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We are past the halfway mark of the year—the perfect time to revisit our reading lists, both completed and pending. It is a time to reflect on the books that have shaped, challenged and delighted us so far. At The Republic, African literature is at the heart of our work. Each week, we share book recommendations from across the continent, speak with African authors, and critically review new releases and milestone publications. Now feels like the right time to look back at the stories that have left their mark on us this year.
In 2017, The Republic released the first instalment of our annual August Reading. The goal of this list is to provide readers with curated book recommendations akin to the ‘Summer Reading’ traditions cherished across the globe. This year, our August Reading list is back with the most important books of the year based on the recommendations from our editorial team, African authors who have been featured in our First Draft interview series and our contributors.
Some of these books probe the fault lines of history, others imagine futures shaped by climate crisis or surveillance states. Some carry us into rural villages or bustling cities; others into the intimate spaces of family, friendship and chosen kinship. All demand that we look again—at the world, at ourselves, at the narratives we inherit and those we create. From the poignant work on homosexuality in Iryn Tushabe’s Everything is Fine Here to the inventiveness of Nnedi Okorafor’s Death of the Author, from Abdulrazak Gurnah’s incisive Theft to Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s enduring manifesto Decolonising the Mind, these books navigate love, loss, injustice, identity and the many ways human beings find ways to endure.
For our recommendations, read on.
SELECTED BY THE REPUBLIC CONTRIBUTORS
dream count
Author: chimamanda ngozi adichie
Genre: FICTION
Recomemended by: diekara olpruntoba-oju
In a review for The Republic, Diekara Oloruntoba-Oju writes that amongst other things, Dream Count is also about ‘disillusionment with institutions, especially in their American form. Omelogor tells us sullenly, “I had come to America hoping to find a part of me that was more noble and good; I came in search of repair.”’ She also writes that, ‘Dream Count shows how this sort of cruel optimism is etched into the very fabric of America, how the promise of justice is shattered by the reality of a justice system that sniffs out the flaws of victims so it can discredit them.’
a mouth full of salt
AUTHOR: reem gaafar
GENRE: FICTION
According to Amyn Bawa-Allah, A Mouth Full of Salt is the kind of book that sneaks up on you. Bawa-Allah also tells us that the novel ‘starts quietly in a small Sudanese village but builds into something that will stick with you long after you are done reading.’ The story follows three women over several decades, and when bad things start happening, everyone immediately blames the outsider. ‘Gaafar has this gift for making ordinary things and the mundane details of everyday life feel completely absorbing. The narrative style is accessible without being simple, and it introduces a voice we haven’t been hearing nearly enough,’ she writes. Bawa-Allah highly recommends this book to anyone seeking fresh perspectives on timeless themes of belonging, loss and the dangerous human tendency to choose easy answers over difficult self-reflection.
theft
AUTHOR: Abdulrazak gurnah
GENRE: FICTION
‘As always, Abdulrazak Gurnah masterfully magnifies family dynamics and interpersonal relationships to comment on the larger themes of race, gender, morality, ambition and responsibility,’ Karen Chalamilla says. ‘His works are some of the best examples that personal history is often also national history.’ Theft is about the coming of age of three young characters—Karim, Fauzia and Badar—as much as it is about the evolution of Zanzibari identity under rapid globalization.
Crooked seeds
AUTHOR: karen jennings
GENRE: FICTION
For Hamza Koudri, in Crooked Seed, Karen Jennings ‘creates a memorable character who starts off as a despicable human being but quickly reveals layers of her personality that stir all kinds of emotions.’ Deidre lives in a scary world, set in the very near future, and the worst part about that world is that it is not leagues away from our current reality. She grapples with the dark part of South African history and a present where people have all but given up on their humanity to survive the climate change ordeals. Deidre is a victim of her environment, which makes it hard not to empathize with her and her manipulative, and sometimes selfish behaviour. While infuriating, this book reveals the darkness of what humans are capable of. Koudri says Jennings ‘expertly weaves universal themes of racism and climate change in the folds of this immersive narrative that helps the narrative interact with these issues from a human perspective.’
