Tropical fish is a collection of eight linked short stories that follows three sisters (Rosa, Patti and Christine) in Uganda. Three of the eight chapters are dedicated to Patti, the born-again older sister, who tells of her time at an all girls' boarding school, and Rosa, the middle and more sexual sister, who tries to 'magically' seduce a teacher and writes a letter to an ex-lover. The star of the book is the youngest sister, Christine. We follow Christine's life from childhood when she plays pretend in her parents' bedroom, to adolescence when she wobbles in her high heels and gets here first kiss, to her emigration to the U.S. and eventual return to Uganda.


Themes of sexuality, love, friendship, religion, disease, immigration, and re-integration are explored in Baingana's debut novel. I found the stories getting better as it went along and the strength of the novel lies in the way Doreen Baingana portrays the struggle of young women in Africa. It was a pleasure to read.


3.5 out of 5 stars.

'Allah is not obliged to be fair about all things he does on here on earth'.


Published in French as Allah n'est pas obligé in 2000 and translated in 2006 by Frank Wynne, Allah Is Not Obliged tells the story of Birahima, an orphan who becomes a child soldier while he travels to Liberia to find his aunt. 


Set in the nineties in the middle of the civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leonne, Birahima is one foul-mouthed 10 (or 12) year old who explains French, African and pidgin words using the dictionaries he inherited.  Through his story we meet dictators, warlords, thieves, grigrimen, and child soldiers.  Child soldiers,  the prized possessions of warlords, are armed with their AK-47s 'kalashes', drugged up with hashish and protected by prayers.


We not only read Birahima's experience as a child soldier, in his writing, Kourouma also gives us a short history of the dictators and the events that led to the civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leonne. Allah is Not Obliged, Kourouma's last novel, raises important questions about corruption, West African dictators, civil wars, child soldiers, and the innocent people that get affected by these wars. 


4.5 out of 5 stars.

2011 was another amazing year for African literature and the Africa Book Club chose its best books of 2011 by African authors. Here are a few.

The New York Times' published their 100 Notable Books in November, and while every book on the list  is a great pick, I'm singling out the African authors that made it on to the list. 

With Christmas only a couple days away here's my booklover's wishlist - and who know's maybe I might find something underneath my tree. A booklover can dream :).







And here are some cute ideas I found on the internet. And for the booklover who has everything, check here.

My sister recommended Diaries of a Dead African to me. It tells a story through 3 men's diaries. The men are Meme Jumai, a struggling farmer whose wife, Stella Jumai, has just left for the vulcaniser; his youngest son, Calamatus 'Calamity' Jumai, a con-man; and his oldest son, Abel Jumai, an aspiring writer.


Meme Jumai's wife left him with only 3 tubers of yam, and with 2 weeks to the harvest Meme Jumai's diary tells of his daily battle with his hunger and the measures he takes to deal with it. We also read how Meme Jumai feels about his poverty and the way his fellow villagers view him. 


Calamatus, unlike his father, has a lot of money and when he returns to the village from Warri, he does all he can to show that the name Jumai isn't synonymous with poverty. Yet, like his father, Jumai is unhappy with his life due to a mishap which occurred when he was a baby, which has left him bitter his entire life. 


Abel, is an aspiring writer who despises his father, resents his mother, and wants nothing to do with his brother's money. He has been unable to return to his village due to the lie his father once told, and been unable to marry his love due to his brother ruining the ceremony. This makes him even more adamant to secure a book deal, but like his father and brother before him Abel is unable to break from the destruction that befalls the Jumai's.


Nwokolo's characters all lead very sad lives, and they don't seem too happy about their situation either. Despite it all, there are elements of humour in the novel through the characters proverbs, sayings and the good ol' scam emails. Overall, I enjoyed the novel.


4 out of 5 stars. 

While searching for a new book to read - I am always in search of one - I stumbled upon Nii Ayikwei Parkes, Tail of the Blue Bird, and it got me thinking about other new Ghanian writers I should be reading. So I started researching on new Ghanian writers, and lets just say I have even more books to add to my ever-growing list of books to read.

I had this book on my shelf for over a year before I decided to finally read it. I don't even remember why I finally decided to read it. I was probably bored, but most likely I didn't want to do any work and wanted to escape from it all. I had never heard of Helon Habila prior to reading this book, and after I read it, there was just something about Habila's voice and the way he interwove culture, history and tradition.

Measuring Time tells the story of twin brothers, Mamo and LaMamo, brought up by a controlling father in northeastern Nigeria. LaMamo, the fearless twin, becomes a soldier fighting in various West African wars; while, Mamo, the twin with sickle cell, stays in Keti. The story pays more attention to Mamo and his life in Keti once his brother leaves, while LaMamo appears intermittently, mainly through his letters to Mamo.

This is an amazing book, which I would highly recommend.

4.5 out of 5 stars.

Here are some of the books I'm looking forward to reading in the New Year.


                  
                      

I can spend hours getting lost in bookstores and a trip there always leads to a smile as I return with 1, 2, 3 (sometimes more) new books to get lost in. While I love them all, I particularly love independent bookstores, with their handpicked treasures. Wherever I go I try to stop at a bookstore and see what goodies they have on offer. If like me you love bookstores, check out the Most Interesting Bookstores of the World.


Here are some of my pictures of interesting bookstores I've been to.


This was an amazing bookstore in the LX Factory - a former factory and warehouse space in Lisbon. I forget what it was called but it was filled from the floor to the ceiling with books about almost everything, and had an old printing press in the middle.









This was a cute bookstore I stumbled on, on Victoria Street in Edinburgh. It's the Old Town Bookshop, which specialises in Antiquarian books and classic literature.