By Dinaw Mengestu
Coming of age during an African revolution, a brilliant university student-turned-fighter eventually flees the escalating violence of his country to resettle in America, where he is haunted by his past and the memory of a charismatic leader’s devastating sacrifice.
By Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Recommended By Audrey Honigman, Library Clerk, Evelyn Hershkowitz, Readers' Services Librarian
Separated by respective ambitions after falling in love in occupied Nigeria, beautiful Ifemelu experiences triumph and defeat in America while exploring new concepts of race, while Obinze endures an undocumented status in London until the pair is reunited in their homeland 15 years later, where they face the toughest decisions of their lives.
By Uzodinma Iweala
Recommended By Jackie, Head of Readers' Services
Recruited by a unit of guerrilla fighters after the brutal murder of his father by militants, a West African student falls under the spell of his dangerous commander, and finds his new life increasingly contrasting with his former existence.
By Alexander McCall Smith
Series No.1 Ladies Detective Agency
“Precious Ramotswe and her assistant, Grace Makutsi, investigate local advice columnist Aunty Emang, who may be linked to trouble at a local medical clinic and the cobra that somehow ended up in Precious's office (From the Publisher).”
By Edward Hoagland
In Africa serving as an aid worker, American teacher Hickey is asked to save Ruth, a nurse, when tribal warfare erupts in Southern Sudan, but they and the children who have joined their flight get caught in the crossfire.
By Paula McLain
Raised by her father and the Kipsigis tribe in 1920s Kenya, Beryl endures painful losses before entering a passionate love triangle and discovering her unconventional true calling.
By Abraham Verghese
Recommended By Jean Buchholtz, Library Clerk
Twin brothers born from a secret love affair between an Indian nun and a British surgeon in Addis Ababa, Marion and Shiva Stone come of age in an Ethiopia on the brink of revolution, where their love for the same woman drives them apart.
“Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi travel to the north of Botswana, to the stunning Okavango Delta, to visit a safari lodge where there have been several unexplained and troubling events--including the demise of one of the guests (From the Publisher).”
By Abi Daré
Recommended By Audrey Honigman, Library Clerk
Adunni, a 14–year– old Nigerian girl who longs for an education, must find a way for her voice to be heard loud and clear in a world where she and other girls like her are taught to believe, through words and deeds, that they are nothing.
By Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Re-creates the 1960s struggle of Biafra to establish an independent republic in Nigeria, following the intertwined lives of the characters through a military coup, the Biafran secession, and the resulting civil war.
By Yaa Gyasi
Recommended By Audrey Honigman, Library Clerk, Stacey Mencher, Technology and Applications Manager
Two half–sisters, unknown to each other, are born into different villages in eighteenth–century Ghana and experience profoundly different lives and legacies throughout subsequent generations.
By Chris Cleave
A confrontation between a sixteen-year-old Nigerian orphan, called Little Bee, and a wealthy British couple on vacation, has life-changing consequences for everyone involved.
By Alexander McCall-Smith
Series No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency
“In Morality for Beautiful Girls, Ramotswe tangles with a feral child, the finalists in a beauty pageant and a suspicious cook (From the Publisher).”
Boldly going where no woman has gone before, Precious Ramotswe is the very first female private detective in all of Botswana. Tactful, effective, and insightful detecting comes naturally to this very independent woman in this highly entertaining humorous cozy mystery series.
“The No.1 Ladies´ Detective Agency, located in Gaborone, Botswana, consists of one woman, the engaging Precious Ramotswe. A cross between Kinsey Millhone and Miss Marple, this unlikely heroine specializes in missing husbands, wayward daughters, con men and imposters (From the Publisher).”
By Andre Brink
When Francois Brink, her children's father and the son of her master, reneges on his promise to grant her freedom, Philida files a complaint against the Brink family in 1830s South Africa, an act that changes her life beyond recognition.
By Naomi Benaron
Rwandan runner Jean Patrick Nkuba dreams of winning an Olympic gold medal and uniting his ethnically divided country, only to be driven from everyone he loves when the violence starts, after which he must find a way back to a better life.
By Lola Shoneyin
“Baba Segi's fourth wife, the young, college-educated Bolanle, sends his household into turmoil, causing his other three wives to become jealous and resentful and to plot her downfall (From the Publisher).”
By Lawrence Hill
Recommended By Rosemarie Germaine, Senior Library Clerk, Jackie, Head of Readers' Services, Audrey Honigman, Library Clerk
Dreaming of escaping her life of slavery in South Carolina and returning to her African home, slave Aminata Diallo is thrown into the chaos of the Revolutionary War, during which she helps create a list of black people who have been honored for their service to the king.
By Ayobami Adebayo
Recommended By Audrey Honigman, Library Clerk
Secure in the love of her husband in spite of cultural pressures for him to have a polygamous marriage, Yejide is overwhelmed by shock and pain when her initial ability to become pregnant compels her husband to take a second wife, a situation that leads to her own desperate and fateful quest to conceive a child.
By Albert Camus
Recommended By Ralph Guiteau, Readers' Services Librarian
“An ordinary man is unwittingly caught up in a senseless murder in Algeria (From the Publisher).”
"Now engaged, Mma Ramotswe must contend with the hostility of her fiancé's unscrupulous maid, who is not pleased with the new arrangement. Then an American woman asks for help to learn the truth behind her son's disappearance in Africa, and Mma Ramotswe has all the troubles she can handle (From the Publisher)."
Traces the growing friction between village leaders and Europeans determined to save the heathen souls of Africa. But its hero, a noble man who is driven by destructive forces, speaks a universal tongue.
By Deon Meyer
Series Benny Griessel Mysteries
A mystery which spans 13 hours in a single day, Inspector Benny Griessel solves two high profile cases.
By Susan Minot
Forced to witness and commit unspeakable atrocities after being abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army, Ugandan teen Esther struggles to survive and escape before crossing paths with Jane, an American journalist who has traveled to Africa to advocate on behalf of children like Esther.