Books I Read November 3

Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate. I hope that you ate well accompanied by people you love or at least tolerate.

The Concubine by Elechi Amadi – A beautiful, virtuous widow brings havoc to a Nigerian village. An odd little slice of pre-Colonial West Africa, small but charming.

Fixions and Other Stories by Taban Lo Liyong – Myths and strange parables by a writer who counts Brecht and (obviously, from the title) Borges as core influences. Enjoyable but insubstantial, I found myself wanting more.

Zambia Shall be Free by Kenneth Kaunda – An autobiography written while the author remained a Colonial rebel, before he became Zambia's president for life. Thoughtful and even lyrical, there's nothing in it that would make you think 'oh, this guy will betray all his principles once given the chance.' Which you can read either as 1) power corrupts or 2) he was always a liar.

Chaka by Thomas Mofalo – One of the first novels written in a sub-Saharan African language, a mystical re-telling of the rise of Chaka of the Zulus to the tyrant of south-eastern Africa. There's something almost Shakespearean about it, with Chaka our classic hero reduced and destroyed by his great vice (and, also, the machinations of an evil sorcerer.) A well-realized work of literature, rooted in indigenous belief and morality without being cloying or starry eyed.

You Were Never Really Here by Johnathan Ames – A cliché punishes a ring of pedophiles. Extremely on the nose.

Beautiful Feathers by Cyprian Ekwenesi – The marital woes of a political agitator.