women. You give birth to children, but your children do not belong to you, they do not owe you for bringing them up, they are free human beings, when they grow up, they take decisions that best suit their living and not that of their parents. 

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

African classic, what can I say? More over he is a townsman. 

Zenzele: A Letter from my Daughter by J. Nozipo Maraire

A novel I highly recommend to all people of African heritage. What is the meaning of being an African woman?

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Another classic, even though it was only written in 2006. No matter the polemic she has been indulged in lately, she is just a novelist of a highly original kind.

Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Story of survival, how an African woman made it to the top, despite all her sufferings.

I do not Come to You by Chance by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani

It perfectly expounded on the every day life of most people in my side of the country (Eastern part of Nigeria). Hilarious and realistic.

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah

Ishmael Beah became my inspirational person right after reading this memoir.

Changes: A Love Story by Ama Ata Aidoo

I devoured this novel in a couple of days. You know Nana, I am a lover of African novels that deals on issues concerning us (African women).

No Longer at Ease by Chinua Achebe

I am sorry I am in love with my townsman. Not just because he is my townsman but because he is just a genius of a novelist.

So Long A Letter by Mariama Bâ

Another classic. Love, life, relationship change from one generation to another. Starting point to African literature.

My top ten varies from year to year. I am yet to work on my 2013 top ten, which will take place next year. Novels like Living, Loving and Lying Awake at Night by Sindiwe Magona, Born in the Big Rains by Fadumo Korn, Neighbours: the Story of a Murder by Lilia Momple, Diaries of a Dead African by Chuma Nwokolo might surely be included. However, for the time being above are my official top ten.

Readers' Top Ten - Kinna Reads

Last week I introduced a new series I wanted to run on ImageNations called Readers' Top Ten. I said one of its aims was to introduce readers to the rich literature Africa has to offer. The series begins today with Kinna Reads. 

About Kinna: Kinna is a book blogger at Kinna Reads among many other things. On her blog Kinna says

I grew up in literary, bookish household. I love books, reading, nurturing and developing my appreciation for the art form. I read mostly fiction, both contemporary and classic. I really enjoy world literature. I'm partial to women writers and their works, especially African women writers.

Below is Kinna's Top Ten. Note that I have linked the titles and authors to posts within ImageNations, where available. My views and Kinna's might not be the same and so beware when reading them.
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Where do I begin? So first, I consider this blog’s owner, Nana Fredua, a friend.  He is reader kin. And the best kind of reader kin; he reads and loves African literature.

But really, what kind of brother-reader asks a sister to compile her top ten African books?  Eh, Nana?  Don’t get me wrong; I love lists.  I have reading lists on my blog.  But I shy away from making lists of favorite books.  The closest I came to such was a post on the Best Five of Jose Saramago’s novels.  That was easy because I was confined to just Saramago’s novels. And even then I couldn't restrict myself to five books and managed to list seven.  The “what’s your favorite book, what’s your favorite author?’ line of questions temporarily render readers speechless.  And Nana knows this. This is not reader kinship. But I’m a good sister and Nana Fredua will be obliged.

The List

My rules (because Nana must not be obeyed):  one book per author but can suggest up to 2 books/author if I cannot decide.  The two books count as one entry. And I can exceed ten books if the pain of culling is unbearable.

I allowed myself to be aggressively guided by the following paragraph in Nana’s introduction of Readers’ Top Ten:

“The aim of this project is to introduce to readers of ImageNations the rich literature the continent has to offer.  It is meant to move beyond the 'one-novel African literature', which seems to have come to define literature in Africa. It is also to promote African literature to both Western audience and Africans who hardly read from the continent or are unsure of where to start.”

[In alphabetical order by author.  This is not a ranked list]

Arrow of God by Chinua Achebe

I should have taken Achebe off this list if indeed I was “aggressively guided “by Nana’s paragraph above.  Because who doesn't know of Achebe nor cannot find out by just googling African Literature.  I don’t ride for that “one novel African Literature”, Things Fall Apart. I am solidly in #TeamArrowOfGod. Achebe’s lead characters are stubborn people and I prefer stubborn with wise in Ezeulu even if we lose the battle between change and continuity!

Anowa by Ama Ata Aidoo

I debated whether to include a book by this author. Would it be nepotism, Nana?  Drama is African literature’s finest tradition. Aidoo’s treatment of slavery, love, infertility and community is powerful.  A haunting tragedy.

So Long A Letter by Mariama Ba

Ramatoulaye gets under my skin. Every time I read this novel, I want to yell and tell her that 25 years is enough, that he left you, that keeping the door open all those years was just wrong… But Ramatoulaye very calmly, and with such eloquence, explains her side of the story. I’m never persuaded but I find myself thinking ‘I hear you, I hear you’.  She should have been a lawyer. I’m also a sucker for well-written epistolary novels.

Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga

I don’t know but sometimes I think there are right moments when a book and its reader meet.  I just can’t explain it.  I met Nervous Conditions towards the waning years of my family’s exile in Zimbabwe and I will forever be grateful for Dangarembga’s exploration of class, race and gender.

