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I absolutely love book covers, especially a beautifully designed one. It's also no secret, I judge books by their covers. I've admitted it a few times here - I even have a tumblr dedicated purely to book covers. 

This month I've been reading Alain Mabanckou's novels that have been translated into English, and while I have thoroughly enjoyed them so far (I'm currently reading Black Bazaar) I couldn't end the month without acknowledging these four book covers.

The novels, which were published by Serpent's Tail in the UK, were designed by Gavin Morris and illustrated by Bill Bragg (with exception of Black Bazaar which was illustrated by Bill Bragg but I don't think was designed by Gavin Morris). I absolutely love them, think they are gorgeous, and wouldn't even be able to tell you which one I loved more. 

They are striking, pretty cool and I love that you can instantly tell it's an Alain Mabanckou novel from the design. After reading his novels for a month, a close friend of mine (who's not even into reading) could instantly tell who I was reading and would ask, "Is that another Alain Mabanckou novel you're reading?" I think, Blue White Red (Bleu-Blanc-Rouge) and Tomorrow I Will be 20 Years Old (Demain J'Aurais Vingt Ans) might be translated next year. If they are, I can only hope that they will be published by Serpent's Tail and Gavin Morris and Bill Bragg collaborate on the book cover design. Here's to hoping.

Also if you're into these things, check out Bill Bragg's illustrations - they are pretty stunning (as well as his magazine Le Gun and illustrations for Folio Society).
09:16 No Comments
First I got into the head of a psycho, then an alcoholic, and now in Memoirs of a Porcupine (published in French in 2006 and translated into English in 2011) I get into the head of a porcupine. What will Alain Mabanckou think of next? 

After being the harmful (animal) double for many years to his human master, our narrator, who is finally free from his master, is ready to tell us all about his long porcupine life. And for "porcupine's sake" you should really read this memoir because this porcupine has had a very interesting life. Like Broken Glass, there aren't full stops, only commas and more commas. And like Broken Glass, if you are able to look past that it is a really enjoyable read.


I recently posted this article on my facebook page – Alain Mabanckou by Binyavanga Wainaina – and in it Alain Mabanckou speaks a bit about Memoirs of a Porcupine – “it’s a sort of fable” based on African myths:

“The myth of the double exists not only in my own village; a lot of African readers have told me that in their country people also believe in having an animal as a double”.

Other than African folklore and myths (this is a story about animal doubles and magic), there’s also some crime. There are also many interesting characters we meet along the way - both in the animal (his description of squirrels was hilarious) and human world. His master is a particularly interesting character and in a way through him you get to see the just how bad inferiority complexes can be sometimes.

While reading it, I tried to tell my sister and a few friends about this novel. I tried to explain to them that yes a porcupine (literally, not figuratively) was telling his life story. I even had to show them the cover because what better way to explain a porcupine writing his memoir than the beautiful image on the book cover. They all laughed because they couldn't believe it. That's the thing - the premise of the novel is hilarious and when you do read it you are just shocked and amused at what this porcupine has gone through. 

Like with his other two novels, as well as being funny, Memoirs of a Porcupine also has some shocking content. There is something else I do love about Alain Mabanckou's novel - characters from previous books always make a brief appearance. Angoualima did so in Broken Glass and now Stubborn Snail does so in Memoirs of a Porcupine.

I didn’t want to make any assumptions about Alain Mabanckou after reading African Psyho, but after Broken Glass I became a fan, and now after reading Memoirs of a Porcupine - can I just come out and say that he is an amazing author and the stories he comes up with are pretty much amazing. With only a few days to go until this month ends, I am off to start Black Bazaar.

4 out of 5 stars.
09:38 No Comments
Another publishing gem. This time from South Africa - Modjaji Books. A bit about Modjaji Books from their website:

"Modjaji Books is an independent publishing company based in Cape Town, South Africa. Started by Colleen Higgs in 2007, we publish books by southern African women writers. Modjaji Books publishes novels, short stories, memoirs, biographies, poetry, essays, narrative non-fiction and relevant non-fiction by new, established and award-winning women writers with brave, exciting voices". 

