Heinemann Book of Contemporary African Short Stories

by Chinua Achebe (Editor), Ben Okri (Contributor), Kojo Laing (Contributor)

Capturing the diversity of African writing from across the continent, this important anthology draws together well-established authors and the best of new writers.
From the harsh realities of South Africa, elegantly described by Nobel Prize winner Nadine Gordimer, to the fantastic world of Booker Prize winner Ben Okri and from the magic realism of Mozambican Mia Couto to the surreal world of Ghanaian Kojo Laing, the editors have distilled the essence of contemporary African writing. Blending the supernatural and the secular, the market-place and the shrine, this anthology gives the reader a taste of the full range of African literary styles.

Genres: Short Stories, Africa, Fiction, Anthologies, African Literature, Contemporary, South Africa

196 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1992

About the author

Works, including the novel Things Fall Apart (1958), of Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe describe traditional African life in conflict with colonial rule and westernization.

This poet and critic served as professor at Brown University. People best know and most widely read his first book in modern African literature.

Christian parents in the Igbo town of Ogidi in southeastern Nigeria reared Achebe, who excelled at school and won a scholarship for undergraduate studies. World religions and traditional African cultures fascinated him, who began stories as a university student. After graduation, he worked for the Nigerian broadcasting service and quickly moved to the metropolis of Lagos. He gained worldwide attention in the late 1950s; his later novels include No Longer at Ease (1960), Arrow of God (1964), A Man of the People (1966), and Anthills of the Savannah (1987). Achebe defended the use of English, a "language of colonizers," in African literature. In 1975, controversy focused on his lecture An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" for its criticism of Joseph Conrad as "a bloody racist."

When the region of Biafra broke away from Nigeria in 1967, Achebe, a devoted supporter of independence, served as ambassador for the people of the new nation. The war ravaged the populace, and as starvation and violence took its toll, he appealed to the people of Europe and the Americas for aid. When the Nigerian government retook the region in 1970, he involved in political parties but witnessed the corruption and elitism that duly frustration him, who quickly resigned. He lived in the United States for several years in the 1970s, and after a car accident left him partially disabled, he returned to the United States in 1990.

Novels of Achebe focus on the traditions of Igbo society, the effect of Christian influences, and the clash of values during and after the colonial era. His style relied heavily on the Igbo oral tradition, and combines straightforward narration with representations of folk stories, proverbs, and oratory. He also published a number of short stories, children's books, and essay collections. He served as the David and Marianna Fisher university professor of Africana studies at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, United States.

ollowing a brief illness, Achebe died.

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book, I haven't read much from Africa, safe from a few Northern countries and mostly from Arab writers, so this mixture of authors was really nice. It provides a good insight into what's in the mind of African writers (alas, a bit older writers).
I thought most of them would have stories of war and colonisation, but surprisingly there were lots of different stories, and most talk about beliefs and the daily life. I really liked it, it reads different from everything else, even though there might be similarities here and there.

[Nana Fredua-Agyeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories edited by Chinua Achebe and C.L. Innes. It attempts to represent all the regions of Africa.

Any of the links below will lead you to different parts of the review.

http://freduagyeman.blogspot.com/2010...

http://freduagyeman.blogspot.com/2010...

http://freduagyeman.blogspot.com/2010...

http://freduagyeman.blogspot.com/2010...

http://freduagyeman.blogspot.com/2010...


Thanks

[Kudzai Mhangwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

These stories are both humorous as they are devastating, they are transcendent while also very grounded, they are a beacon of hope while also heartbreaking. It was very nice to take a tour around Africa in this collection of short stories from all corners of Africa; there is great scope in the collection you encounter rural life, urban life, traditional settings, contemporary settings. My favorite section of the book where the stories from Central Africa.

The stand out stories for me where "A wasted land", "The birds of God", "The rubbish dump", "The man", "The housegirl" and "Weaverdom". What made "Weaverdom" special for me was because it was the first piece of literature I have read of this far of land called The Gambia, the writer impressed me with his symbolism and boldness in the prose. "The housegirl" was comic and I commend this witty story in a collection that mostly leans towards sad, gloomy stories.

