Author: Thomas Jing
Publisher: African Books Collective
ISBN: 9956716561
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 331
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Book Description
The village of Yakiri has been cursed by ancestral wrath because of the treatment of Yaa, the first girl who wrestled her male goatherd peers to earn the right to be initiated into the society of manhood. Her struggle is taken up generations later by Yaya, the granddaughter of Tafan and Wirba. Orphaned like her forebear, Yaya becomes a star student in the village's primary school and promises to go far. But, ask the villagers, is it right to invest in an education for an African girl who may become the property of another village? An educated woman will abandon the farm where she is needed, wear high heels and try to order men around! In the midst of it all, one Irish missionary, living in Africa and for the most time with Africans, literally wiggles his way into hearts and minds. With his intervention, Yaya leaves the village to school in the city, but her troubles as a woman have not really begun. Yarns of cultural borrowing, indigestion and transcendence reveal the simple and complex ways in which community matters are confronted and decided. This happens in shrines where seers are consulted and cowry shells thrown, in palm wine houses, but also around the school and presbytery. The untold stories and perspectives of girls and women burst through in illuminating and uplifting ways. Quarrels, squabbles, near collisions and mutual conversions give way to innovative traditions.
Author: Thomas Jing
Publisher: African Books Collective
ISBN: 9956554030
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 358
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Book Description
With great enthusiasm and optimism, Yaya leaves her village of Yakiri for Yamade, the nation's capital, to attend university. However, her dreams of a blissful life quickly fade. Yaya's journey begins on treacherous roads, patrolled by gun-toting and corrupt gendarmes and policemen, forewarning the challenges ahead. Upon arriving in Yamade, she narrowly escapes being robbed of all her money. The capital, far from the glamour she imagined, starkly contrasts extremely wealthy neighbourhoods with poverty-stricken, pestilential shantytowns. Forced to reside in a township specifically for underprivileged students, she is exposed to many dangers and becomes victim of two instances of sexual assault and contracts cerebral malaria. Despite these immense hardships, she remains resolute, navigating treacherous social and political landscapes to graduate from university with a law degree. She joins a female organization fighting for women's rights, transforming it into a powerful political party. Her goal: to dismantle the oppressive system that nearly broke her. Through teamwork and strategic maneuvering, she rises to become the president of her country, Mungo. Yaya's journey stands as a testament to the enduring legacy of foresight, courage, and determination that characterizes the struggles of African women in the face of injustice.
Author: Maenetsha, Kholofelo
Publisher: Modjaji Books
ISBN: 1920590072
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 253
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Book Description
As Ama's wedding day approaches and her friends - Beauty, Matlakala and Pamela are there to lend varying degrees of support. But when tragedy strikes on Ama's wedding day and spreads to every corner of the group's lives they hold on to each other to survive. Will their misfortunes bring them closer together or will they tear the quilt of their friendship apart? They are our mothers, our sisters, our daughters, our girlfriends, our aunties. Pamela's body is a ravaged canvas of her troubles. Matlakala tries to prop up a failing relationship. Beauty's sharp tongue and dark secret threatens to doom her to a life lived alone. In To the Black Women We All Knew, Maenetsha showcases the modern township existence and its weakening yet ever-present link to tradition. Her vivid writing tells of the capriciousness of life and love and the strength of women in the face of a crisis.
Author: Elizabeth Nyamayaro
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1982113014
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 272
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Book Description
"The inspiring journey of a girl from Africa whose near-death experience sparked a dream that changed the world"--
Author: Gcina Mhlophe
Publisher: Barefoot Books
ISBN: 1782854444
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 99
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Book Description
This anthology includes eight traditional tales from all over Africa. Sumptuous hand-sewn collage artwork decorated with African beads adorns these unforgettable tales of bravery, wisdom, wit and heroic deeds
Author: Mpho ‘M’atsepo Nthunya
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 9780253211620
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 202
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Book Description
". . . this gem of a book deserves a wide audience. Appropriate for African and women's studies courses and a must for college and university libraries." —Choice ". . . Mpho relates the story of her life with an integrity that makes for utterly compelling reading. . . . The fortitude of this woman, now in her late 60s, is a lesson to us all." —The Bookseller, United Kingdom "This is a fascinating autobiography . . ." —KLIATT ". . . a powerful autobiography of a Lesotho elder who tells her life as an African woman in South Africa. The focus on black culture and concerns as much as racism allows for an unusual depth of understanding of black concerns and lifestyles in Africa." —Reviewer's Bookwatch "An African woman's poignant and beautifully crafted memoir lyrically portrays the brutal poverty and reliance on ritual that shape the lives of her people, the Basotho. . . . A commanding and important work that will captivate readers with its unique voice, narrative power, and unforgettable scenes of life in Southern Africa." —Kirkus Reviews " . . . a stunning autobiography of a remarkable woman . . . Nthunya's telling is eloquent. Although her voice is generally one of dignified emotional distance, it is punctuated by her very human humor and pain." —Publishers Weekly ". . . recommended for collections in African folklore." —Library Journal "I am telling my stories in English for many months now, and it is a time for me to see my whole life. I see that things are always changing. I was born in 1930, so I remember many things which were happening in the old days in Lesotho and which happen no more. I lived in Benoni Location for more than ten years, and I saw the Boer policemen taking black people and beating them like dogs. They even took me once, and kept me in one of their jails for a while." —Mpho 'M'atsepo Nthunya A compelling and unique autobiography by an African woman with little formal education, less privilege, and almost no experience of books or writing. Mpho's is a voice almost never heard in literature or history, a voice from within the struggle of "ordinary" African women to negotiate a world which incorporates ancient pastoral ways and the congestion, brutality, and racist violence of city life. It is also the voice of a born storyteller who has a subject worthy of her gifts—a story for all the world to hear.
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Africa
Languages : en
Pages : 264
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Book Description
Author: Yvonne Vera
Publisher: Heinemann
ISBN: 9780435910105
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 196
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Book Description
In this anthology the award-winning author Yvonne Vera brings together the stories of many talented writers from different parts of Africa.
Author: Cynthia Jacobs Carter
Publisher: National Geographic Society
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 264
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Book Description
"Features queens, abolitionists, entrepreneurs, activists, writers, and others . . . enhanced by 150 stunning photographs."
Author: Helon Habila
Publisher: Granta Books
ISBN: 1847084389
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 376
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Book Description
Presenting a diverse and dazzling collection from all over the continent, from Morocco to Zimbabwe, Uganda to Kenya. Helon Habila focuses on younger, newer writers - contrasted with some of their older, more established peers - to give a fascinating picture of a new and more liberated Africa. These writers are characterized by their engagement with the wider world and the opportunities offered by the end of apartheid, the end of civil wars and dictatorships, and the possibilities of free movement. Their work is inspired by travel and exile. They are liberated, global and expansive. As Dambudzo Marechera wrote: 'If you're a writer for a specific nation or specific race, then f*** you." These are the stories of a new Africa, punchy, self-confident and defiant. Includes stories by: Fatou Diome; Aminatta Forna; Manuel Rui; Patrice Nganang; Leila Aboulela; Zo Wicomb; Alaa Al Aswany; Doreen Baingana; E.C. Osondu.