death of the author
AUTHOR: Nnedi okorafor
GENRE: FICTION
For the novelist, Nikki May, Nnedi Okorafor’s novel is an incredible ‘genre-defying book that blew my mind!’ ‘Okorafor seamlessly weaves three distinct narratives together, and there is a novel inside a novel. Beautiful, human, outrageously clever—but most of all, this book is great fun.’ In a review for The Republic, Aditri Chatterjee writes that ‘Death of the Author is significant in imparting agency to its Black readers who want to explore africanfuturism, redefining Black scholarship through science fiction and proving that scientific development does not exclusively lie outside literature or within Western countries.’
necessary fiction
AUTHOR: eloghosa osunde
GENRE: FICTION
Necessary Fiction by Eloghosa Osunde is a novel set in modern-day Lagos, where over two dozen characters struggle to build meaningful lives amid a city that is both vibrant and unforgiving. According to Chinua Ezenwa-Ohaeto, ‘These characters, many of whom are queer Nigerians, navigate complex tensions between personal freedom and societal or familial expectations. Each character in the novel clings to a “necessary fiction”—a personal myth or story they create to endure, to justify, or to make sense of their place in the world.’ Ezenwa-Ohaeto also tells us that these stories are ‘at times tender, rebellious or heartbreaking, and they reflect how people cope with grief, shame, longing and loss.’
Nigerian novelist, Onyi Nwabineli, also selected this book because ‘what started in Osunde’s first book, Vagabonds, was continued in a way that speaks to not only the existence, the multi-hued sprawl and the value of queer lives in Nigeria; within a world that seeks to quash them, but does so with an authenticity that made me click my fingers, smile broadly and wipe tears.’ Nwabineli also believes that Osunde has ‘a gift for shining a light on the necessity and beauty of chosen family off the sacredness of bonds forged and nurtured by mutual experiences, love and transgressions. It is not a work that I will ever forget.’
everything is fine here
AUTHOR: iryn tushabe
GENRE: fiction
Set in Uganda, Everything is Fine Here by Iryn Tushabe opens with Aine, who is 18 years old preparing for her final school exams, anticipating seeing her older sister Mbabazi for the first time in years. She did not expect her to arrive with Achen, who she quickly realizes is her sister’s partner. Both a coming-of-age tale and one showing the unshakeable love between two sisters despite the homophobia around them, this debut novel is full of both the joys and difficulties of queerness in Uganda today. ‘I particularly appreciated how homosexuality was one theme among many ranging from first love to religious fundamentalism, that the story was told from Aine’s perspective, and that Tushabe resisted the urge from prospective agents and publishers to inflict violence on her characters rather than showing them (as she does) live their lives, full of community, love and meaning, on their own terms,’ Chitra Nagarajan tells us. ‘At a time where anti-rights actors are pushing anti-homosexuality legislation and pursuing violence, this book is an important reminder of the different perspectives and tolerance that also exist on the continent.’
SELECTED BY THE REPUBLIC’S EDITORIAL TEAM
the years of blood
AUTHOR: adedayo agarau
GENRE: POETRY
In his debut collection, Adedayo Agarau confronts the grim realities of ritual killings and child abductions that have haunted Nigeria from the turbulent pre-democratic era to the present day. Set against the rural backdrop of Ibadan, The Years of Blood immerses readers in the depths of collective trauma.
bitter honey
AUTHOR: LOLA AKINMADE ÅKERSTRÖM
GENRE: FICTION
It is 1978 and Nancy has just moved from Gambia to Sweden on a scholarship. There, she meets Lars, a charismatic scholar with whom she promptly falls in love. But she soon discovers the storm beneath his steady surface, and the dangers of being pulled into his world. Decades later, in 2006, Nancy’s daughter, Tina, has become a beloved popstar. She enjoys the glitz and glamour, but beneath all that is the nagging question of who she really is. Her mother is no help: she seems desperate to keep her past a secret. Desperate to find out, Tina takes the opportunity an unexpected figure presents to learn about the past. Read our interview with Lola Akinmade Åkerström here.
somadina
AUTHOR: Akwaeke emezi
GENRE: FICTION
Somadina and her twin brother, Jayaike, are practically the same person: they finish each other’s sentences and make each other whole. When the twins come of age, their magical gifts begin to develop, but while Jayaike’s powers enchant, Somadina’s causes fear to ripple through her town.
