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If You Liked Don't Let's Go to the Dogs
Tonight by Alexandra Fuller, you may like these
books also:
FICTION
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart.
1959. Adult Fiction
This short classic is one of the first books to portray
Africa from an African point of view, contradicting European
stereotypes about the so-called "dark continent." It is the
story of Okonkwo, strongman of an Ibo village in Nigeria, as
he witnesses the destruction of his culture and the loss of
his own place within it.
Dangarembga, Tsitsi. Nervous Conditions.
2004.
Tambu is a young girl living in Rhodesia in the 1960's and
70's. Her family is poor, and she is only allowed to get an
education after her favored older brother dies. Her female
cousin is more privileged and British-educated, and the
novel portrays the clash of cultures, sexism, colonialism
and harsh living conditions that oppress African women.
Galvin, James. The Meadow. 1992
Wyoming is now Alexandra Fuller's home, and she cites The
Meadow, a
hundred-year history of a meadow in the arid mountains of
the Colorado/Wyoming border, as a novel that depicts the way
a piece of land can claim the souls of those who tend it.
Jhabvala, Ruth Prawer. Heat and Dust.
1974
Booker Prize-winner set in colonial India in the 1920's. The
granddaughter of an English official whose first wife left
him for an Indian prince searches for an understanding of
the woman through her journals and letters. By visiting
places she frequented, the young woman absorbs the mystery
of India before and after independence.
Kingsolver, Barbara. Poisonwood Bible.
1998. Adult Fiction
The drama of a U.S. missionary family in Africa during a war
of decolonization. At its center is Nathan Price, a
self-righteous Baptist minister who establishes a mission in
a village in 1959 Belgian Congo. The resulting clash of
cultures is seen through the eyes of his wife and four
daughters.
Naipaul, V.S., A Bend in the River.
1979
The Nobel laureate's novel of post-colonial Africa captures
the history, politics, and violence of colonialism and the
struggle of native Africans to survive in the new order.
Salim is an Indian shopkeeper who sets up a store at the
bend in the Congo River in Zaire after independence.
NONFICTION
Godwin, Peter. Mukiwa: a white boy in
Africa. 1996. 968.9104 G
At six years old, Godwin witnessed the murder of his
neighbor by African guerillas in 1964, pre-war Rhodesia. His
parents were liberal whites - his mother a doctor, his
father an engineer. His experience extends from the
beginning of the end of white rule to fighting in the civil
war to his adventures as a journalist in the new state of
Zimbabwe.
Godwin, Peter. When a Crocodile Eats
the Sun. 2007. 968.9105 G
Living comfortably in England, Godwin is called home to
Zimbabwe when his father's health is failing. He experiences
the tragedy of Robert Mugabe's dictatorship and the
suffering "the crocodile" has brought to blacks and whites
alike through the ruination of the country's economy and
ruthlessness of his arbitrary rule. Godwin also learns his
father's secret history - he is actually a Polish Jew whose
family died at Treblinka. Godwin's portrait of his parents
and of the devastation to his country is gripping, poignant,
and laced with dark humor.
Kann, Wendy. Casting with a Fragile
Thread: a Story of Sisters in Africa. 2006. 921 K133
When Kann's sister is murdered in Zimbabwe leaving a young
daughter, she returns to her childhood home, a world away
from her suburban American "soccer-mom" life. Her trip
revives memories of a privileged colonial childhood of
mansions and servants, her father's death, her mother's
mental illness, and the bloody Zimbabwean civil war.
Karr, Mary. Liar's Club. 1995. 921
K1425
The author, a prize-winning poet and critic, looks back at
her upbringing in a swampy East Texas refinery town. Beyond
dysfunctional, her nightmarish childhood with a violent
father and an alcoholic mother gave her a resilience and
compassionate toughness that allowed her to survive and
flourish. The tall tales told by her father and his friends
at "The Liar's Club" confirm the power of good storytelling
to lighten the spirit.
Mandela, Nelson. Long Walk to Freedom.
1994. 921 M29726
His autobiography covers Mandela's courageous struggle as
the foster son of a tribal chief who evolved to become a
moral and political leader in dismantling apartheid in South
Africa. He spent 27 years in prison for his opposition to
white rule and work with the African National Congress and
won the Nobel Peace Prize for his leadership.
Mathabane, Mark. Kaffir Boy: the True
Story of a Black Youth's Coming of Age in Apartheid South
Africa. 1986. 968.00496 M
Mathabane grew up poor and black in apartheid South Africa,
struggling to eke out a living under repressive and
dangerous circumstances. His tennis ability gained the
attention of American tennis star Steve Smith, who helped
him escape his situation and move to America, attend college
and become a journalist.
Mezlekia, Bega. Notes from the Hyena's
Belly. 2001. 963.2 M
Born in 1958, Mezlekia's story of growing up in Ethiopia
describes the clash of culture between Muslims and
Christians as well as the political turmoil that has
continued to this day. Growing up, magic and spirits
dominated his family's stories, but in the 70's and 80's,
the reality of war, chaos and famine take precedence.
Ondaatje, Michael. Running in the
Family. 1993. 921 On14
The author of The English Patient travels back to
Ceylon/Sri Lanka and recalls his childhood there and his
eccentric parents, evoking the sounds, smells, and magic of
the land and the character of the people who shaped his
early life.
St. John, Lauren. Rainbow's End: a
Memoir of Childhood, War and an African Farm.
2007. 921 Sa225
St. John's memoir of growing up on a farm and game preserve
during the Rhodesian civil war of the 1970s compares closely
to Fuller's experience, evoking the smells and sounds of the
African bush and the era's climate of unashamed racism and
feverish patriotism.
Walls, Jeannette. Glass Castle.
2005. 921 W157
The story of Walls' eccentric, dysfunctional family differs
in setting - the American West and poor South to New York
City - but is similar in its quirkiness to Fuller's
alcoholic family life. Jeannette and her brother and
sisters had to fend for themselves as youngsters, supporting
one another as they weathered their parents' betrayals and,
finally by striking out on their own to create a manageable
life.
TEEN
Farmer, Nancy. A Girl Named Disaster.
1996. Teen Fiction
When Nhamo, a young girl in Mozambique, is ordered to marry
the cholera-infected brother of a man her father killed, she
runs away to find her father's family in Zimbabwe. Her
journey of escape becomes a harrowing survival story and a
vehicle for conveying Shona culture and spiritual beliefs.
Newbery Honor book.
Gordon, Sheila. Waiting for the Rain:
a Novel of South Africa. 1987. Teen Fiction
Chronicles nine years in the lives of two South African
youths -- one black, one white -- as their friendship ends
in a violent confrontation between student and soldier.
McCall Smith, Alexander. No. 1 Ladies
Detective Agency Series. 1998. Adult Mystery
As a relief from the depressing portrayal of Africa found in
today's news, this series is not to be missed. The depiction
of life in Botswana, while not denying the reality of AIDS
and poverty, is relaxed, warm, and gentle. Mma Ramotswe, the
endearing counterpart to Agatha Christie's Miss Marple,
solves everyday problems and sets her neighbors on the right
path with her wisdom and cleverness.
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