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‘Men are scum’ and ‘Good men are hard to find’ are common refrains in conversations about men—and for good reason. Feminists have already brilliantly explicated how masculinity is constructed in caustic opposition to femininity, and there is enough evidence to prove this. However, it is important to point out that there are good men out there—not in the ‘not all men’ sense which seeks only to dismiss feminist arguments, but to provide a true, circumspect view of the human condition, a project that literature helps to realize.
In our latest book recommendation, we have compiled a list of books that will convince you that good men exist. From the former colonial officer who turns against the empire to care for a tortured native woman to the loving father whose unwavering support encourages his daughter’s intellectual curiosity, the men in the books on this list challenge the prevailing stereotypes about men.
Read our recommendations below:
half of a yellow sun
author: CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE
Genre: FICTION
It is ironic that many people often label feminists ‘man-haters’. For such people, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s masterpiece about the Nigerian-Biafran war, must be an aberration indeed, as it portrays several men as kind, reasonable and nurturing. There is Ugwu, for example, whom Adichie herself has called ‘the heart of the novel’: a village boy who becomes a houseboy to university professor Odenigbo and grows into a young man defined by devotion and moral awakening. Though he will commit terrible acts when he goes to war, we understand this as the brutalizing effect of war.
There are also Odenigbo and Richard, who, though flawed in their own ways, nonetheless manage to demonstrate courage and commitment to core principles. These men show that being good isn’t about being perfect but about maintaining compassion and moral clarity in the face of unthinkable circumstances, proving that even in war, some men choose to protect rather than destroy.
waiting for the barbarians
AUTHOR: j. m. coetzee
GENRE: Fiction
In this allegorical novel, Nobel laureate J.M. Coetzee shows us that change is possible even when you have been complicit in horrible acts. The unnamed Magistrate of a frontier town of an unnamed empire, initially complicit in the colonial project, undergoes a profound transformation when he witnesses the brutality of imperial torture and oppression. Rather than continuing to look away, he chooses to act according to his conscience, even though it costs him everything.
His decision to care for a tortured native woman, not out of romantic interest but from basic human decency, reveals a man capable of growth and real moral courage.
desertion
AUTHOR: abdulrazak gurnah
GENRE: fiction
There are several good men in Nobel laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah’s novel, Desertion. From Hassanali, a simple shop owner who saves a dying white man in his small coastal town in 1899 Mombasa, to Amin and his brother, Rashid, decades later, who grow up to be honourable and truth-seeking young men.
Desertion tells a powerful love story that begins when Hassanali saves Martin Pearce, an English writer and traveller exploring the African continent. Martin is unlike other colonial men, demonstrating a willingness to see beyond racial and cultural boundaries. He promptly falls in love with Hassanali’s sister, Rehana, and elopes with her. Several decades later, Martin and Rehana’s love story has consequences that even they could never have predicted.
Cassava Republic Press is proud to announce the launch of their inaugural $20,000 Global Black Women’s Non-Fiction Manuscript Prize dedicated to exceptional works by Black women. Deadline: 30th June 2024. Learn more here.
waiting for an angel
AUTHOR: helon habila
GENRE: fiction
Helon Habila’s debut novel explores life in Nigeria under military dictatorship, but at its heart are people, including men, who refuse to let the times define them. The central character is Lomba, a young journalist and poet, who embodies moral courage. When the book opens, he has been imprisoned by the military regime for his activism, the details of which we learn of the course of the novel. But even in prison, Lomba clings to truth and noble principles.
The famished road
Author: ben okri
Genre: FIction
In Ben Okri’s Booker Prize-winning novel, we are introduced to Azaro, a spirit child who chooses to remain in the living world. His unusual decision, made even more seemingly unreasonable giving the deplorable state of the corrupt country and his parents’ dire poverty, is based on his love for his parents.
Both of Azaro’s parents are noble and loving, but his father, particularly, emerges as a figure of strength and determination. He works tirelessly to provide for his family, whom he loves unconditionally. Without understanding Azaro’s otherworldly nature, he nonetheless fully accepts and protects him.
nw
AUTHOR: zadie smith
GENRE: FICTION
Zadie Smith is another feminist whose work defies the ignorant and uncritical portrayal of feminism as a hate campaign against men. In her sublime experimental novel, NW, she presents to us several good men.
There is Felix Cooper, for example, whose brief but powerful presence in the novel demonstrates that even the most impossible circumstances cannot change the hearts of good men. Despite Felix’s troubled past and difficult life, he shows true concern for others and a genuine desire to turn his life around. It is unfortunate that it is this concern for others that will eventually cost him his life.
canticles for a pyre foretold
authOR: wole soyinka
GENRE: drama
In this powerful book, Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka creatively retells the tragic story of Deborah Yakubu, who was lynched in 2022 after being accused of blasphemy by a mob of angry Muslim men. Naturally, then, the book is full of despicable, murderous men.
However, Deborah’s own father offers a sharp contrast to these men. A brilliant university professor, he is both a loving husband and protective father, encouraging his daughter’s intellectual curiosity and outspokenness. He engages her in intellectual conversations and recommends critical books to her, and, when she is eventually lynched, he is rightly shattered⎈
