African Literature

This study guide collection celebrates novels, memoirs, plays, and short story collections from some of the most distinguished African authors, including Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Nigeria) and Bessie Head (South Africa/Botswana). Explore common themes within these titles, including race and identity, religion, storytelling and oral tradition, colonization, apartheid, and the conflict between tradition and modernity.

Publication year 1963Genre Play, FictionThemes Society: ColonialismTags Play: Postcolonial, Allegory / Fable / Parable, History: African , Politics / Government, African Literature, Colonialism / Postcolonialism

Written and first performed in 1960 as part of the national celebrations of Nigeria’s independence from Britain, A Dance of the Forests features a unique combination of classically European dramatic elements and traditional Yoruba masquerade traditions which make the play resistant to both staging and traditional Western criticism. Since 1960, few attempts have been made to perform the play, due to its complexity and ambiguity. A Dance of the Forests presents an allegorical criticism of... Read A Dance of the Forests Summary


Publication year 2011Genre Novel, FictionThemes Society: Community, Society: EducationTags Fantasy, African Literature, Afrofuturism

Publication year 1961Genre Novel, FictionThemes Society: Colonialism, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Values/Ideas: Religion & SpiritualityTags African Literature

Ambiguous Adventure is a 1961 novel by author Cheikh Hamidou Kane. The plot of this novel mirrors much of Kane’s life, including his birth in Senegal and studies in Paris. The version used for this guide is the 2012 edition from Melville House Publishing.Ambiguous Adventure discusses the duality of man within the context of colonial and postcolonial societies. The novel splits the colonized and the colonizer into two distinct and opposing cultures: The former (the... Read Ambiguous Adventure Summary


Publication year 2013Genre Novel, FictionThemes Natural World: Nurture v. NatureTags Race / Racism, African Literature

Ifemelu, a Nigerian woman who has lived in the US for thirteen years, goes to a hair braiding salon in Trenton, New Jersey to have her hair braided in preparation for her return to Nigeria. The narrative flashes back and forth between her afternoon in the braiding salon, her childhood and adolescence in Nigeria, and her adult years in America. Ifemelu grows up in Lagos, Nigeria with a religious mother and a patient, occasionally unemployed father... Read Americanah Summary


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Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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Publication year 2015Genre Short Story, FictionThemes Relationships: Family, Life/Time: Aging, Identity: Sexuality, Society: Class, Emotions/Behavior: LoveTags African Literature

Publication year 1964Genre Novel, FictionThemes Relationships: FathersTags Heinemann African Writers, African Literature, History: African

Chinua Achebe’s 1964 novel Arrow of God portrays an Ibo leader as he confronts the British administrators and missionaries in his town. The text, Achebe’s third novel, is part of a series of books called The African Trilogy. Arrow of God won the first ever Jock Campbell/New Statesman prize for African Literature.The novel focuses on Ezeulu, who is the High Priest of Ulu. Ulu is the most important deity in the town of Umuaro, and... Read Arrow of God Summary


Publication year 1972Genre Poem, FictionThemes Society: War, Society: ColonialismTags Heinemann African Writers, African Literature

Publication year 2020Genre Novel, FictionThemes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Siblings, Relationships: FamilyTags Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Relationships, Parenting, African Literature

Publication year 1971Genre Short Story, FictionThemes Society: War, Society: Colonialism, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / PerseveranceTags Historical Fiction, Military / War, African Literature

“Civil Peace” is a 1971 short story by Chinua Achebe, one of Africa’s most prominent authors and often considered the father of the modern African novel. The story explores the period that followed the Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Biafran War (1967-1970). The Igbo people of southeast Nigeria wanted freedom from the Hausa people and proclaimed independence forming the Republic of Biafra. Achebe investigates the period through the lens of his character Jonathan... Read Civil Peace Summary


Publication year 1998Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Values/Ideas: Truth & LiesTags History: African , African Literature

Country of My Skull: Guilt, Sorrow, and the Limits of Forgiveness in the New South Africa (1998) is a work of narrative nonfiction by Antjie Krog originally published in South Africa. This guide refers to the American edition of the text (1999) that includes an epilogue, glossary, Cast of Characters, and introduction not included in the South African edition, as well as the addition of the subtitle. Krog, an Afrikaner poet-turned-journalist who covered the Truth... Read Country of My Skull Summary


Publication year 1948Genre Novel, FictionThemes Identity: Race, Relationships: Family, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: ForgivenessTags Historical Fiction, African Literature, Race / Racism

