Book picks similar to
Definition of a Miracle by Farida N. Bedwei


ghana
priority-reads
african-books
african-literature

Somebody's Heart Is Burning: A Woman Wanderer in Africa


Tanya Shaffer - 2003
    An incorrigible wanderer, Shaffer has a habit of fleeing domesticity for the joys and rigors of the open road. This time her destination is Ghana, and what results is a transformative year spent roaming the African continent. Eager to transcend the limitations of tourism, Shaffer works as a volunteer, building schools and hospitals in remote villages. At the heart of her tale are the profound, complex, often challenging relationships she forms with those she meets along the way.Whether recounting a perilous boat trip to Timbuktu, a night of impassioned political debate in Ghana, or a fumbled romance in Burkina Faso, Shaffer portrays the collision of African and North American cultures with self-deprecating humor and clear-eyed compassion. Filled with warmth, candor, and an exuberant sense of adventure, Somebody’s Heart is Burning raises provocative questions about privilege, wealth, and the true meaning of friendship.

Forest of a Thousand Daemons: A Hunter's Saga


D.O. Fagunwa - 1938
    Here are the adventures of Akara-ogun – son of a brave warrior and a wicked witch – as he journeys into the forest, encountering and dealing with all-too-real unforeseen forces, engaging in dynamic spiritual and moral relationships with personifications of his fate, perhaps projections of the terrors and obsessions that haunt man.

Harvest of Thorns


Shimmer Chinodya - 1989
    Pictures the transition between the old white-dominated Southern Rhodesia, through the Bush War, to the new black regime of Zimbabwe.

Mystery Ranch


Arthur Chapman - 1921
    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

The Radiance of the King


Camara Laye - 1954
    Flush with self-importance, he demands to see the king, but the king has just left for the south of his realm. Traveling through an increasingly phantasmagoric landscape in the company of a beggar and two roguish boys, Clarence is gradually stripped of his pretensions, until he is sold to the royal harem as a slave. But in the end Clarence’s bewildering journey is the occasion of a revelation, as he discovers the image, both shameful and beautiful, of his own humanity in the alien splendor of the king.Camara Laye published his first novel in 1953, the autobiographical L'Enfant noir (The African Child, also published under the title The Dark Child). It follows his own journey from childhood in Kouroussa, his education in Conakry, and eventual departure for France. The book won the Prix Charles Veillon in 1954. L'Enfant noir was followed the next year by Le Regard du roi (The Radiance of the King).

Born on a Tuesday


Elnathan John - 2015
    During the election, the boys are paid by the Small Party to cause trouble. When their attempt to burn down the opposition’s local headquarters ends in disaster, Dantala must run for his life, leaving his best friend behind. He makes his way to a mosque that provides him with food, shelter, and guidance. With his quick aptitude and modest nature, Dantala becomes a favored apprentice to the mosque’s sheikh. Before long, he is faced with a terrible conflict of loyalties, as one of the sheikh’s closest advisors begins to raise his own radical movement. When bloodshed erupts in the city around him, Dantala must decide what kind of Muslim—and what kind of man—he wants to be. Told in Dantala’s naïve, searching voice, this astonishing debut explores the ways in which young men are seduced by religious fundamentalism and violence.

Desertion


Abdulrazak Gurnah - 2005
    Pearce and Rehana begin a passionate illicit love affair, which resonates fifty years later when the narrator’s brother falls madly in love with Rehana’s granddaughter. In the story of two forbidden love affairs and their effects on the lovers’ families, Abdulrazak Gurnah brilliantly dramatizes the personal and political consequences of colonialism, the vicissitudes of love, and the power of fiction.

The Mourning Bird


Mubanga Kalimamukwento - 2019
    Faced with the difficult choice of living with their abusive extended family or slithering into the dark underbelly of Lusaka’s streets, Chimuka and Ali escape and become street kids.Against the backdrop of a failed military coup, election riots and a declining economy, Chimuka and Ali are raised by drugs, crime and police brutality. As a teenager, Chimuka is caught between prostitution and the remnants of the fragile stability that existed before her parents’ death.The Mourning Bird is not just Chimuka’s story, it’s a national portrait of Zambia in an era of strife. With lively and unflinching prose, Kalimamukwento paints a country’s burden, shame and silence, which, when juxtaposed with Chimuka’s triumph, forms an empowering debut novel.

The Madams


Zukiswa Wanner - 2007
    She loves her cute son Hintsa, her witty husband Mandla, her comfortably challenging work with the tourism board, and her best friends Nosizwe and Lauren. But she has to admit – its tough being Superwoman in South Africa today. Try being the perfect traditional wife and African mother at home, the perfect promotable black woman at work, and the perfect foil for her Benetton friends one black and Xhosa, one white and English! Thandi admits defeat and decides she needs that great South African bourgeois accessory: a maid. And since she doesnt have the heart to boss about a sister in her own home, she decides it must be a white maid. Marita joining the household seems to disrupt the comfortable space Thandi, Siz and Lauren have settled into. The secrets of the three womens lives are dramatically exposed and they are forced to confront their assumptions about relationships, history and each other.