While I love showcasing African publishers (and Modjaji does publish some wonderful books), this publisher has a special place in my heart because by being dedicated solely to publishing women's voices, particularly black women's voices, in southern Africa, it's adressing an inequality that exists. What's there not to love? Here's a look at some of the wonderful titles they publish (I have been dying to read "Bom Boy" for the longest time).  For more on Modjaji Books, check out their website and facebook page. 
 



 
 
08:05 No Comments
With August being Alain Mabanckou month, I didn't waste time moving on to his second translated novel, Broken Glass (published in French in 2005 and translated into English in 2009).

Broken Glass (64, former school teacher) is madly in love with the bottle (particularly red wine) and a regular at the local bar Credit Gone West (I seriously love the names Alain Mabanckou comes up with). Stubborn Snail, the bar owner, “didn’t want Credit Gone West just to vanish one day” and so gave Broken Glass (a former aspiring author) a notebook in which “to record, witness and pass on the history of the place”. With the notebook in his hand, Broken Glass starts writing about Credit Gone West, its regular customers and the Trois-Cents neighbourhood in which he lives in. 

Filling the notebook was never going to be a problem - the regulars at Credit Gone West really just wanted to share their stories. There’s “the Pampers guy”, “the Printer”,  Mouyeké, Robinette, and more. I won't give away their stories, but they're quite shocking, sometimes humorous, and pretty sad. As the novel goes on, we also hear Broken Glass's story and how he got to be where he is. 


Broken Glass is written with “no full stops, only commas and more commas”. Also don't expect sentences to start with Capital letters. If you can look past these Broken Glass is an enjoyable read. It's funny at times, shocking at times, and I have to say pretty creative. After reading this and African Psycho, I can see why Alain Mabanckou gets the praises that he does. Angoualima, the serial killer from African Psycho, even makes a cameo - well he gets mentioned. There are also many literary references (the blurb said "it contains the titles of 170 classics of international literature"). I will be honest, I only identified a few (The poor Christ of Bomba, The Death of the Wolf, Alice in Wonderland, and The Count of Monte Cristo were some of them) so I might have to read again just to see if I can do it. Has anyone been able to identify these literary references? 

Now off to start reading Memoirs of a Porcupine ...

4 out of 5 stars. 
10:47 6 Comments

I’m just going to say it - Gregoire Nakobomayo is quite possibly the worst serial killer ever. But I’m getting ahead of my self - a bit about African Psycho first.

First published in French in 2003, and translated into English in 2007, African Psycho tells the story of Gregorie Nakobomayo – a wanna-be-serial killer who lives in “He-Who-Drinks-Water-Is-An-Idiot”. When the novel starts, we learn that Gregorie has decided to kill his girlfriend, Germaine – and so starts our journey into the mind of an African Psycho.

Gregorie, a "picked-up" child, who  now works as a car mechanic, has planned to commit this crime for a while now. But murder isn't easy and takes a lot of psychological, mental and logistical preparation, as well as practice-crimes. Luckily, he has his idol and Great Master, Angoualima to guide him. It doesn't matter that Angoualima (the greatest serial killer in their district) is dead.This doesn’t stop Gregoire from having long conversations with him at his grave at the cemetery of “The-Dead-Who-Are-Not-Allowed-To-Sleep”. There's only one problem with Gregorie's dream of becoming a great serial killer  – he is terrible!

African Psycho was quite disturbing, and getting into the mind of a psycho is not something I would usually jump at. While serial killing isn’t a funny thing and shouldn't be taken lightly, it's hard not to end up laughing at Gregorie's failed attempts at killing and robbing. Additionally, Alain Mabanckou finds a way for you not to despise a character that normally you should despise – he is after all trying to murder someone. And the names Gregorie used to describe places. Why call a place a bar when you can say you just left “Take And Drink, This Is The Cup Of My Blood” or that you frequent other bars like “Drinking Makes You Hard”, “Take And Drink”, “You Break Your Glass  You Buy It”, “Even The President Drinks” and more. There was also a point in the book where Gregorie has a non-stop narrative. Embarassing fact – I was so into the novel, I didn't realize until a few pages of this 9-page non-stop narrative that I hadn’t experienced one actual end of a sentence. 

African Psycho is not an easy book to read and it actually is quite disturbing to go into the mind of a psycho - even if he is possibly the worst would-be serial killer ever. A thoroughly enjoyable, if slightly disturbing, read.