Cry, the Beloved Country is a 1948 work of historical fiction by Alan Paton. Set in South Africa, it follows a Christian reverend named Stephen Kumalo, who lives in a Zulu village called Ndotsheni. Geographically isolated from his brother John, his sister Gertrude, and his son Absalom, Stephen becomes worried when he stops hearing from them. He travels to Johannesburg to check up on them. Cry, the Beloved Country is known for illuminating a historically... Read Cry, the Beloved Country Summary


Publication year 2009Genre Novel, FictionThemes Society: Immigration, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Relationships: SiblingsTags Historical Fiction, Health / Medicine, African Literature

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese was published in 2009. Verghese, an Indian American doctor born in Ethiopia, interrupted his medical career to attend the University of Iowa’s Writing Workshop and wrote two memoirs before publishing this novel. The book is notable for its incorporation of medical knowledge and its intimate portrayal of the lives of medical doctors. The novel spans several decades, weaving a deeply personal story with the complex 20th-century history of Ethiopia... Read Cutting for Stone Summary


Publication year 1997Genre Novel, FictionThemes Society: Community, Relationships: Family, Self DiscoveryTags Historical Fiction, African Literature, Race / Racism, Trauma / Abuse / Violence

Publication year 1953Genre Short Story, FictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Society: Education, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & PrideTags African Literature, Colonialism / Postcolonialism

Recipient of the Man Booker International Prize in 2007 for his literary career, Nigerian writer and critic Chinua Achebe is known as the “Father of Modern African Literature.” His short story “Dead Men’s Path” raises issues central to many works of postcolonial writing such as modernity versus tradition, urban versus rural life, and Christianity versus Indigenous religion, as well as the overall effects of European colonization on life in his native Nigeria. Originally published in... Read Dead Men’s Path Summary


Publication year 1975Genre Play, FictionThemes Society: Colonialism, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Daughters & SonsTags Play: Tragedy, Play: Drama, African Literature, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, WWII / World War II

Premiering in 1975, Death and the King’s Horseman is a play written by Nigerian Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka. The play is set in Oyo, Nigeria, during World War II and tells the story of Elesin Oba, the titular king’s horseman who must die by ritual suicide after the Yoruba king dies. The colonial government stops Elesin’s suicide, but the text also suggests that Elesin, a robust man full of life, might not have fulfilled his duty even... Read Death and the King's Horseman Summary


Publication year 2005Genre Autobiography / Memoir, NonfictionThemes Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Society: ColonialismTags Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, History: African , African Literature

Dreams in a Time of War was originally published in 2010. This study guide uses the 2011 Anchor Books edition, a division of Random House, Inc. A multilayered and faceted coming-of-age memoir of family, community, and Kenyan society, Dreams in a Time of War details the childhood and early adolescent years of acclaimed writer Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o. Set in mid-twentieth century colonial Kenya, the book offers an intimate portrait of Ngũgĩ’s life as it unfolds... Read Dreams in a Time of War Summary


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Flora Nwapa
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Publication year 1966Genre Novel, FictionThemes Society: Colonialism, Identity: Femininity, Society: CommunityTags African Literature, Gender / Feminism

Publication year 2007Genre Novel, FictionThemes Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Order & ChaosTags Immigration / Refugee, African Literature, Black Lives Matter, Business / Economics

Nigerian author Teju Cole’s Every Day Is for the Thief is a work of autofiction originally published in Nigeria in 2007 and published in the US in 2014. The novel unfolds in picaresque style from the first-person perspective, as a narrator who closely resembles the author returns to Nigeria after 15 years in the US to reckon with Nigerian national identity and his own legacy. Surprised to find that he feels less comfortable in his... Read Every Day Is for the Thief Summary


Publication year 2006Genre Novel, FictionThemes Values/Ideas: Loyalty & BetrayalTags Historical Fiction, African Literature

Chimamanda Adichie’s second book, Half of a Yellow Sun, is set during the Nigerian Civil War that tragically occurred in her home country during the 1960s. The story masterfully revolves around an intricate web of shifting viewpoints, each of which centers around one of the novel’s five main characters: Ugwu, Odenigbo, Olanna, Kainene, and Richard. All of these characters find themselves affiliated with the Biafran rebels of the war, and this affiliation eventually has consequences... Read Half of a Yellow Sun Summary


