Book picks similar to
The Ambassadors Daughter: A Novel Out of Africa by Samantha Ford


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My Husband Next Door


Catherine Alliott - 2013
    Now, those blissful years of marriage have turned into the very definition of an unconventional set-up. Separated in every way but distance, Sebastian resides in an outhouse across the lawn from Ella's ramshackle farmhouse.With an ex-husband living under her nose and a home crowded by hostile teenaged children, gender-confused chickens - not to mention her hyper critical mother whose own marriage slips spectacularly off the rails - Ella finds comfort in the company of the very charming gardener, Ludo. But is he really the answer to her prayers?Then out of the blue Sebastian decides he must move away, catching Ella horribly unawares. How much longer can she hide from what really destroyed her marriage . . . and the secret she continues to keep?

Jungle Lovers


Paul Theroux - 1971
    Unable to sell a policy to Marais, Calvin joins Marais' merry band of mercenaries--until a fictious diary is stolen, and he is drawn into an explosion of violence. An audacious novel from the author of Riding the Iron Rooster.

Category Five


Philip Donlay - 2004
    As Helena bears down on Bermuda, Donovan Nash, along with other members of the scientific research organization Eco-Watch, are called to fly in and extract key government people who have been studying Helena. For Donovan Nash, the routine mission turns deadly when an attempt is made on the life of the lead scientist. A woman from the past, Dr. Lauren McKenna, is suddenly thrust back into his life. With 300 mph winds and waves over 90 feet, Helena marches relentlessly for the vulnerable east coast of the United States. In a bold attempt to diffuse the power of the hurricane, Eco-Watch is called upon to conduct a final flight above the massive fury, where the jet suffers a catastrophic engine failure. Now the only option is to maneuver the crippled airplane into the calm of Helena's eye.

Kololo Hill


Neema Shah - 2020
    They must take only what they can carry, give up their money and never return.For Asha and Pran, married a matter of months, it means abandoning the family business that Pran has worked so hard to save. For his mother, Jaya, it means saying goodbye to the house that has been her home for decades. But violence is escalating in Kampala, and people are disappearing. Will they all make it to safety in Britain and will they be given refuge if they do?And all the while, a terrible secret about the expulsion hangs over them, threatening to tear the family apart.From the green hilltops of Kampala, to the terraced houses of London, Neema Shah’s extraordinarily moving debut Kololo Hill explores what it means to leave your home behind, what it takes to start again, and the lengths some will go to protect their loved ones.

Warrior Princess: Fighting for Life with Courage and Hope


Kasune Zulu - 2009
    As a child, she could not know the disease that claimed the lives of her parents and baby sister would go on to infect more than 100 million people. Left alone to care for her siblings, Princess later discovered she herself was HIV positive. But she heard a calling to become an advocate and ambassador for those affected by disease and poverty. From talking to truck drivers about AIDS to her providential work as a radio broadcaster, Princess has boldly stepped up to speak on behalf of the voiceless and forgotten. Princess's journey has taken her from the dusty villages of Zambia to the offices of world leaders from the White House to the United Nations. Her message is that we can now become the first generation to end extreme poverty, if only we have the will to do so. Her story shows that even though life is uncertain and our time may be short, we each have a role to play in bringing healing and hope to our world. A percentage of proceeds from the sale of this book will support children affected by AIDS.

Thirst


L.A. Larkin - 2012
    Luke Searle, maverick glaciologist, has made it his home. But soon his survival skills will be tested to the limit by a ruthless mercenary who must win at any cost. The white continent is under attack. The Australian team is being hunted down. Can Luke stay alive long enough to raise the alarm? Can he avert a global catastrophe? The countdown has begun. T minus 5 days, 2 hours and 53 minutes …

L.A. Connections


Jackie Collins - 1998
    Drawn into this dangerous world are a high-class call girl looking for a way out...a ruthless agent playing for high stakes...and a beautiful journalist chasing the story of her career. They are about to discover the rules of survival in this city of dreamers and deceivers.

This Side Jordan


Margaret Laurence - 1960
    Margaret Laurence’s first novel, This Side Jordan, recreates that colour-drenched world: a place where men and women struggle with self-betrayal, self-discovery, and the dawning of political pride.This Side Jordan transcends the traditional limits of the first novel. Its powerful and compassionate characterizations and its themes of exile and community anticipate the five later novels that make up Laurence’s acclaimed Manawaka series. A major work of lasting significance, This Side Jordan creates echoes in the mind of the reader as resonant as the drums of Ghana.