3.75 out of 5 stars.
15:51 No Comments
Sometimes you just want something light, simple, and easy to read. That's where chick lit comes in. So I began to wonder, what's the chick lit scene like in Africa? In my search I stumbled on Nollybooks.  

Nollybooks is a series of South African chick lit titles aimed at young (16-24) African women to "reflect the lives and aspirations of the people who will read them". Nollybooks doesn't just stop at bringing chick lit to a young (South) African audience, they also work to ensure that their books are affordable. Costs of books can sometimes be a disincentive. There are many times I've put a book down, as much as I wanted it, just because of the price. So it's great that they are making books affordable for young readers. I also read here that they are published in a smaller format to make it easier to read on public transport and also "fit snugly into any handbag". I love the thought that has gone into this entire series, and only wonder if it's available for non-South African readers. For more on Nollybooks, check out their website and facebook page.


 

While on the topic of chick lit, check out Zukiswa Wanner's second novel Behind Every Successful Man.


Nobantu has everything a girl could dream of: a brilliant businessman for a husband, two cheeky but adorable children, and two of the best friends a girl could ask for. And yet, on Nobantu's thirty-fifth birthday, surrounded by glitz, glamour and fame, she realises something important. What has happened to her ambitions? Her career? What has happened to Nobantu? A funky, witty tale of a mother turned entrepreneur - to the great exasperation of Andile, her husband.
13:55 5 Comments
Another literary festival, but this time in Port Harcourt - the 2014 World Book Capital. From October 15 - 20, the Garden City Literary Festival will be taking place. The Garden City Literary Festival is the brain child of the Rainbow Book Club (RBC), founded in 2004 'to encourage a love for books and reading in Africa, with a focus on children'. Now in its fifth year, this literary event includes a book fair, writers workshops, literary forums, a symposium, performances and more. The event usually attracts some big names in literature and this years line-up of writers is amazing - Veronique Tadjo, Doreen Baingana, Chibundu Onuzo, Noo-Saro Wiwa, and Lizzy Attree. I have to say that I love the fact that an integral part of the festival includes activites for children, such as an essay competition, art, drama and writing workshops, and sessions to encourage children to read.

To find out more about the Garden City Literary Festival, check out their website as well as their blog, The Voice. 
19:52 1 Comments
On one of my many searches (I am constantly searching it seems) I came across Saraba. They aren't new. In fact, I am pretty late in finding out about Saraba, but honestly, there's nothing more fun than finding something that is new to you. Finding Saraba has been a joy. I am just going to confess - I've spent hours on their website, reading their past issues and other wonderful delights. A bit about Saraba from their website:
Saraba is an imprint of Iroko Publishing whose goal is to create unending voices by encouraging young, previously unheard writers to publish their works, assist emerging writers (i.e. those who have been little or not at all, whose talent are recognisable and whose works are qualitative) in establishing their voices by creating a platform for their writing to be showcased. Through an actualisation of these purposes, Saraba would ensure that there is no generational gap, that succeeding generations of writers in Africa have unending voices. It was also established to create a link between established writers and emerging writers through mentorship opportunities and other related mediums. Finally, to celebrate literature and its undying nature by showcasing it in the most contemporary ways. 
Saraba Magazine is published four times a year, and I love, love, love that each issue is based around themes. Past issues have been on Music, Food and Fashion to name a few. Their current issue is on Sex. Aren't the covers so beautiful? And the content - divine! Definitely check them out here and browse and download previous issues here. Enjoy!



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Once in a while I like to showcase amazing African publishers, and this time I'm going all the way to Tanzania. 


Mkuki na Nyota Publishers (MNP) is a Tanzanian publishing company founded in 1991 that 'researches, creates, publishes, markets and sells trade books, children's books and scholarly books'. It was established in response to the general absence of independent scholarly publishing in Tanzania. It initially concentrated on scholarly books, but since then it has developed a diverse list of titles including children's, fiction and art books. They are also known for publishing their books in English and Swahili. They've also translated some novels like Mariam Ba's So Long A Letter (Une si longue lettre) and Naguib Mahfouz's Al-Tariq into Swahili.