"The rubbish dump" was a powerful story about broken hopes and dreams. I was able to relate with the main character and I also loved the ease of the prose. I loved the surrealism in "The birds of God", this story stood out to me because of that element and its treatment of tradition. The story I was really able to relate with was "A waste land" partly because it was set in my home land; the story was very specific to the Zimbabwean context and I loved how the story feels so immediate and fresh though it is set in the early 1980s.

My favorite story was "The man" hands down! The writer did such a great job in creating suspense throughout the story. The events of the story are still having today which made it really great for me.

I recommend this book for anyone interested in sampling Africa as a whole; the scope of this book is so rich. The reason this only got 3 stars is because only a few of the stories really stroke me, the rest were lukewarm in my opinion. Enjoy!

[Noel Arnold · Rating 4 out of 5]

books #26 and #27 of 2023: African Short Stories (1985) and Contemporary African Short Stories (1992) both anthologies edited by Nigerian author and professor Chinua Achebe and British professor and literary critic C L Innes. I’ve recently rekindled my college love affair with the short story anthology and what better way to learn about a part of the world I’ve been wanting to cozy up with for some time? (actually, I have anthropology and folktale books lined up as well, along with more short story collections, now that I got a little history in (a few books ago: John G Jackson’s Introduction to African Civilizations - and I’ll prob read more history down the line).)

both of these collections feature authors from various parts of Africa. it was marvelous to get a bit of a tour of some African countries through the hands of some very gifted authors, though I was stunned to find that the second collection, contemporary authors, considerably outshone the first, more traditionally renowned authors.

- themes covered in both collections: hypocrisy, political abuses, survival, etc.
- the first collection included themes of racism, ingenuity, sacrifice, and many more.
- the second collection captured topics of traditional vs western values, violation of the disenfranchised, the effects of war, misfortune breaking those living an incredibly tenuous existence, unlikely friendships, among others.

I’ve always seen literature as a cheaper way to travel and short stories are the stick shift method.

[Ronan Doyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solidly representative span takes in plenty of localities and styles en route to a fine tasting menu of modern African lit. Some great discoveries here that render it, as is the nature of things, very uneven beside some of the more sloggier entries, but there's a clear bent to the curation that makes you feel consistently in the hands of someone(s) not only expert in this field, but keen to share it too.

[Kris · Rating 2 out of 5]

As with any anthology, this is a mixed bag. Of special note are Jamal Mahjoub's "Road Block", Okey Chigbo's "The Housegirl", and "The Miracle" by Ba'bila Mutia. There were several stories that were confusing for me but which might be more enjoyable to others, like Lindiwe Mabuza's "Wake..." and Kojo Laing's "Vacancy for the Post of Jesus Christ."

[Claire · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found them all so varied in quality. Quite a disappointing collection really.

[Antonia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two stars for effort and perhaps the two stories I really liked. I am disappointed sadly.

[Ewout · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 cause im in a good mood.

"Some good, some bad
Opinion: Dangerous"
- Chuck Schuldiner

[Olivia AD · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really interesting collection of stories. The wide range of authors, topics, and contexts made it a bit hard for me to feel like I was engaged in each story.

[James F · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of twenty stories by twenty authors from fifteen African countries, written between 1985 and 1992. The only author I had read before was Nadine Gordimer; I had heard of Mia Couto, E.B. Dongala and Assia Djebar, but the others were all totally unknown to me. These were all very good interesting stories, in a variety of styles ranging from complete realism through magical realism and allegory to prose poetry, and from the tragic to the comic; most are either explicitly or implicitly political.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was assigned this book for a World Literature course but unfortunately it was one of the coursebooks that fell a little flat for me. There is some great literature that came out of Africa, but this collection just wasn't very interesting to me. Like any book of short stories there are some good stories and some bad, this one was fairly disappointing for me though.

[AnnaRose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Each story in this collection is unique and thought-provoking. Most are only a few pages, making this a fast but engaging read. One downfall is that there is little background on the authors, countries, and history of the tales. I would have liked to know more to understand the stories better.

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

some of the stories i could've gone without reading, but anything with achebe's name on the cover (writer or editor) deserves a chance i think.

[in8 · Rating 2 out of 5]

read it while in Tanzania:
http://5cense.com/EA/Zanzibar.htm

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it.

[Mike Sale]

i think thath is amazing