Always an outsider, Somadina now faces blatant and dangerous hostility. And things go from bad to worse when her brother—the one person she trusted—vanishes. Somadina knows that no matter the dangers, she must track him down. Even if it means entering the Sacred Forest. Even if it means gruelling, otherworldly travel she may not survive. Even if it means finding the hidden places where those closest to the spirit world don’t dare to go. Does Somadina have the strength—within both her body and her soul—for the trying journey ahead?
this kind of trouble
AUTHOR: tochi eze
GENRE: FICTION
It is 1960 in Lagos, and a headstrong Nigerian woman, Margaret, meets Benjamin, a British-born young man on a mission to connect with his roots after the death of his half-Nigerian father. The two immediately fall in love. Along the line, they find that their pasts are more interlinked than either of them would have ever guessed. Struggling to come to terms with this discovery, the ripple effects of events that happened a long time ago in their ancestral community, and Margaret’s failing mental health, the two eventually break up. Almost 40 years later, Margaret and Benjamin are completely estranged, living alone in different parts of the world. But when their grandson starts to manifest the symptoms of Margaret’s past struggles, the estranged couple must come together to address the issues they had dismissed in the past. This debut novel is a story about forbidden love and family legacies.
dream hotel
AUTHOR: laila lalami
GENRE: FICTION
Imagine a world where the government could see your dreams. That’s exactly what Moroccan American author Laila Lalami does in her upcoming novel, The Dream Hotel, set in a near future. When Sara, a young woman, lands at the airport, returning from a conference, she is pulled aside by agents from the Risk Assessment Administration, who tell her that based on data from her dreams, she will soon harm her husband, the person she loves most in the world. For this reason, they say, they have to keep her under surveillance for three weeks. Sara is transferred to a retention centre, where she meets other ‘dreamers’, women accused of different imminent crimes. But three weeks elapse, and then months pass, but Sara is not released from the facility. One day, a new ‘dreamer’ arrives, bringing with her an opportunity for Sara to confront the powers that have deprived her of freedom.
the lives and deaths of VÉRONIQUE BANGOURA
AUTHOR: TIERNO MONÉNEMBO
GENRE: fiction
Set in both French Guinea and Paris, Tierno Monénembo explores international exile, sexual abuse, generational trauma and repressed memory of a people and country under the regime of dictator Ahmed Sékou Touré from 1956-1982 in which 50,000 people were reportedly killed or disappeared. With his title character Véronique Bangoura, Monénembo provides a portrait of a powerful female protagonist living under an assumed name in exile, having fled her native country to take on a new identity and occupation as caregiver for an elderly and infirm gentleman.
the world was in our hands
AUTHOR: CHItra nagrajan
GENRE: non-FICTION
A moving, often provocative, and ultimately vital collection of first-hand accounts of people living through the Boko Haram conflict. From abducted girls to brash soldiers, and from community leaders to simple fishermen, this collection provides an insight into the realities of those living through the conflict, making this an essential cultural archive. The World Was in Our Hands covers themes of patriarchy, the economy, climate change, and corruption, to paint a picture that is much broader than what has been captured through news coverage. Read our Interview with Chitra Nagarajan here.
the tiny things are heavier
AUTHOR: esther ifesinachi OKONKWO
GENRE: FICTION
Sommy, a young Nigerian woman, has just arrived in the United States for graduate school. She should be thrilled, but the struggle to fit into her new life as an immigrant student is overwhelming. Coupled with that is the fact that just two weeks before she arrived in the United States, her brother, Mezie, attempted suicide, and Sommy is now filled with guilt about leaving home. Sommy soon starts a relationship with Bayo, her Nigerian roommate, but when she meets Bryan, a biracial American with an estranged Nigerian father, she cannot resist falling in love with him. Soon, both Sommy and Bryan take a trip to Lagos, Nigeria. Sommy hopes to reconcile with her brother, and Bryan hopes to connect with his estranged father. But neither knows just how much disarray is in store for them. The Tiny Things are Heavier is a story about immigration, love, grief, and family.
Can feminism be african?
