“Writing about Africa (italics to denote place of public imagination as opposed to continent of fifty countries and a billion people) as a non-African is a tense business. You risk accusations of essentialism from the authenticity police, especially if your work appears to contradict their own essentialism. “Write what you know!” they bluster. And thus with one trite aphorism historical fiction is consigned to . . . well, history.
“My novel The Death of Rex Nhongo is set in Zimbabwe, but it’s not about that. Instead, it’s a loose-limbed thriller of betrayal and moral bankruptcy. In fact, now I think about it, I can honestly say that I have written what I know. Unfortunately, I don’t know everything. And it’s about that, too.
“To be fair to the essentialists, there has been an awful lot of rubbish written by non-Africans set in Africa. But, there’s been some good stuff, too . .” . — C.B. George
Heart of Darkness
By Joseph Conrad
“Conrad’s novella of a journey up the Congo River in search of the mysterious ivory trader Mr. Kurtz is a peculiar, ambiguous, and utterly gripping tale. Also, it has surely been subject to more criticism than any other work of fiction, with Chinua Achebe memorably describing its author as “a bloody racist.” Was he? I’m tempted to be flip here and quote Avenue Q (“Everyone’s a little bit . . . “). Either way, Conrad writes, “The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much.” And there’s not much arguing with that.”
Brazzaville Beach
By William Boyd
“William Boyd is a masterful storyteller, and this novel is the apotheosis of his craft. Ecologist Hope Clearwater reflects on the two sets of events that have defined her life — her relationship with a deluded, brilliant, bonkers mathematician, and her work at a chimpanzee research center. Boyd deploys a thriller engine to propel us through an extraordinary examination of what makes us human and what makes humans animals.”
The Poisonwood Bible
By Barbara Kingsolver
“The first time I read The Poisonwood Bible, it paralyzed me — if Kingsolver could make a story do this, what point to my superficial tinkering? Fortunately, I quickly remembered I am a novelist and therefore bullheaded. This is about an American family who move to Congo at the time of independence with their deluded missionary father — religious conquest is also “not a pretty thing.” If you want to know more, you have to read it. In fact, you simply have to read it.”
The Catastrophist
By Ronan Bennett
“Another novel set around Congolese independence. Another novel of male delusion — I’m spotting a theme. Does Africa provide the perfect backdrop for such characters, or do they simply appeal to me? I’ll save that question for therapy. In this case, Gillespie follows Italian journalist Inès to Léopoldville in the hope of rekindling their relationship. He is mystified that a woman would prefer to commit to a righteous cause than his rather detached charms. I feel his pain.”
The Rift
By Alex Perry
“A book of nonfiction and the only one on this list that is actually about Africa (though still not “about Africa“). A former correspondent for the likes of Newsweek and Time, Perry reflects on largely unreported stories from the continent of rapid growth, technological development, failing aid and intervention, and, most of all, local solutions to local problems. That it’s written by a non-African is an irony of which Perry is all too aware, but it remains an insightful, humble, hopeful piece of work.”
The Barnes & Noble Review http://ift.tt/29EeYbs
Sig Nordal 