Publication year 2020Genre Novel, FictionThemes Relationships: Marriage, Identity: Femininity, Relationships: Family, Self DiscoveryTags Romance, Gender / Feminism, African Literature

Publication year 1956Genre Novel, FictionTags Heinemann African Writers, African Literature

Houseboy (1956) is a riveting narrative by Ferdinand Oyono. Though shorter in length than most novels, Houseboy addresses the weighty topic of colonization and its effects on the native population of Cameroon. More specifically, Oyono’s story delves into the life of Toundi Ondoua, a young rural African man whose life is changed when he decides to shrug off his African village and enter the world of white Europeans in the city of Dangan. What transpires... Read Houseboy Summary


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Bessie Head
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Publication year 1971Genre Novel, FictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: Hate & AngerTags Heinemann African Writers, African Literature

In Maru (1971), author Bessie Head confronts deeply held prejudice toward the Masarwa people of Botswana. Considered sub-human by most citizens of Botswana, the Masarwa people pursue an untenable and desperate existence within Botswana society. Living off the land, the Masarwa wander from place to place in the bush, scavenging food and water in a subsistence lifestyle. The name “Masarwa” itself is an insult, being roughly equivalent to the term “nigger” in English (6).Margaret’s Masarwa... Read Maru Summary


Publication year 1982Genre Play, FictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Society: Colonialism, Values/Ideas: Justice & InjusticeTags Play: Drama, Race / Racism, African Literature

“Master Harold”…and the boys, a one-act play by South African playwright Athol Fugard, premiered on Broadway at the Lyceum Theater in 1982. The play, which is set in 1950, draws on Fugard’s own experience growing up during South Africa’s apartheid era. It explores a complex relationship between 17-year-old Hally, a white boy, and Sam and Willie, two Black men who are servants in Hally’s family’s tea room. The play was initially banned in South Africa... Read Master Harold and the Boys Summary


Publication year 1947Genre Novel, FictionThemes Natural World: Place, Society: War, Society: Class, Emotions/Behavior: LoveTags African Literature, Heinemann African Writers, Historical Fiction

Midaq Alley (1947) is a historical realist novel by Egyptian writer Naguib Mahfouz, the 1988 Nobel Prize laureate in Literature. In this work, Mahfouz addresses the changes taking place in Egyptian society of the 1940s. The book tells the story of a group of neighbors living in Midaq Alley, a bustling market street, in the poor quarter of Cairo’s historic city center. The story is set at the end of World War II, during Britain’s... Read Midaq Alley Summary


Publication year 1988Genre Novel, FictionThemes Relationships: Family, Society: Colonialism, Life/Time: Coming of AgeTags Historical Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, African Literature, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, Race / Racism, Gender / Feminism

Nervous Conditions (1988) is a semi-autobiographical literary fiction novel written by Tsitsi Dangarembga, an international author, playwright, filmmaker, and director. The novel is the first in a three-part trilogy and is followed by The Book of Not (2006) and This Mournable Body (2017). Tambudzai, a young girl living with her family on a homestead in Rhodesia, narrates the novel and serves as the primary protagonist. Four other female protagonists—a deuteragonist, Nyasha, and three supporting protagonists... Read Nervous Conditions Summary


Publication year 2009Genre Biography, NonfictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Values/Ideas: Justice & InjusticeTags History: African , Politics / Government, Social Justice, Race / Racism, African Literature

Originally published in 1999, No Future Without Forgiveness is the memoir of Desmond Mpilo Tutu. Tutu won the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1984 for his efforts to end apartheid in South Africa. He served as Archbishop of the Anglican Church in Cape Town and later chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which President Mandela established to help address the atrocities of apartheid.Although Tutu’s memoir focuses on his work with the TRC between 1995... Read No Future Without Forgiveness Summary


Publication year 1960Genre Novel, FictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Relationships: Family, Society: Class, Society: Colonialism, Society: CommunityTags Heinemann African Writers, African Literature, Historical Fiction, Colonialism / Postcolonialism

No Longer At Ease (1960) is a novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. The story takes place in the years prior to Nigeria’s independence from the British Empire and focuses on Obi Okonkwo. Obi is a young Nigerian man who returns home after studying English in Britain and finds a job in the civil service. He finds himself situated within the conflict between African and Western culture, raising questions about his identity and worldview. No... Read No Longer at Ease Summary


