Great African Reads discussion

Our next stopover on our Tour d'Afrique is Côte d'Ivoire on the West coast of Africa, a region where we've spent quite a bit of time now!

Some ideas for books we could explore during this stopover:

"The Suns of Independence" or "Allah is Not Obliged" or "Waiting For The Wild Beasts To Vote" by Ahmadou Kourouma
"In the Shadow of the Sacred Grove" by Carol Spindel
"Nine Hills to Nambonkaha: Two Years in the Heart of an African Village" by Sarah Erdman
"Finding the Center" by V.S. Naipaul
"As The Crow Flies" by Veronique Tadjo

And for something different...
A graphic novel: "Aya" by Marguerite Abouet or how about a picture book? "Mamy Wata and the Monster" by Veronique Tadjo

There are lots of other Ivorian writers but it seems that most of their works haven't been translated from French into English. Maybe some people would like to read the French originals though?

Post your suggestions here by Tuesday, Feb 14. I'll then set up a poll for us to vote for our next Tour book.

I'm excited to hear people's suggestions!! :)

Just found out I have a student in my writing class this semester who is Ivorian. I know that my library has the Erdman book but I'm hoping something by an Ivorian author may not be too hard to find. I'll look for Kourouma and Tadjo in my library.

Andrea wrote: "Just found out I have a student in my writing class this semester who is Ivorian. I know that my library has the Erdman book but I'm hoping something by an Ivorian author may not be too hard to fi..."

Would your student like to join us? (or would that make you uncomfortable?!)

I'm really excited for this stop!!

Andrea wrote: "Just found out I have a student in my writing class this semester who is Ivorian. I know that my library has the Erdman book but I'm hoping something by an Ivorian author may not be too hard to fi..."

I can only recommend Kourouma. Great writing with a biting sense of humour. I read Allah is not obliged. Will look for Tadjo as well.

I'd go for Erdman. I read Kouassi P. Soman: Abongui My People Cote D'Ivoire My Country America My Home: The Ethno-History of a Small African Kingdom a while ago. It's non-fiction.

"As the Crow Flies" or the Kourouma books look interesting. The graphic novel peeked my interest, too.

Does anyone know any short novels from Cote D'Ivoire in French? I'm a slow reader in French but try to read a few books in that language every now and then.

Millicent wrote: ""As the Crow Flies" or the Kourouma books look interesting. The graphic novel peeked my interest, too.

Does anyone know any short novels from Cote D'Ivoire in French? I'm a slow reader in French..."

Kourouma wrote in French; the books are not too long so you may want to try.

Does anyone know any short novels from Cote D'Ivoire in French? I'm a slow reader in French..."

I recently read Queen Pokou by Véronique Tadjo. There are editions in French and English. It is also quite short.

Whiteman by Tony D'Souza is also set in Cote d'Ivoire, but not by a native author. The author was a Peace Corps volunteer in the country.

Thanks, Diane! We definitely consider books like d'Souza's for the Tour. We encourage everyone to make sure that the book they want to vote for will be available to them (I'm going to explain things more frequently since we have a lot of new members).

great list so far! I've been meaning to read Tadjo for ages. Also I've been curious about Aya by Maguerite Abouet. It will be hard to vote for one thing. :-)

Kourouma is always a good choice, too.

Very nice list.
I have had Aya and Whiteman on my very long tbr list.
I have read a couple of graphic novels and have liked the reading experience.

Sounds like Ivory Coast is going to be an excellent stopover! :)

If you've got any other ideas for books we could read, let's hear them. :)

Here are the recommendations I got from an Ivorian friend:

FATOU KEITA :
Youth littérature - 1997 : Le Petit Garçon Bleu ( trnslated in english )

VERONIQUE TADJO (WWW.VERONIQUETADJO.COM)
Novels:
• 2009. As the Crow Flies (traduction d'A Vol d´Oiseau). Traduit par Wangui Wa Goro. Johannesburg: Penguin-Heinemann. Publié pour la première fois en 2001. Oxford: AWS Heinemann.
• 2009. Queen Pokou (traduction de Reine Pokou). Traduit par Amy Reid. Oxford: Ayebia Clarke Publishing..
• 2006. Red Earth - Latérite. (édition bilingue). Traduit par Peter Thompson. Préface écrite par Abiola Irele. Washington: Washington University Press.

