Book picks similar to
First Term Surprises by Lawrence Darmani


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The Narrow Path


Francis Selormey - 1966
    The story that he tells, nearly 40 years later, is of his early days at home and in school, brought up in a strict mission household and conflicting with his father.

Drunk


Jackson Biko - 2017
    Girls actually. Its only fair that it starts with a girl, no? Only problem is that most stories that start with a girl always end up with someone banging on the door saying; I just want to talk. This is not one of those stories. This one is about Larry. Mad Larry. He drinks. He shags girls. He hates his father. And he looks nothing like his step brother, who stays by his side throughout his madness. When Larry does something terrible, it looms over him, shaping his future, transforming all the relationships around him and hurtling him into a rabbit hole. Oh, and wheelbarrows are involved. Five of them. Somehow Larry and one of these wheelbarrows will collide and things will get pretty hairy - for Larry, that is, not for you, dear reader.

The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born


Ayi Kwei Armah - 1968
    The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born is the novel that catapulted Ayi Kwei Armah into the limelight. The novel is generally a satirical attack on the Ghanaian society during Kwame Nkrumah’s regime and the period immediately after independence in the 1960s. It is often claimed to rank with Things Fall Apart as one of the high points of post-colonial African Literature.

Tomorrow Died Yesterday


Chimeka Garricks - 2011
    Douye aka Doughboy the career militant responsible for the crime. Amaibi the gentle university professor / eco-warrior accused. Kaniye the lawyer turned restaurateur who tries to get him off and Tubo an amoral oil company executive. Against a backdrop of corrupt practises, failed systems and injustice, these four friends tell the story of oil in a region and its effects on local communities and the Nigerian larger society.Chimeka Garricks in his extraordinary debut novel has written a frank and moving story about the realities of contemporary Nigeria. The evil long term effects of military rule resulting in the fragmentation and break down of moral values. His story paints a realistic picture of the very high price corruption exacts on a society and how no one is immune from its consequences.Chimeka has written a remarkable book; honest, insightful and tragic – Jude Dibia author of Blackbird.The book is absolute genius. Well researched, crisp lines, excellent and vivid dialogue, well developed characters. - Jekwu Ozoemene, author of The Anger of Unfulfillment.Tomorrow Died Yesterday is a chronicle of a region in turmoil, of a generation caught between the expectations of their parents and the depreciations of the Nigerian situation, each of these four men navigate their issues in different ways, and in their own voices. Mr Garricks is a new literary voice; unheralded, fresh, honest, unshorn of superficial flourish. Well worth the read. – Eghosa Imasuen, author of Fine Boys.Tomorrow Died Yesterday is a story of action and consequence, lies and love, greed and lust, the power of the truth and most poignantly, redemption. In a John Grisham-esque storytelling style, Chimeka Garricks carries the reader from the present to the past and back again in a seamless blend of storytelling, from the swamps of the Niger Delta to its courtrooms with some action, humour, suspense and just the right amount of romance thrown in. Tomorrow Died Yesterday is a novel by a Nigerian about Nigeria for the entire world. All in all, it is an impressive debut for a writer. - Seun Odukoya, reviewer www.naijastories.com

Erica Part One Seven Years In Hell


Erica Mukisa - 2019
    She served Lucifer for eighteen years before Jesus set her free. This is her story.

London - Cape Town - Joburg


Zukiswa Wanner - 2014
    . . London was good. Is good. I love London. But . . .” 1994 The world is about to change. The first truly democratic election in South Africa’s history is about to unite Nelson Mandela’s rainbow nation at the ballot box. And, across the world, those in exile, those who could not return home, those who would not return home, wait. Watch and wait . . . London Martin O’Malley isn’t one of those watching and waiting. He is too busy trying to figure out if Germaine Spencer really is the girl for him and why his best friend is intent on ruining every relationship he gets involved in. And then . . . And then Germaine is pregnant and suddenly the world really has changed for Martin O’Malley. South Africa A land of opportunity. A place where a young black man with an MSc from the London School of Economics could have it all, would have it all. But what does Martin O’Malley, London born and bred with an Irish surname, really know about his mother’s country? His motherland. A land he has never seen.

Looking for a Rain God and Other Short Stories from Africa


Ian Gordon - 1995
    

Slaying Your Giants: How to Have Massive Faith


Adam Houge - 2014
     Slaying Your Giants is a book that will change your life. It will teach you everything you need to know to have that mountain moving, giant tackling faith that God has always wanted from you. But prepare yourself for a total life makeover. Because radical faith creates radical changes.