Close Sesame/Maps by Nuruddin Farah

Farah is one of a handful of African male writers who make an effort to write well-conceived women characters.   It’s hard to pick just one of his books.  He tends to group his novel in trilogies of theme.  Close Sesame, of the Variations on the Theme of An African Dictatorship trilogy, centers on Deeriye, a gentle and dignified patriarch. I’m not one for patriarchal figures but this old man is so beautifully and hauntingly rendered. He’s one of the most memorable characters in all of literature.  Maps, from the Blood in the Sun Trilogy, is about identity - personal, familial and national.  The central character is the orphan Askar, another unforgettable character.  In fact, Farah’s novels are driven by his characters.  He’s said he means to write his people and certainly the people of Somalia are well-represented and loved in Farah’s work.

A Question of Power by Bessie Head

Bessie Head leaves me speechless and tongue-tied.  I cannot say that I enjoyed A Question of Power because it is so darn painful. And one cannot liberate Bessie Head from the pain.  Still, A Question of Power is an essential book for me, as is all of Head’s novels.

Palace Walk/Midaq Alley by Naguib Mahfouz

Here’s the thing: it doesn't really matter which of Mahfouz’s gems I put here, and there are plenty. Miramar, Harafish, Children of the Alley, The Beggar and numerous other books are all fantastic.  He opened my eyes and heart to Egyptian literature and then he gave me the world. Read him, please.

The Cry of Winnie Mandela by Njabulo Ndebele

This book floors me every time I read it.  Part fiction, non-fiction, theory, fantasy, experimental, it situates post-apartheid South African nationalist and identity issues within the realm of women’s lives.  Simply brilliant and for me, absolutely essential.

Distant View of a Minaret by Alifa Rifaat

Would it help if I told you that Distant View of a Minaret is one of Achebe’s favorite books?  Because I wonder how it is that this masterpiece is often overlooked by readers South of the Sahara. A collection of short stories centred mainly on the lives of Egyptian women, it’s groundbreaking and utterly exquisite.

Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih

A man returns home to Sudan after a sojourn in England. The best book on post-coloniality ever.  If you’re inclined to yawn at the term post-colonial, then read this book for its gorgeous prose, its searing honesty and its lyricism.  It is considered one of the finest novels of Arabic literature.  We will, forever, keep coming back to this masterpiece.

God’s Bits of Wood by Ousmane Sembene

I know it is not a competition between film lovers and readers.  But I want to remind y’all that Sembene Ousmane was also a writer of tremendous significance. So give those reels a break and crack open one of his novels. God’s Bits of Wood is a novel about the proletariat.

Death and the King’s Horseman by Wole Soyinka

I think sometimes folks forget or don’t even know what gives Soyinka all that stature.  It’s not his defiance of African leaders, not his eloquently, perfectly pitched missives directed at those who betray African people. It is his plays, his art, his incredible imagination – his sheer genius. Inspired by actual events, Death of the King’s Horseman is vintage Soyinka and rejects simplistic explanations.  Since we privilege tragedy over comedy, this particular Soyinka play is a must read.  If only death was always this beautiful and glorious!

Wizard of the Crow by Ngugi wa Thiong’o

Ngugi himself may not know this and I’m going to tell him:  all his other novels were in preparation for Wizard of the Crow.  Yes, even Matigari.  Wizard is the best approximation of Africa’s oral tradition rendered in the written form.  Wildly entertaining, funny, epic etc. etc., Wizard is a world unto itself.

Butterfly Burning/The Stone Virgins by Yvonne Vera

It’s hard to talk about Vera because I always need to get over the shock of her early death and how much of her words died with her.  The thing with Vera is she never lets us off easy. But she cushions the brutality with poetic prose and a sensuality that is life-affirming.  Both books explore Zimbabwe’s difficult past.  She does wonders with imagery.

Okay, Nana.  It’s been brutal culling this list and leaving out books like Purple Hibiscus [Chimamanda Adichie], Search Sweet Country [Kojo Laing], Woman at Point Zero [Nawal El Saadawi], We Killed Mangy Dog [Luis Bernardo Honwana], The Memory of Love [Aminatta Forna], etc etc.  But I enjoyed the exercise and of course, I realize again that I need to read more African Literature.  I need a soothing cup of tea now.

Readers' Top Ten

Readers' Top Ten is a series that will feature the top 10 African books - written by Africans - as selected by identified readers. Each participating reader will pick his or her top 10 favourite African books and briefly discuss the books - why he or she like it, what it means to him or her (if any) etc. The reader will make his or her own decision considering the definition of an African. At ImageNations it includes citizenship of an African country, naturalisation, or dual citizenship. Also if an author has African ancestry and do identify himself or herself to the continent, she or he is considered an African.

The other condition is that the book should have a literary merit, even if it is non-fiction. No other imposition is made and this literary merit will be determined by the selector and not ImageNations.

The aim of this project is to introduce to readers of ImageNations the rich literature the continent has to offer.  It is meant to move beyond the 'one-novel African literature', which seems to have come to define literature in Africa. It is also to promote African literature to both Western audience and Africans who hardly read from the continent or are unsure of where to start.

Readers' Top Ten will be a weekly publication on ImageNations - possibly on every Monday but not necessary so. A participant need not necessarily be African. If you are interested in sharing your Top 10 African books, contact me.