Mkuki na Nyota are 'committed to supporting a reading culture in Tanzania as well as develop and nurture indigenous literature as a way to preserve and share our stories'. Even better they just want to 'publish relevant, beautiful and affordable books and place them in the hands of passionate readers in Tanzania and around the world'. What's there not to love.  Below are some of the beautiful books they publish. Can I just say they also have some beautiful looking art books I wouldn't mind getting my hands on. 


To find out more about Mkuki na Nyota, check out their website and facebook page.



      
      
09:11 No Comments
I stumbled on this recently and just had to share. Farad is Emmanuel Iduma's debut novel, and here's the synopsis: 


Farad, named for the unit of an electrical charge, is a novella that cuts laser-like through a multilayered society. Touching biographies of ordinary citizens, young academics and ageing psychologists, Christian editors and call girls, strange women and music artistes told in stylish, interrupted narratives, are woven into a detailed mosaic of modern Nigeria. 


Reminiscent of Plutarch's Parallel Lives, Farad eases to a climax when key characters from individual stories become participants in a conflict at a University Chapel - a conflict in which the nature of power is tested. Farad is an assemblage of fresh narratives woven around simple questions and open-ended complexities. It is ultimately, a story of love and essence. 


It's published by Parresia, and I think it might only be available in Nigeria, but  you can read an excerpt here. 
11:01 1 Comments
Chinua Achebe, author of Things Fall Apart and No Longer at Ease (to name a few), and founding editor of Heinemann's African Writers Series needs no introduction. He is after all one of the most important living African writers. There Was A Country: A Personal History of Biafra, Chinua Achebe's long awaited memoir, is set to be released on September 6th in the UK and October 11th in the US (according to Amazon.com). I am unsure when it will be released in Nigeria. Here's the synopsis (from Penguin, the publishers website):


Chinua Achebe, the author of Things Fall Apart, is a writer whose moral courage and storytelling gifts have left an enduring stamp on world literature. There Was a Country is his long-awaited account of coming of age during the defining experienced of his life: the Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Biafran War of 1967 - 1970. It became infamous around the world for its impact on the Biafrans, who were starved to death by the Nigerian government in one of the twentieth century's greatest humanitarian disasters.


Caught up in the atrocities were Chinua Achebe and his young family. Achebe, already a world-renowed novelist, served his Biafran homeland as a roving cultural ambassador, witnessing the war's full horror first-hand. Immediately after the war, he took an academic post in the United States, and for over forty years he has maintained a considered silence on those terrible years, addressing them only obliquely through his poetry. Now, years in the making, comes his towering reckoning with one of modern Africa's most fateful experiences, both as he lived it and he has now come to understand it. 


Marrying history and memoir, with the author's poetry woven throughout, There Was a Country is a distillation of vivid observation and considered research and reflection. It relates Nigeria's birth pangs in the context of Achebe's own development as a man and a writer, and examines the role of the artist in times of war. 


I only read Things Fall Apart and No Longer at Ease for the first time earlier this year (I know, terrible), and it was only after reading them that I finally understood why Chinua Achebe is the legend that he is. So I'm pretty excited about There Was a Country and I'm really looking forward to reading it. 
18:28 2 Comments
What a lovely debut novel from South African writer, Shubnum Khan. Penguin Books SA sent me a copy for review (thank you!), and I really didn't know what to expect when I started reading it. It turned out to be one of those novels I just couldn't put down. As I turned each page, I wanted to know more.


Onion Tears: A Novel tells the story of three generations of South African Indian Muslim women. There's Khadeejah Bibi Ballim, a first generation Indian. Khadeejah is a hard working and stubborn widow who not only makes a living, but survives, through cooking. For Khadeejah, 'the way someone exhaled after a hearty biriyani provided [her] with a pleasure she never found anywhere else in life. She put her heart and soul (mingled with sadness and lost love) into her meals'. Khadeejah also longs for her homeland and questions being in Africa. Then there's Summaya, her daughter. Summaya is at odds with her South African and Indian identity. She works at a travel agency, is a single mother who lives in a small flat with her 11-year old daughter, Aneesa, and like Khadeejah, also longs for something. Finally there's Aneesa, who longs for her father. Where is he? Why won't her mother tell her about him? Aneesa knew her mother was lying about her father, so with the help of her friend, Hoosen, she goes about trying to find out where her father is and what really happened. 