The Sky Riders (an Inventors World Novel)


Christopher Hopper - 2013
    Enter the avionic steampunk world of master storyteller Christopher Hopper as he takes readers on a fast-paced, death-defying adventure in the skies. Junar is a seventeen-year-old boy following in the footsteps of his Ace Pilot father, Leif, as a flyer in the Kili-Boranna Guild, better known as The Sky Riders. As if life couldn't get any better, Junar's First Year apprenticeship riding the massive birds of the sky, the majestic felrell, takes a fortuitous leap forward when his father is promoted to the most prestigious position in all of Aria-Prime-Timber Pilot. Upon moving to the capital city of Christiana with his family, Junar meets fellow apprentices Liv, a strong-headed and alluring confidant, and Erik, whose favorite pastime is making life miserable for Junar. Junar's world takes an unexpected turn, however, when his father has a startling change of heart about his promotion. Embarrassed by his father's weakness and his mother's past, Junar endeavors to excel in his apprenticeship, and distances himself from his family by making his own name in the Guild. He sets his sights on competing in the Champions Race-a cross-world gauntlet whose winner is listed among the greatest felrell pilots in history. But behind the scenes, political factions and government conspiracies collide with Junar's new plans. The young pilot suffers a horrific blow at the hands of the Zy-Adair-the notorious Sky Pirates. And soon, his perfect world is spiraling out of control. From his unsuspecting alliance with the Inventors-dubious tinkerers and social outcasts-to his unlikely associations with the Brologi-the Chancellory Police-Junar must find a way to plead his case before the Chancellor of Aria-Prime and piece together a puzzle that threatens his entire world's way of life.

Our Sister Killjoy


Ama Ata Aidoo - 1977
    She comes to Europe, to a land of towering mountains and low grey skies and tries to make sense of it all. What is she doing here? Why aren't the natives friendly? And what will she do when she goes back home?Ghanaian writer Ama Ata Aidoo's brilliantly conceived prose poem is by turns bitter and gentle, and is a highly personal exploration of the conflicts between Africa and Europe, between men and women and between a complacent acceptance of the status quo and a passionate desire to reform a rotten world. Of her own writing, Ama Ata Aidoo says, "I write about people, about what strikes me and interests me. It seems the most natural thing in the world for women to write with women as central characters; making women the centre of my universe was spontaneous."

Smouldering Charcoal


Paul Tiyambe Zeleza - 1992
    The middle-class pair become victims of the same brutal violence that the poor and powerless suffer.

Noah


Ellen Gunderson Traylor - 1985
    Only one man warned of the cataclysm to come. Noah as you never knew him! This may be the most unusual novel you will ever read! Hailed by critics for its daring theories of the pre-Flood world and the preacher of righteousness.

The Prophet of Zongo Street: Stories


Mohammed Naseehu Ali - 2005
    Set primarily on Zongo Street, a fictitious community in West Africa, the stories -- which are reminiscent of the works of Ben Okri and Amos Tutuola -- introduce us to wonderfully quirky characters and the most uproarious, poignant, and rawest moments of life. There's Kumi, the enigmatic title character who teaches a young boy to finally ask questions of his traditions. And as Ali moves his characters to America we meet Felix, who struggles with America's love of the exotic in "Rachmaninov."The Prophet of Zongo Street heralds a new voice and showcases Mohammed Naseehu Ali's extraordinary ability to craft stories that are both allegorical and unforgettable.

Balefire: A Dark Fantasy Novella


Glynn Stewart - 2022
    Powerful magic of his fellow priests has sealed the village against the demon’s escape, and still more powerful mage awaits only his command to destroy demon and village alike.To save the innocent, the knight must enter the village alone and learn what has unleashed the Abyss amongst them. If he can strike down the demon, his holy oath is sufficient to spare the town the balefire.But the plague is spreading and the order he leaves behind is simple: come dawn, unleash the balefire.

No Future Without Forgiveness


Desmond Tutu - 1999
    Never had any country sought to move forward from despotism to democracy both by exposing the atrocities committed in the past and achieving reconciliation with its former oppressors. At the center of this unprecedented attempt at healing a nation has been Archbishop Desmond Tutu, whom President Nelson Mandela named as Chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. With the final report of the Commission just published, Archbishop Tutu offers his reflections on the profound wisdom he has gained by helping usher South Africa through this painful experience.In No Future Without Forgiveness, Tutu argues that true reconciliation cannot be achieved by denying the past.  But nor is it easy to reconcile when a nation "looks the beast in the eye." Rather than repeat platitudes about forgiveness, he presents a bold spirituality that recognizes the horrors people can inflict upon one another, and yet retains a sense of idealism about reconciliation. With a clarity of pitch born out of decades of experience, Tutu shows readers how to move forward with honesty and compassion to build a newer and more humane world.