Spotlight Investigations: The Complete Series


Harper Maguire - 2019
    But there he is, sexy as ever, sitting at her table. He’s even got a pretty impressive job; security guard to the stars. Wishing her writing career that she always dreamed of had ever taken off, Rachel concocts a plan. What if she can use some of Jayden’s insider information to write a bestselling book? She’ll only have to use him a little bit to get what she needs, what harm can there be? Except she never expected to begin to fall for him again…when she does can she still go through with her plan? Part 2 Max is the carefree younger brother of broken hearted Reid. He tries to keep his sarcasm in check and his jokes on point. Very little could ever get in the way of his jovial mood. Except the assignment Salvatore just gave him. Max’s new long term job is to work security for a pop-up fashion boutique series, which doesn’t sound all that bad if the pop-ups weren’t being opened by the one person he can’t stand - Reid’s ex-girlfriend Hannah. As he expects the two can’t seem to get along, there’s fireworks as usual when they’re around each other as they fight. But soon those fireworks turn from fighting into passion and something that could ruin his relationship with his brother forever. Part 3 Heartbroken after his breakup with Hannah, and confused by his brother’s new relationship with her, Reid has decided that romance isn’t in the cards. Not unless it's truly real. But does that even exist? He’s challenged by his new job from Spotlight, guarding the infamous and gorgeous Jennifer White from her wreck of an ex-boyfriend, also infamous Ian. How can Reid keep her protected from her ex when she is required to keep up appearances with Ian for publicity of their new movie? And what is he supposed to do when he believes that what he feels for her is real, but she’s too tied up with another man? Part 4 As the only female guard at Spotlight, Ireland has her work cut out for her among the boys, but this girl can hold her own. Her newest job is to help protect child star Kelly while she’s at school as there seems to be a stalker on the loose. Until she’s safe, Ireland will be reporting to elementary school every day to watch this spunky little girl. It seems like an easy task, though reliving the memories of her childhood feels haunting, Ireland tries to stay focused. But it’s hard to stay focused when Kelly’s newly single father is just so irresistible. Part 5 Salvatore has never recovered from the pain of his little sister’s unsolved murder when he was only a kid, and that’s why he began Spotlight to begin with. As new information comes to light for the police, her cold case is reopened, and with it all of Salvatore’s wounds. One misstep has landed him in court ordered counseling where he can’t stop fighting with his perky, perfect blonde counselor Ginny. Salvatore has a past he has to deal with and a future he needs to begin to make. If only he could stop fighting with, or kissing, his counselor, maybe he could find a way to work through his pain and see there’s more to the world.

Lost in the Wilderness


Mair Rubin - 2015
    The men who live through the plane crash must make their way toward the mountains separating NWT from the Yukon Territory while surviving off the land, facing tragedy and the wild, and uncompromising land and animals they come across. This is a story of extreme survival, and a rescue attempt that is beyond belief.

The Girl on the Train


Rachel Wagstaff - 2018
    Her only escape is the perfect couple she watches through the train window every day, happy and in love. Or so it appears. When Rachel learns that the woman she's been secretly watching has suddenly disappeared, she finds herself as a witness and even a suspect in a thrilling mystery in which she will face bigger revelations than she could ever have anticipated.Adapted from Paula Hawkins' novel - an international phenomenon selling over twenty million copies worldwide - this gripping new play will keep you guessing until the final moment.

Double Eagles


Bill Getz - 2011
    A German pilot is shot down over the English Channel and rescued by the British. It is discovered that he is a high ranking ace, and one of several royal princes flying for the Luftwaffe. His capture also opens a whole new avenue for British and American intelligence to determine the effectiveness of their counterintelligence activities to deceive Adolf Hitler as to Allied intentions for an invasion of Europe. Operation Gemini is launched and is one of the most successful spy operations of the war. Although this is a work of fiction, many of the characters were real and worked in the positions portrayed in the story. The main characters are fictitious. Wars are replete with secrets, deceptions and lies, prompting Winston Churchill to have famously said, and oft-quoted, “In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies.” This tale could be one such lie. Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu said, All warfare is based upon deception. So are novels. 575 Pages.

Mercy, Alabama


Heather L. Mattern - 2012
    Set predominantly in the sanctuary of a small southern town in the 1960's, Mercy, Alabama spans decades and states to probe a buried but unsettled past plagued with mistrust and tainted by an unresolved murder. It explores the choices that define us, the nature of forgiveness, and the frailty of human connections in the face of disaster.

Gullivers Travels (My Favourite Illustrated Classics)


Kuldeep Jain - 2011