Great African Reads discussion

Hello all,

It's that time again... let's hear some thoughts and suggestions for our next stop in the Tour d'Afrique. We're off to Eritrea, jumping right across the continent again!

Here are some ideas to get us started... (though we shouldn't have any trouble finding lots of books!)

Australian Tom Keneally wrote a much criticised novel: To Asmara takes place in Eritrea in late 1987 and 1988. Should make for some thought-provoking and stimluating discussion! ;)

Pateman gives us an account of Eritrean history from a Western point of view in Eritrea: Even the Stones Are Burning .

Kaplan's book
Surrender or Starve: Travels in Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, and Eritrea reports on his travels as a journalist at the Horn of Africa.

And if anybody's interested in a cookbook... Taste of Eritrea: Recipes from One of East Africa's Most Interesting Little Countries might get your taste buds going!

Just a few ideas, there are plenty more books out there! Please post your suggestions within the next week or so.

i'm definitely interested in a cookbook! :D

Here's another one: My Fathers' Daughter by Hannah Pool.

Diane wrote: "Here's another one: My Fathers' Daughter by Hannah Pool."

that does look really good. i'm always simultaneously giddy and anxious whenever we come to a country that provides difficult choices...i will want to read all of these. :D

Hello ...
I like to read about Eritrea , never read any before ..
nice books on the list , any one heard about Alemseged Tesfai ? his name came by searching the web ..

edit
Or Mohammed Said Nawid ?
http://www.ehrea.org/NAU.php

Heart of Fire: One Girl's Extraordinary Journey from Child Soldier to Soul Singer

It is strange that I can not reach any books by native Eritreans easily !
I wanted to read book from Eretria not about Eretria ..

Short stories :
Two Weeks in the Trenches: Reminiscences of Childhood and War in Eritrea

http://www.bookhills.com/Two-Weeks-in...

Abu Bakr Hamid Kahhal :Titanikat Ifriqiyyah (only availbe in Arabic) , but I posted that it may be translated one day …, (Marieke ...can you find this one ?)

http://www.amazon.com/Taytanikat-Afri...

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/66...


This non-fiction academic book seems interesting :
Blood, land and sex
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26...
http://www.jus.unitn.it/download/gest...

Nile daughter wrote: "It is strange that I can not reach any books by native Eritreans easily !
I wanted to read book from Eretria not about Eretria .."

this is our typical problem! but it's fun searching. also, we try to avoid academic books because they are usually too dry for most folks but i'll have a look at the one you found to see if that's the case.

it's interesting...i had no idea that eritreans use arabic so much! is that the official language? i feel dumb. :D

Marieke wrote: "this is our typical problem! but it's fun searching. also, we try to avoid academic books because they are usually too dry for most folks but i'll have a look at the one you found to see if that's the case.

it's interesting...i had no idea that eritreans use arabic so much! is that the official language? i feel dumb. :D

..."

For Arabic , never mind ..It was a surprise for me too , I am glad I did my homework searching :p

According to Wikipedia half of the population speaks Arabic ! since Tigrinya (used among Christians) and Arabic (used among Muslims) are the most used languages , then local literature will be available in either of them, Alemseged Tesfai writes in Tigrinya , two of his books are available in English , the review about (Two Weeks in the Trenches) seems interesting , for Mohammed Said Nawid and Abu Bakr Hamid Kahhal ; they write in Arabic and I could not reach any English translations :(

I understand your point about academic books and you are absolutely right , the one I posted is available online & I read couple of pages from it , so it can be a useful side guide , one of its authors wrote (even the stones are burning ) that was posted by Muphyn ..

The book I posted is a memoir.

Shoshanapnw wrote: "The book I posted is a memoir."

I noticed it , it is interesting , specialy that the heroine's life went through multiple countries , it is among my personal choices :)

Nile Daughter said the one I posted is available online & I read couple of pages from it , so it can be a useful side guide

great!! i will definitely need some reference works for this tour stop (and probably all tour stops, actually!).

i don't know much about the eritrean-ethiopian conflict but i think it's critical to understanding the region and i'd definitely like to get a better handle on it myself.

I Didn't Do It for You: How the World Betrayed a Small African Nationis quite good on history of the West's involvement with Eritrea.

wow, Michela Wrong is awesome. I meant to read In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu's Congo a couple of months ago but haven't managed yet. i think no matter what book we decide on i'll be reading "i didn't do it for you" for some excellent and readable background.

I've read three of Wrong's books, "I Didn't Do It" "In the Footsteps" and It's Our Turn to Eat. All three were amazing.

i want to read "It's Our Turn to Eat" also. man alive when will have be able to read every book in the universe?? hahaha...

i haven't looked for books for Eritrea yet but i'm happy to see that already we have a good selection...it's not a lot but these are really good choices. i'll be curious to see how the voting goes.

Hi -

Do not know if I am too late to make a suggestion (been busy at work)

Three Eritrean Plays - Mesgun Zerai, Esaias Tseggai, Solomon Drar

Three Eritrean Plays meets the traditional expectations of good drama with strong plots, engaging characters, incisive language and inventive settings, yet with telltale characteristics of the Eritrean life experience. Fanciful in A Village Dream, brutal in The Snare, and intensely romantic in Aster, these plays by three of Eritrea's greatest contemporary writers - Mesgun Zerai, Esaias Tseggai, and Solomon Drar - emerge from a culture that, facing defeat in the middle of its 30-year war for independence, made a conscious, strategic decision: develop your drama and all of your arts, and you will gain not only your nation but your soul

http://www.amazon.com/Three-Eritrean-...

that would be interesting...i don't think we've read plays, yet...

Beverly
That seems very interesting !!

Hello again,

Sorry I've been absent again (we ran a conference at work this week and I'm utterly, totally stuffed and oh-so-relieved that it's over now :) ). Anyway, I'll set up a poll asap and then we can vote on our Eritrea stopover read.

m

i'm totally paralyzed with indecision. :(

*laugh* is that any different from normal?? ;)

Muphyn wrote: "*laugh* is that any different from normal?? ;)"

Ummmmmmmmm...no?

:) One more day (well, two for you) to decide... :)

there. i did it. :P

I won't vote as I most probably won't find the time to join the discussion punctually (we'll be in India from the end of January until February), but I've just ordered the Three plays as this sounds fantastic....Thanks for the recommendation, Beverly, great find.

join us whenever you can, Julia! and even if we don't end up selecting the Three Plays, feel free to chime in with your thoughts about them. :D

Just to announce the winner for our Eritrea book club read ... we have a tie again!! The two winners are:

Michela Wrong I Didn't Do It for You: How the World Betrayed a Small African Nation

AND

Mesgun Zerai, Esaias Tseggai, Solomon Drar Three Eritrean Plays

Feel free to join us in January & February for when we delve into Eritrea!

yay! i LOVE ties! hahaha! i will read them both; i think i'll start with Wrong's book since i really need some background. :D

just FYI, an old broadcast of "Fresh Air" featuring Michela Wrong discussing I Didn't Do It for You ...

Thanks!! We should post it in the book thread as well (which I'm about to set up now, even though I haven't even got my hands on the book yet! :( )