If I am honest, there are many things I loved about Onion Tears. Shubnum Khan doesn't just give it to you on  a plate (no pun intended). Flashbacks are a central way in which these women's stories emerge. Through Khadeejah's flashbacks we learn about her childhood, her arranged marriage to Haroon, how she became a widow, the treatment she, and other Indians, received during apartheid and more. I was really saddened by one of Khadeejah's flashbacks, where she helps out a younger recently married woman who was being abused: 
'We are stuck with them, because what can we do? We never went to school, well, at least I didn't finish ... We never learnt how to do much besides cook. So we stuck with them ... Even the rubbish ones'. 
She later goes on to say: 
'You see men like ours, they think that all that wives are there for is to make babies and fry aloo paratha. You can't get divorced, neh? Your parents won't let you. And you have a child to worry about. What you will do for money? This stupid men with their big brains give us our money'.
I loved Khadeejah, even with her opinions, because she had experienced a lot in her life but was still so strong. She just went on with her life. This was the complete opposite to Summaya. Unfortunately, one incident in her life really affected her - the loss of love - and she held on to that. This loss in turn affects her daughter Aneesa. Just like with Khadeejah, through flashbacks we find out exactly what happened to Summaya. But unlike Khadeejah, being quite introverted (even with her flashbacks) it takes us much longer to find out what really happened.


While it isn't just about food, I also loved the way Shubnum Khan describes Khadeejah's cooking. It definitely made me want to have roti, samosa, biriyani or any of the other delicious meals Khadeejah prepared in her kitchen throughout the novel. I also love the lists all three women created. Khadeejah knew a great deal about husbands and had a list for that (the good ones, the mean ones, the loving ones, the domineering ones, the very bad ones, the sad ones, and the indifferent ones), Aneesa and Hoosen had made a list of rules (from 'you cannot eat bubblegum and chew food at the same time' to 'everyone has a smell - no one can smell their own smell' to 'everyone has faces they hide - especially sad faces'), while Summaya had her theories which accounted for the 'fleshy legs on an Indian woman' (old age, money or European genes), a list on different types of love (the love of mothers, the love of lovers, the Unrequited Love, the Intense Love, the Withering Love, the Physical Love, the Convenient Love, and the Crazy Breathless Love), and her list of things 'Broken-hearted people remember'.


The best novels to me are always the ones that surprise me. The ones that I have no preconceived notions about, but end up really enjoying. That's Onion Tears - a beautiful story about the love, loss and lives of these three women.



4.5 out of 5 stars.
11:14 2 Comments
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I try not to give myself targets or certain books to read a month, honestly because I can never quite say which book I will be interested in reading until I actually do pick it up. So each month the books I decide to read are always a surprise to me. This month, I am making an exception. 


I've been dying to read Alain Mabanckou's novels for a while now, and I am sure I have mentioned it more than once here. Finally, I can because I received the best gifts ever :). So August will be Alain Mabanckou month. 


I will obviously try and read other novels, but there will be a more than usual focus on this specific author.  I am reading his novels in order of when they were translated into English: African Psycho (2007), Broken Glass (2009), Memoirs of a Porcupine (2011) and Black Bazaar (2012). 


If anyone else out there has read his novels, please let me know which ones are your favourites. If you haven't, please feel free to join me. 


13:51 2 Comments
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About me

Founded in 2011, bookshy represents two things: the young me who was so shy I escaped through books, and the older me whose shelf is always one book shy of being full.

bookshy is a space where I celebrate, promote and recognise contemporary African literature - although sometimes I go back in time to commemorate the greats. It is about the books I love, the books I have read and the books that I am dying to read.

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      • Judging a Book by Its Cover: The Covers of Alain M...
      • Book Review: Alain Mabanckou's "Memoirs of a Porcu...
      • The State of African Publishing: Modjaji Books
      • Book Review: Alain Mabanckou's "Broken Glass" (Tra...
      • Book Review: Alain Mabanckou's 'African Psycho' (T...
      • African Chick Lit: Nollybooks
      • Garden City Literary Festival in Port Harcourt
      • The State of African Publishing: Saraba Magazine
      • The State of African Publishing: Mkuki na Nyota
      • Another New Release for 2012: Emmanuel Iduma's 'Fa...
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      • Book Review: Shubnum Khan's 'Onion Tears: A Novel'
      • August is Alain Mabanckou Month
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