AUTHOR: minna salami
GENRE: non-FICTION
Drawing on feminist thought, postcolonial theory, historical perspectives and African knowledge systems, Minna Salami blends personal reflection with cultural criticism to present a cohesive exploration of power, identity, patriarchy, imagination and the human condition. Rooted in Africa’s enduring visions of agency and autonomy, Can Feminism Be African? charts new paths for reimagining the narratives that shape our world. This book is thought-provoking and reminds us to ‘rethink the past, present and future through new perspectives.’
decolonizing the mind
AUTHOR: NGŨGĨ WA THIONG’O
GENRE: non-FICTION
First published in 1986, Decolonising the Mind is one of Ngũgĩ’ wa Thiong’o’s best-known non-fiction work, helping to cement him as a pre-eminent voice theorizing the ‘language debate’ in postcolonial studies. This book is a collection of essays about language and its constructive role in national culture, history and identity, that advocates for linguistic decolonization. Wa Thiong’o’s arguments resonate in today’s conversations about cultural erasure, linguistic diversity and reclaiming African narratives from the shadow of colonial legacies.
SELECTED BY Wale lawal, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
SELECTED WRITINGS, VOLUME 1: TOWARD A NEW AFRICAN ART DISCOURSE
AUTHOR: OKWUI ENWEZOR
EDITOR: TERRY SMITH
GENRE: NON-FICTION
Okwui Enwezor is widely recognized as one of the leading curators of the 1990s who helped shape new ways of understanding the global expansiveness of contemporary art. His landmark exhibitions included the second Johannesburg Biennale (1997), the paradigm-shifting Documenta11 (2002), Archive Fever (2008) and Postwar (2016). Beyond curating, Enwezor was a prolific critic, essayist and theorist. Selected Writings—a landmark two-volume set—collects his most influential and foundational works. Spanning 25 years, the volumes capture the range and depth of his writing, central to his tireless project of decolonizing the art world. Volume 1, Toward a New African Art Discourse, brings together fifteen essays written between 1994 and 2006. Drawn from exhibition catalogues, journals, artist interviews, reviews, curatorial statements, historical studies and book chapters, these texts chart his pursuit of a central ambition: establishing and sustaining what he termed a ‘New African Art Discourse’. This collection demonstrates how his writing advanced that goal and reaffirms Enwezor’s legacy as a transformational figure in global contemporary art.
SELECTED WRITINGS, VOLUME 2: CURATING THE POSTCOLONIAL CONDITION
AUTHOR: OKWUI ENWEZOR
EDITOR: TERRY SMITH
GENRE: NON-FICTION
Volume 2, Curating the Postcolonial Condition, includes 17 essays written between 2006 and 2019. Drawn from exhibition catalogues, art journals, interviews with artists, art reviews, curatorial statements, historical studies and book chapters, these texts show Enwezor striving to fulfil the second main ambition that drove his career: enabling a critical, diasporic imagining of postcoloniality that would become pervasive within global art discourse. Demonstrating that his writing helped fulfil this goal, this collection reaffirms Enwezor’s status as a transformational figure in the global contemporary art world.
THE OVERTHROW OF ROBERT MUGABE
AUTHOR: BLESSING-MILES TENDI
GENRE: NON-FICTION
In this book, Blessing-Miles Tendi argues that the 2017 coup that ousted longtime Zimbabwean president Robert Gabriel Mugabe—and coups in general—cannot be fully understood without examining the crucial role of gender and women’s politics in military takeovers.
Tendi’s book demonstrates how gender and women’s politics shape the causes, dynamics, justifications and international responses to military coups. Challenging influential portrayals of Zimbabwe’s 2017 coup and other recent ones as fundamentally distinct from earlier episodes, Tendi situates them within a long, gendered history of African coups to reveal striking continuities across time. His original study of the 2017 coup not only identifies its motives, dynamics and trigger but also draws on interviews with diplomats and politicians to unpack the complexities of external responses.
NJIDEKA AKUNYILI CROSBY
AUTHOR: NJIDEKA AKUNYILI CROSBY, JAREH DAS, HELEN MOLESWORTH, JASON ROSENFELD AND DREW THOMPSON
GENRE: NON-FICTION
This is the first monograph on the internationally celebrated Nigerian American painter, Njideka Akunyili Crosby. Akunyili Crosby blends her personal history and the African diasporic identity in layered compositions. The text explores a range of themes in her work, including her visual language and material practice, her fusion of Western and Nigerian imagery and forms, and her use of photography in portraiture and figuration. This monograph brings together nearly fifty paintings, made from 2010 to 2023, that chart her practice of layering painted representations of people, locales and aspects of her own experiences with transferred images sourced from her personal collection, Nigerian publications and other outlets⎈
