{"id":21097,"count":25,"description":"Experts we've interviewed have selected the best African fiction\u2014highlighting classic books and must-read recent publications\u2014from a rich and sprawling literature, as well as thought-provoking African nonfiction book recommendations, including on African history and economics. Some of our African book recommendation lists are country specific, and others consider the continent as a whole.\r\n\r\nAfrican literature is increasingly getting the acclaim it deserves. Most recently Glory<\/em><\/a> by Zimbabwean NoViolet Bulawayo was shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize; The Promise<\/em><\/a>, by South African author Damon Galgut, won the 2021 Booker Prize<\/a> and Abdulrazak Gurnah<\/a>, the Tanzanian writer,\u00a0won the 2021 Nobel Prize for Literature<\/a>. His most recent book is Afterlives<\/em><\/a>.\r\n\r\nElsewhere in fiction, African fantasy and sci-fi are increasingly making their mark. Nigerian-German author Efua Traor\u00e9 talks us through the best West African fantasy for teenagers<\/a>. Rosewater<\/em><\/a>, by British-born Yoruba writer Tade Thompson, is a good example of Afrofuturism. One of our best sci fi books of 2019<\/a>, it is set in 2066 Nigeria. We have a wealth of recommended historical fiction set in Africa<\/a>.\r\n\r\nThere are recommendations for books on individual countries:\r\n
\r\n\r\nCongo (Democratic Republic)<\/a>\r\nEgypt\u00a0<\/a>\r\nGhana<\/a>\r\nKenya<\/a>\r\n<\/a>Morocco<\/a>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n
\r\n\r\nNigeria<\/a>\r\nRwanda<\/a>\r\nSouth Africa<\/a>\r\nZimbabwe<\/a>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n
\r\n\r\nOn African history<\/a>, we have historian Michael Gomez of NYU recommending books on the great African empires<\/a> of the medieval and early modern periods. A Fistful of Shells<\/em><\/a>, a prizewinning book by Toby Green of King's College London, also covers the period before European colonialism wreaked havoc on the continent. Further back in time, historians recommend books on Ancient Egypt and the time of the pharaohs.\r\n\r\n<\/div>","link":"https:\/\/fivebooks.com\/category\/world\/africa\/","name":"Africa","slug":"africa","taxonomy":"category","parent":23,"meta":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivebooks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories\/21097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivebooks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivebooks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/taxonomies\/category"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivebooks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories\/23"}],"wp:post_type":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivebooks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts?categories=21097"},{"href":"https:\/\/fivebooks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book?categories=21097"},{"href":"https:\/\/fivebooks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/books_like_this?categories=21097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}