Publication year 1969Genre Short Story, FictionThemes Identity: Gender, Relationships: Mothers, Society: Community, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Power & GreedTags African Literature, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, Gender / Feminism

Publication year 2009Genre Novel, FictionThemes Relationships: Siblings, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Society: Community, Relationships: TeamsTags Realistic Fiction, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Sports, African Literature

Publication year 1956Genre Short Story, FictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Society: Colonialism, Society: ClassTags Race / Racism, Health / Medicine, African Literature

Publication year 1977Genre Novel, FictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Race, Society: Colonialism, Society: ImmigrationTags Gender / Feminism, African Literature, Colonialism / Postcolonialism

Our Sister Killjoy, or, Reflections from a Black-eyed Squint (1977) is a novel by Ata Ama Aidoo (1942-2023). It was Aidoo’s debut novel, with an experimental style that switches between prose and free verse poetry. Aidoo, a Ghanaian writer, tells the story of Sissie, or Our Sister Killjoy, a young Ghanaian woman who travels around Europe before eventually returning home. She spends most of the narrative in Germany, where she befriends a young German mother... Read Our Sister Killjoy Summary


Publication year 1956Genre Novel, FictionThemes Relationships: Family, Identity: Femininity, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Marriage, Society: Colonialism, Society: Nation, Values/Ideas: Power & GreedTags Historical Fiction, African Literature, WWI / World War I

Palace Walk is a 1956 novel by Egyptian writer Naguib Mahfouz. The story takes place in Cairo during World War I and in its immediate aftermath, touching on the political climate of the time as Egypt transitioned from British occupation to nationalism. The novel presents this change through the day-to-day life of the Muslim al-Jawad family. This guide refers to the 1994 Black Swan edition of the novel, which was translated by William Maynard Hutchins... Read Palace Walk Summary


Publication year 1994Genre Novel, FictionThemes Society: Colonialism, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Self DiscoveryTags Historical Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, African Literature

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Akwaeke Emezi
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Publication year 2019Genre Novel, FictionThemes Identity: Gender, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Good & EvilTags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Fantasy, LGBTQ, Social Justice, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, African Literature, Black Lives Matter

Akwaeke Emezi’s Pet, published in 2019, is a Speculative Fiction/Fantasy novel intended for Young Adult readers. Named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time, Pet was also a finalist for the 2019 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. The novel received the Stonewall Book Award, which recognizes achievement in LGBTQIA+ literature. Emezi, a non-binary Nigerian Igbo and Tamil writer who uses they/them pronouns, is also the author of two novels... Read Pet Summary


Publication year 1977Genre Novel, FictionThemes Society: Class, Society: Colonialism, Society: Education, Society: Nation, Values/Ideas: Power & GreedTags African Literature, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, Historical Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction

Petals of Blood by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o is a historical fiction novel that was first published in 1977. Ngũgĩ is a Kenyan author who has written novels, plays, short stories, and essays that typically center on Kenyan and African politics and the effects of colonialism and neocolonialism on the region. Petals of Blood explores the lives of Kenyans after the Mau Mau Rebellion and subsequent independence in the small village of Ilmorog, as well as its development... Read Petals of Blood Summary


Publication year 1945Genre Poem, FictionThemes Identity: Race, Society: Colonialism, Society: Politics & GovernmentTags Lyric Poem, Race / Racism, Arts / Culture, African Literature, Politics / Government

“Prayer to the Masks” is a poem by influential Senegalese poet and politician Léopold Sédar Senghor, published in 1945 in his collection Chants d’ombre (Songs of Shadow). Senghor often used his work to illuminate African history and contemplate the consequences of colonialism. Educated in Paris, Senghor was a founding member of the artistic and political movement Négritude, which emphasized pride in African and Black identity and history, which he practiced through his poetry. With “Prayer... Read Prayer to the Masks Summary


Publication year 2003Genre Novel, FictionTags African Literature

Winner of the Hearst-Wright Legacy Award in 2004 and the Commonwealth Writers Prize of 2005, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s 2003 novel Purple Hibiscus is set amidst the political turmoil of postcolonial Nigeria (the 1960s) prior to Nigeria's civil war. The novel is divided into four sections. Each section represents a specific moment in time and addresses a certain aspect of spirituality. Most of the story is told in flashback from the point-of-view of 15-year-old Kambili Achike... Read Purple Hibiscus Summary


Publication year 2021Genre Novel, FictionThemes Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Identity: Race, Relationships: Family, Self DiscoveryTags African Literature

