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It is pride month, which means it is a good time to consider the state of queer lives in Africa. Admittedly, there is still a long way to go before the rights of queer people are protected in most African countries. Yet, it would be remiss not to take stock of how far we have come as a continent. It is, after all, indisputable that queer lives have become more visible in the past several years. Nowhere is this more observable than in the literature being produced on the continent. There has been an explosion of published queer narratives, giving voice to the long-silenced and showing queer people that we, too, are worthy of dignifying portrayal.
In our latest book recommendation, we have compiled a list of seven books that will make you feel seen as a queer person this pride month. From a book about the experiences of a gay teenager in a Nigerian boarding school to the empowering memoir of the first trans man to force a medical aid to pay for his trans surgery in South Africa, these books offer unprecedented queer representation, reiterating the popular LGBTQ+ rights slogan, ‘We are here, we are queer.’
Read our recommendations below.
the death of vivek oji
author: akwaeke emezi
Genre: fiction
Told in multiple perspectives, The Death of Vivek Oji is a story about the complex life and death of the titular character. Born to a Nigerian father and Indian immigrant mother, Vivek experiences mysterious blackouts throughout childhood and adolescence, during which periods he also struggles with his gender identity. He finds refuge amongst the daughters of the Nigerwives, foreign-born women married to Nigerian men. He grows particularly close with his cousin Osita.
As Vivek matures, he begins to tap more into his feminine side, growing his hair out and experimenting with fashion. The plot builds towards a tragic climax featuring terrible violence. In the aftermath of Vivek’s death, his mother Kavita, desperate to find out what happened to her son, begins to interrogate his friends, eventually learning about the secret life Vivek Oji lived.
blessings
AUTHOR: chukwuebuka ibeh
GENRE: fiction
Obiefuna is a considered the black sheep of his family. Quiet and introspective, he is strikingly different from his brother Ekene. When his father brings home a boy from the village, Obiefuna begins a secret intimate relationship with the boy. However, after some time, his Obiefuna’s father finds out about this relationship, and in a moment of rage, sends the boy back to the village and banishes Obiefuna to boarding school.
However, this move, instead of ‘curing’ Obiefuna of his proclivities, instead impels him on a journey of sexual exploration. It is in this boarding school that Obiefuna discovers who he really his, while trying to navigate the school’s strict hierarchy. Set against the backdrop of post-military Nigeria and culminating with the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act of 2013, the novel explores how Obiefuna’s identity becomes increasingly dangerous as the country moves toward criminalizing same-sex relationships.
you have to be gay to know god
authOR: siya khumalo
GENRE: non-fiction
You Have to be Gay to Know God is the deeply moving 2018 memoir of South African socio-political commentator, public speaker, and writer, Siya Khumalo, which explores the complexities of adopting an LGBTQ+ identity while practicing the Christian faith. In this book, Khumalo, who grew up in a Durban township where religious sermons could incite violence against people perceived as different, chronicles his life experiences from childhood through his time in the military, his involvement with the church, and his participation in beauty pageants.
More than a memoir, this book is also a sharp social critique examining how religion, politics, and sexuality intersect in contemporary South Africa. By telling his story with great vulnerability and profound theological reflections, Khumalo argues for a different understanding of faith that embraces rather than condemns LGBTQ+ individuals, suggesting that marginalized experiences can offer unique spiritual insights within Christian contexts.
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.
becoming him: a trans memoir of triumph
AUTHOR: landa mabenge
GENRE: non-fiction
In 2014, South African author Landa Mabenge became the first trans man in South Africa to force a medical aid to pay for his trans surgeries. Becoming Him is his memoir, which narrates his journey as a Black trans man navigating identity and acceptance in South Africa. Assigned female at birth, he recounts in this book the experience of childhood, detailing the severe trauma and cultural rejection he suffered while struggling with gender dysphoria and his path toward self-realization and medical transition.
This book exposes the intersection of racial, gender, and economic discrimination faced by transgender individuals in African contexts, encompassing both devastating personal struggles and remarkable professional achievements.
under the udala trees
Author: chinelo okparanta
Genre: fiction
Ijeoma is only eleven when the Biafran Civil War breaks out in 1967. The war claims her father’s life, pushing her mother into inconsolable grief. Subsequently, Ijeoma’s mother sends her away to live with family friends in the faraway town of Nwewi. Here Ijeoma meets Amina, with whom she falls in love.
Despite their different religions and tribes, the two girls form a romantic connection that conflicts with the country’s conservative social expectations. This becomes a source of internal struggle for Ijeoma, as she grapples with the religious doctrine her mother taught her. Eventually, she gives in to the pressure and marries a man named Chibundu, though without any emotional connection.
Will Ijeoma stick to the life she has chosen in order to fit into societal standards? Or will she abandon everything to pursue her true identity and love?
fairytales for lost children
AUTHOR: diriye osman
GENRE: fiction
Somali author Diriye Osman stuns in his award-winning short story collection, Fairytales for Lost Children, a book that explores the lives of young LGBTQ+ Somali individuals confronting identity, displacement, and self-discovery across Kenya, Somalia, and South London. Described as a book ‘narrated by people constantly on the verge of self-discovery’, it employs innovative storytelling techniques that blend contemporary urban culture with traditional East African folklore, featuring hip-hop vernacular, Arabic script, and Kiswahili along side English prose.
From a story about a young man’s journey to coming out to his family to that of a young woman suffering from psychosis and family abandonment, who finds family in her girlfriend Mari, this book brings to life characters who exist on the margins of their communities.
these letters end in tears
authOR: musih tedji xaviere
GENRE: fiction
Cameroonian author Musih Tedji Xaviere’s debut novel These Letters End in Tears is a heartbreaking love story between two women in Cameroon, a country hostile to queer people.
When Bessem meets Fatima on a football pitch, the two immediately fall in love, entering a secret love affair that will change both their lives forever. As their passion for each other deepens, it becomes more difficult to keep their relationship a secret from their families and society. Things take an ugly turn when Fatima’s brother finds out about them. He physically assaults the lovers, shortly after which police raid the only gat bar in town, arresting Fatima.
Fatima subsequently goes missing, never to be seen again. Thirteen years later, Bessem has become a university lecturer having secret relationships with women. But she has never forgotten Fatima. Then, one evening, she reconnects with an old mutual friend of Fatima’s and hers, an event that sets her on a journey to find her first love⎈
