Reading Time: 5 minutesDate of publication: 2023Country: JamaicaGenre: Autobiography Click here to get the book Introduction How To Say Babylon is my second Caribbean-authored book this year, and I have learned a lot about Rastafarianism and Jamaica. I always wondered about the significance of former Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie to Rastafarians but never took the time to research it, and this book brought much-needed clarity. The first thing I thought when I started reading How To Say Babylon was how poetic Safiya’s writing was. I found out later in the book that she indeed is a poet, a very successful one. She uses her gift of poetry to tell her…

Reading Time: 4 minutesPublished: 1975Genre: FictionCountry: Egypt Buy the book here Introduction Good writing is timeless, and Woman at Point Zero proves exactly that. I’ve often seen this book recommended in reading circles focused on African women writers, but I deliberately avoided captions and reviews; I prefer to go into books completely blind. I wasn’t prepared for what I encountered in this novel. The title is telling, yet I still wasn’t expecting how deeply the protagonist’s journey would take me. Firdaus, the woman at the centre of this narrative, truly finds herself at “point zero” multiple times throughout the book. Summary of the Book The novel follows the life story…

Reading Time: 3 minutesPublished: 2006 Genre: Historical Fiction Country: Nigeria Get the book HERE Introduction Ever read a book that stayed with you for years? That was Half of a Yellow Sun for me. What happened to my favourite character, Kainene, towards the end was deeply unsettling. I first read Half of a Yellow Sun in 2018 and knew I would need to revisit it. Seven years later, I returned to it. Chimamanda’s writing has a way of hooking one immediately, and even though this was a re-read, it was just as gripping as the first time I read it. Book Summary Half of a Yellow Sun is a story…

Reading Time: 4 minutesPublished: 2010 Genre: Literary Fiction Country: Sierra Leone Get the book HERE Introduction Three men, three stories and a spectacular entanglement. You will start this book, and you will not want to put it down. The several plot twists alone will keep you on your toes, reading chapter after chapter. I first read The Memory of Love in 2018 and knew I would revisit it one day. When I began reviewing books on African Queens’ Ink, I knew it was time to finally re-read the book and reflect on it in writing. Book Summary Set in Sierra Leone, The Memory of Love follows the stories of three men…

Reading Time: 5 minutesPublished: 2021Genre: Domestic FictionCountry: TrinidadBuy the book here Introduction I’ve had this book on my TBR for a while and finally decided to pick it up during Read Caribbean Month, as encouraged by @bookofcynz on instagram. And… wow. I don’t even know where to begin. I can’t remember the last time I read a book that made me gasp “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God” chapter after chapter. This book is a page turner. I couldn’t put it down (well, untill the last few chapters where it all became too much). That said, trigger warning: this novel contains graphic depictions of domestic violence, sexual…

Reading Time: 3 minutesPublished: 2024Country: NigeriaGenre: Historical Fiction, Coming of AgeBuy the Book Introduction The Parlour Wife by Foluso Agbaje is a compelling portrayal of agency, power, culture, patriarchy, aspiration, and more. Set during the 1930s and 1940s, a time when women were historically dispossessed and reliant on male decision-making, it captures the layered struggles of the era. While the author notes that some parts of the novel are based on real events discovered through research, I found elements of the story difficult to connect with. Much of the narrative felt implausible for that specific time in Nigeria, especially for Nigerian women with a tone and style heavily influenced by…

Reading Time: 3 minutesPublished: 2018 (2020) Genre: Fiction Country: Zimbabwe Buy the book here Introduction This Mournable Body by Tsitsi Dangarembga is the final instalment in the trilogy that began with Nervous Conditions and continued with The Book of Not. If you’ve read The Book of Not, or my review of it, you’ll know how heartbroken I felt for Tambudzai. I had hoped that things would finally go right for her in this last book. But This Mournable Body makes it clear: Tambu’s struggle is far from over. Book Summary When the novel opens, Tambu is still living in the youth hostel where we last saw her in The Book…

Reading Time: 3 minutesPublished: 2006Genre: Fiction, Coming of AgeCountry: ZimbabweBuy the book here Introduction The Book of Not is the powerful sequel to Nervous Conditions. It follows Tambudzai’s (Tambu’s) story further as she grows from her Baba Mukuru’s home to moving on to high school. As Tambu moves from colonial Rhodesia through the liberation war (Chimurenga) and into independent Zimbabwe, her internal struggles take centre stage. Her attempts to rise, to fit in, to be seen, to be the best, all become a quiet but relentless internal war. Book Summary Tambu has been through the wringer. So much happens to her in this sequel. The book picks up right after…