Publication year 1974Genre Novel, FictionThemes Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Relationships: Family, Identity: IndigenousTags Gender / Feminism, Race / Racism, African Literature, Historical Fiction, Trauma / Abuse / Violence

Genre Short Story, FictionThemes Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Justice & InjusticeTags Race / Racism, Relationships, African Literature, Grief / Death

Nadine Gordimer’s “Six Feet of the Country” is one of the seven short stories in her collection of the same name (1956). Gordimer, who was born and lived in South Africa, often explored the country’s racial issues in the context of apartheid. She received numerous literary awards, including the 1991 Nobel Prize for Literature. This short story concerns the death of a native of Rhodesia (modern Zimbabwe). When the young man’s family wants to give... Read Six Feet of the Country Summary


Publication year 1979Genre Novel, FictionTags History: African , Auto/Biographical Fiction, Gender / Feminism, African Literature, Heinemann African Writers

So Long A Letter follows the story of two women from Senegal, Ramatoulaye and Aissatou. They are childhood friends whose paths diverge in adulthood when Aissatou immigrates to America, leaving Ramatoulaye behind in Senegal. The novel is told in the epistolary style—that is, it is structured as a very long letter, written by Ramatoulaye to her friend, recounting the latest events in her life and reminiscing about their shared childhood and adolescence.The novel opens as... Read So Long a Letter Summary


Publication year 1200Genre Novel, FictionThemes Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Good & EvilTags Mythology, Narrative / Epic Poem, History: African , African Literature

Sundiata (also known as Sunjata) is an epic poem of the West African Mandinka (or Malinke) people. There is no single definitive source or version of this story, which originated in oral traditions of the 13th century and was passed down by griots, Mandinka poet-historians and regal advisors. Sundiata is a quasi-mythological biography of King Sundiata Keita, who founded the Mali Empire, which lasted from 1235 to 1400. The poem is also a central cultural... Read Sundiata (Sunjata) Summary


Publication year 2020Genre Novel, FictionThemes Relationships: Family, Identity: Gender, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Identity: Masculinity, Identity: SexualityTags LGBTQ, African Literature, Love / Sexuality, Grief / Death

Publication year 1991Genre Novel, FictionThemes Society: Community, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Mothers, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Values/Ideas: Power & GreedTags Magical Realism, Fantasy, African Literature, Poverty, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman

Written in a style that evokes the oral tradition of storytelling, The Famished Road, by Nigerian writer Ben Okri, follows the peripatetic adventures of Azaro, a young boy who is finding his way amid the poverty and political passions of a newly independent nation. Winner of the prestigious Booker Prize in 1991, the novel presents an allegorical tale of both the pitfalls and the promise latent in the post-colonial moment. Nigeria was one of the... Read The Famished Road Summary


Publication year 2021Genre Novel, FictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: GenderTags Fantasy, Magical Realism, Action / Adventure, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Gender / Feminism, Diversity, Race / Racism, African Literature

Publication year 2020Genre Novel, FictionThemes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Society: Class, Identity: FemininityTags Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Realistic Fiction, Gender / Feminism, Class, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Poverty, African Literature

Publication year 2008Genre Short Story, FictionThemes Relationships: Family, Society: Education, Society: ColonialismTags Historical Fiction, Gender / Feminism, African Literature, Arts / Culture

Publication year 1962Genre Play, FictionThemes Life/Time: The PastTags African Literature

“The Lion and the Jewel” is a three-act play written by Nigerian playwright Wole Soyinka. The play fuses modern and traditional elements of storytelling, including Yoruban song and dance, to convey a message both comical and serious. The play’s characters are often touted as over-the-top in their behavior, lending a comical aspect to the dialogue and the characters’ individual actions. The message conveyed despite the comedic effects, however, focuses on the role of modern and... Read The Lion and the Jewel Summary


Publication year 1999Genre Novel, FictionTags African Literature, Romance

The Map of Love is a 1999 work of literary fiction by the Egyptian novelist Ahdaf Soueif. Critically acclaimed, the novel was a finalist for the 1999 Booker Prize. This guide refers to the 1999 Anchor Books edition.The Map of Love is driven by a series of fabulous coincidences. In 1997, Isabel, a young American woman, contacts Amal, a middle-aged Egyptian who is mourning the dissolution of her marriage and the alienation of her faraway... Read The Map of Love Summary