The saying goes that one should never judge a book by its cover—that its true worth lies in its content rather than its appearance. However, if you’ve been a reader long enough, you’d agree that sometimes, you simply can’t help but judge a book by its cover. Some books have such stunning covers that it is impossible to imagine their contents being any less amazing! Of course, sometimes you are wrong, but many times, you are absolutely right. And what a joy it is to be right!
In our latest book recommendation, we have compiled a list of seven books that will make you judge a book by its cover. From the titillating story of a ‘modern girl living in an ancient world’ to a Somali-born poet’s poetic commentary on the reality of the Black immigrant experience, these books are so beautiful they will leave you breathless!
Read our recommendations below.
YOU MADE A FOOL OF DEATH WITH YOUR BEAUTY AUTHOR: AKWAEKE EMEZI GENRE: FICTION
Feyi Adekola has been a widow for five years now and she has gotten used to it. After losing her soulmate in a car accident, she has lost interest in romance. Instead, she is focusing on her career as an artist, having reinvented herself after the unbearable grief. She now shares an apartment with her best friend Joy.
But one night, she attends a party, where an intimate encounter makes her reconsider her position on romance. This encounter will lead to a memorable summer, as she takes a luxury trip to a tropical island and gets involved in an intense love triangle that will change her life!
THE STRANGERS AUTHOR: EKOW ESHUN GENRE: NON-FICTION
Ghanaian-born British author and journalist Ekow Eshun’s The Strangers: Five Extraordinary Black Men and the Worlds That Made Them recounts the stories of five trailblazing Black men across centuries. There is Ira Aldridge, a celebrated nineteenth-century actor, playwright, and abolitionist; Matthew Henson, the first man to reach the North Pole; Frantz Fanon, revolutionary political philosopher; Malcom X, American civil rights leader; and Justin Fashanu the first footballer to ever come out as gay.
Though separated by centuries and continents, these men are united by the Black experience. In The Strangers, Eshun inhabits their perspectives in an attempt to depict to readers how each of these men experienced their worlds.
THE EMPEROR'S BABE AUTHOR: BERNARDINE EVARISTO GENRE: FICTION
British-Nigerian author Bernadine Evaristo takes us all the way back to third-century London in this exciting story about forbidden love.
Here, we meet Zuleika, the brilliant and spirited daughter of Sudanese immigrants. Bored by her society, she chases passion and excitement. When she enters a secret affair with the emperor, Septimus Severus, her life is bound to change forever.
Written in verse form, The Emperor’s Babe is the story of a ‘modern girl living in an ancient world.’
HOMEGOING AUTHOR: YAA GYASI GENRE: FICTION
It is the eighteenth century in Ghana and two half-sisters are born into two different villages. They will go on to live two completely opposite lives, in an extraordinary story that spans centuries and continents.
Efia is the elder daughter of Maame, an Asante woman. She was abandoned at birth, raised by another woman, Baaba, who maltreats her. The currents of Efia’s life sweep her into the hands of a British merchant and governor of a slave castle, whom she marries.
Esi, on the other hand, is Maame’s second daughter, born to her warrior husband and lovingly raised. After a series of unfortunate events, Esi finds herself imprisoned in the dungeons of the Cape Coast Castle, the slave castle governed by her half-sister’s husband. She is eventually sold off into slavery in North America.
Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing is the story of these two sisters, their children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, all the way down to their present-day descendants. It depicts how lives can be shaped by historical forces beyond our control.
BLESSINGS AUTHOR: CHUKWUEBUKA IBEH GENRE: FICTION
Obiefuna is not like the other men in his family. He is soft and sensitive, unlike his father; and while his brother is a natural athlete, he likes to dance. But all is well until a boy from the village comes to live with his family. Obiefuna develops an intimate relationship with this boy, which goes sour when his father finds them together. The boy is sent packing, and Obiefuna is bundled off to boarding school. Ironically, it is in this boarding school that Obiefuna will fully come into his sexuality.
After her husband ships off her beloved son to boarding school, Uzoamaka, Obiefuna’s mother, struggles to come to terms with his absence. She will have to confront the difficult truth that both she and her husband have been avoiding, as Nigeria moves to criminalize same-sex relationships, making things all the more difficult for people like Obiefuna.
Blessings is Chukwuebuka Ibeh’s resonant coming-of-age debut which has been described as a cross between the film Moonlight and Chimamanda Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus.
BLACK BAZAAR AUTHOR: ALAIN MABANCKOU GENRE: FICTION
In this 2009 novel, which has been described as ‘fun and easy to read’, Congolese novelist, Alain Mabanckou, explores the African immigrant experience in Paris form the perspective of a quirky character called Buttologist.
A young aspiring writer, Buttologist earns his name from his obsession with women’s butts. He believes he can tell who a woman is just by looking at her butt! He works as a printer and frequents an Afro-Cuban bar in Paris, where he has lived for 15 years. Here, he meets and chats with other African immigrants about their experiences in Paris.
Black Bazaar works as a journal of Buttologist’s experiences. He documents everything, from his relationship with his ex-girlfriend, Original Colour, who left him for another man, to his experiences with a racist neighbour. He even gives us his thoughts on colonialism and post-colonial Africa!
BLESS THE DAUGHTER RAISED BY A VOICE IN HER HEAD AUTHOR: WARSAN SHIRE GENRE: POETRY
How does a girl grow into a woman without the guidance of her mother? This is the question at the centre of this poetry collection by Somali-born British poet, Warsan Shire. In this book, Shire introduces us to a girl who makes her way through the world with nothing but her own intuition. In the absence of a ‘nurturing guide’, she journeys towards womanhood all on her own. Shire vividly details the harrowing refugee and immigrant experiences of women in this collection, which has been described as ‘full of blood and perfume and shisha smoke and jasmine and incense.’⎈
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