Youth littérature
• 2007. When it Rains (illustrations de l'auteur) in Stories Across Africa (StAAf) Cape Town: New Africa Books. Aussi traduit en les langages suivantes: kiswahili, arabe, amharic, cinyanja, kinyarwanda,mandingo, twi, isiXhosa, afrikaans, anglais, français, portugaise et d'autres.
• 2000. Mamy Wata et le Monstre
• Editions anglaises et bilingues. London: Milet Publishing.
• anglais
• 2000. Le Grain de Maïs Magique
• Editions anglaises et bilingues. London: Milet Publishing.
• 2000. Grand-Mère Nanan
• Editions anglaises et bilingues. London: Milet Publishing.

looks like a lot of good stuff to choose from...i almost don't want to look for more recs!

i'm definitely curious about the graphic novel.

Yes, looks like we've got lots of good ideas here. I'll set up a poll early next week (after Feb 14).

What a great list. You guys rock. Everything I know about Cote d'Ivoire, I learned from Nine Hills to Nambonkaha: Two Years in the Heart of an African Village by Sarah Erdman. It's a Peace Corps memoir. For me Tour d'Afrique is all about real African Lit. Nevertheless, this Sarah Erdman paints a dang good picture.

hehe, thanks, Sharon! :)

The poll is open now, hopefully I haven't missed any suggestions! Let me know if I did. :)

Poll closes on Friday, Feb 24.

Happy voting!

For the first time ever, we have a graphic novel as our winner on a Tour stopover: Aya by Marguerite Abouet!

For those who are more keen on a novel, runner-ups are Waiting for the Wild Beasts to Vote and Nine Hills to Nambonkaha: Two Years in the Heart of an African Village.

I've ordered Aya (cheaper copies at Alibris and Book Depository) and may also read Nine Hills to Nambonkaha as well.

My library has "Nine Hills" so I'll probably read that one, as I've had to buy several books related to management and bookkeeping lately. Sigh...such a waste of perfectly good book money:)

I feel that way about working and sleeping--such a waste!

Yes, I'd get so many more books read if I didn't always have to go to work!

Ugh! Tell me about it!

I ordered my copy of Aya this morning, along with Half Blood Blues. I'm so excited for March reading!

Me too! And my library system actually has Aya. I usually don't get a chance to join in the Country read. :)

Yay, Melanie!

I think it's quite interesting that the Tour read and the contemporary read are both departures from our usual fare. I hope everyone enjoys the books!

so excited about finally reading Aya. My library system only has it in English, but I'll do an ILL to get the original French. Nice to see they do have it though. :) Happy to have access to a university library again, after a year or so without.

Andrea wrote: "Yes, I'd get so many more books read if I didn't always have to go to work!"

LOL! But so true.

Marieke wrote: "Yay, Melanie!

I think it's quite interesting that the Tour read and the contemporary read are both departures from our usual fare. I hope everyone enjoys the books!"

I received my copy of Aya yesterday and have a copy of Half-Blood Blues - I too am excited that this month's read are a little different than normal.

I haven't got anything yet... uuhh! And I'm normally so behind everything anyway... :(

Still waiting for Aya to arrive.

Do we have a new thread specifically for Aya? Or should I put my comments here?

There is a separate thread for discussion:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/8...

Is anybody interested in reading a second book for the Côte d'Ivoire stopover? Waiting for the Wild Beasts to Vote was the runner-up.

I finally (in January 2017) managed to finish all the six books in the Aya series, in French no less - though I did the help of a dictionary, and some of the guidance at the end of each of the volumes I had access to. I really enjoyed them, especially in their coverage of so many aspects of the lives of the Ivoirian capital Abidjan. Many of them do resonate even here in Ghana. Whether one reads them in French or English it doesn't really matter; I think they are a great contribution to contemporary African literature - especially for young adults.