S is for Stranger


Louise Stone - 2016
    S is for Stranger is full of tension and atmosphere. A hugely compelling read.’ ― Amanda Jennings, author of In Her WakeThere are two sides to every story.But only one is true.Sophie wished she’d paid more attention when her little daughter, Amy, caught sight of a stranger watching them. She only looked away for a second. But now Amy’s gone.No one trusts an alcoholic. Even a sober one. The police are suspicious of Sophie’s tangled story and so is her ex-husband, Paul. Especially when new information emerges that changes everything.But what if Sophie is telling the truth? What if her daughter really is missing? And what if that stranger at the fairground wasn’t really a stranger at all…Perfect for readers looking for their next addictive read after The Girl on the Train and Behind Closed Doors.

Happy Families (Quick Reads)


Adele Parks - 2008
    For the past year, she has been going out with Mark, who is five years younger than her. Lisa really likes him but she worries that one day he will leave - just like her ex-husband did. One top of everything else, Lisa feels really tired and moody, and has put on weight. She thinks it's the menopause - but could there be another reason for how she's feeling? Lisa's life is about to change in a big way but does she want Mark by her side? Does he even want to be there? With the help of her family and friends, Lisa starts to believe that a second chance of love and happiness might just be possible...

Better Never than Late


Chika Unigwe - 2019
    A harrowing encounter on a train haunts Añuli. A mother abandons her child in search of personal freedom. A wife joins her husband, only to be met with news that threatens their relationship.This richly imagined collage of interconnected stories follows Prosperous and Agu, and the motley community of Nigerian expats who gather at their apartment each week. Their reality is one of dashed hopes, twisted love and the pain of homesickness, even as they fight to make their way in this new world.Better Never Than Late is a layered and affecting portrayal of the everyday absurdities and adversities of migrant life.

Mali Blues: Traveling to an African Beat


Lieve Joris - 1996
    But the Africans she meets are survivors, fascinating individuals charting new ways of living between tradition and modernity. The story of Malinese blues singer Kar Kar (Boubacar Traore)- celebrated in Europe, caught up in a family tragedy at home - epitomises the struggles facing so many people in these lands. With her remarkable gift for drawing stories out of people, Joris paints a hauntingly intimate portrait of the singer and his society, brilliantly capturing the rhythms of a world that refuses to give in.

Say You're One of Them


Uwem Akpan - 2008
    The eight-year-old narrator of "An Ex-Mas Feast" needs only enough money to buy books and pay fees in order to attend school. Even when his twelve-year-old sister takes to the streets to raise these meager funds, his dream can't be granted. Food comes first. His family lives in a street shanty in Nairobi, Kenya, but their way of both loving and taking advantage of each other strikes a universal chord. In the second of his stories published in a New Yorker special fiction issue, Akpan takes us far beyond what we thought we knew about the tribal conflict in Rwanda. The story is told by a young girl, who, with her little brother, witnesses the worst possible scenario between parents. They are asked to do the previously unimaginable in order to protect their children. This singular collection will also take the reader inside Nigeria, Benin, and Ethiopia, revealing in beautiful prose the harsh consequences for children of life in Africa. Akpan's voice is a literary miracle, rendering lives of almost unimaginable deprivation and terror into stories that are nothing short of transcendent.

Ancestral Voices


Etienne van Heerden - 1986
    As recounted in this haunting novel, the death of a young child of the Moolman tribe and the ensuing inquest transcend the conventions of the murder mystery, giving us a stark protrayal of a suicidally insular clan.

Like Clockwork


Margie Orford - 2006
    As more bodies are discovered, Clare is forced to re-visit memories of the brutal rape of her twin sister and the gang ties that bind Cape Town's crime rings. Is her investigation into human trafficking linked to the murders or is the killer just playing a sick game with her?About Margie OrfordMargie Orford Crime novelist, award-winning journalist, film director and author, Margie Orford was born in London, and grew up in Namibia and South Africa. Like Clockwork is her first novel. She lives in Cape Town.