Great African Reads discussion

Hi is anyone on here based in Sudan? Id like some non-fiction reads advice and also some info on the country. thanks

Laura, you might start with the Sudan shelf here at GAR, or this list of books about East Africa.

I don't have any special knowledge of Sudan (what sorts of nonfiction are you looking for?), but here are some more books that aren't on either of those lists:
Nuer Journeys, Nuer Lives: Sudanese Refugees in Minnesota
Daughter of Dust: Growing up an Outcast in the Desert of Sudan
Even the Dead Are Coming
Out of Exile: Narratives from the Abducted and Displaced People of Sudan

(I haven't read any of these four yet -- I just keep lists of my own! -- so I can't vouch for them, but perhaps something here will be of use to you.)

Oh! And books that GR users in general have shelved as Sudan: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...

Liralen

For some reason my comment wasn't fully published so sorry! My connection is terrible. And I'm based in Europe! Thank you so much for your recommendations. I got really interested in it as I saw a film on the BBC and realised I don't know anything about Sudan apart from the fact that the country split into two recently. Whilst there's loads on South Sudan thee isn't much on North Sudan. A huge country! Thanks so much. You're a star!

Sudan is fascinating, Laura! It has tremendous history and an interesting tie to Egypt. I'll poke around in my books and see if I can come up with something to suggest...one I read a long time ago is Emma's War but that may focus too much on the south for you. Apologies, I'm typing on my phone and can't link to the book.

That's fab Marieke. I can't believe it's just entered into my field of vision. So glad I can pick your brains on this!

You are in for a great time! I haven't read anything about Sudan in quite a while but it's one of those places that sucks you in.

If you like heavy stuff, Darfur: A Short History of a Long War, is excellent.

Wow Tinea. I've just read your review of it and it's now def on my list. Thanks ever so much. Are you now based there ?

I will note that all of the books I mentioned (and, I am sure, most of those on the lists) were written pre-split, so some of them will cover what is now South Sudan.

Anyway, I hope you find lots of excellent reading...and then come here to talk about it :)

Laura wrote: "Wow Tinea. I've just read your review of it and it's now def on my list. Thanks ever so much. Are you now based there ?"

Nope, just south of it in CAR!

Emmas war is really gripping so far. I had to double check whether she is actually real or a fiction character.

brilliant intro to Sudan! Emma s war was really unputdownable.

I'm so glad you enjoyed it! It's one I'd like to reread someday.

For what it's worth (I don't mean to hijack the thread and turn it into an Emma McCune thread or anything, but I love making connections), Emmanual Jal talks a bit about McCune in War Child (which is about his experience as a child soldier; wouldn't read it explicitly for McCune, but it's worth a read for other reasons), and her mother wrote a book about her.

Liralen, I just added War Child to my TBR, thanks. I actually have a shelf for children in war.

Marieke, if that's of particular interest to you, you might have a look at some of these books:

And Still Peace Did Not Come: A Memoir of Reconciliation
They Fight Like Soldiers, They Die Like Children: The Global Quest to Eradicate the Use of Child Soldiers
Girl Soldier: A Story of Hope for Northern Uganda's Children*
When I Was a Soldier
The Bite of the Mango
Last Night I Dreamed of Peace: The Diary of Dang Thuy Tram
Where Soldiers Fear to Tread: A Relief Worker's Tale of Survival

*I actually thought this one was kind of dreadful, but there's an important story in there; it's just mired in...other stuff.

Thanks! I have not read any of those!

War child is on my list. the book certainly opened a few mental doors for me

Laura, this thread piqued my interest, and I just read Emma's War too. Definitely complicated.

yes indeed Miralen. I just watched a video of Emma and Riek. He certainly feautures in a lot of the recent events in South Sudan media!

Sorry! I meant Liralen of course!

I've only just seen this thread - I'm the author of Even the Dead Are Coming, which Liralen kindly mentioned above.

I definitely endorse the recommendation of Emma's War. I met Emma McCune before I travelled to Sudan (she had been considered for the post I took). I also met Deborah Scroggins, the author, in Sudan some months later. I liked them both. And I loved the book.

I have three other recommendations for you, Laura. In Search of the Forty Days Road, by Michael Asher, is a wonderful account of a punishing journey by camel across the Sudanese desert. Sudan Tales: Reminiscences of Wives in the Sudan Political Service, 1926-56 is an extraordinary historical document (and occasionally quite funny). I also enjoyed Charlie Pye-Smith's The Other Nile: 2journeys in Egypt, the Sudan, and Ethiopia - an open-minded, likeable traveller. All of these books are quite old (and none of them by Sudanese authors, sadly), but they are all worth a read.

Hello,
I'm Sudanese, what do you exactly want to know about Sudan?
You are free to ask about anything.

Thank you for you interest.

Mike thank you ao much for the post. Im still very much into the Sudan and have been following recent events, especially in South Sudan. Salih - thanks for your poat. Am intereated in anything I can get hold of, esp recent biographies

Thanks for your post, Mike. Really neat insight and some new recs for me! Also, I agree 100% about Charlie Pye-Smith's book. I really enjoyed it.

Salih, thank you so much for being available to answer questions. It's really wonderful. :)

Apologies by the way for my spelling errors. Just a casa of fast typing on the go. im def going to read Charlie Pye-Smith's work!

Laura wrote: "Mike thank you ao much for the post. Im still very much into the Sudan and have been following recent events, especially in South Sudan. Salih - thanks for your poat. Am intereated in anything I ca..."

There are some really good books, but they are in Arabic.

Marieke wrote: "Thanks for your post, Mike. Really neat insight and some new recs for me! Also, I agree 100% about Charlie Pye-Smith's book. I really enjoyed it.

Salih, thank you so much for being available to an..."

you're welcome.