“We Need New Names” by NoViolet Bulawayo (Zimbabwe) Review Members of our Summer Reading Group liked the differences in writing styles and themes of this year’s four shortlisted books finding most of the stories highly enjoyable. Nicola has chosen the novel “We Need New Names” as her Coup de Cœur Summer 2014. Set in Harare and Michigan (US) in the present day, readers found the … Continue reading We Need New Names
“Goodbye Lucille” by Segun Afolabi (Nigeria) Review Readers were pretty much equally divided about this book, with half the group enjoying it, while the other half found it disappointing. Everyone agreed that it was an easy read, written in a clear language, and that the story was well crafted. They also liked the fact that it gave them a strong sense of time and place, … Continue reading Goodbye Lucille
“Black Mamba Boy” by Nadifa Mohamed (Somalia) Book Club Favourite of Season 16 Review Readers enjoyed this story describing it as somewhat similar to a tale where the hero is faced with many difficulties on his journey, but who also meets lots of kind people along the way. They warmed to the protagonist from the start and enjoyed following him as he grows from a young boy in … Continue reading Black Mamba Boy
“The Icarus Girl” by Helen Oyeyemi (Nigeria) Review Readers found this book an easy read and they finished it quickly. However, few of them enjoyed it and one reader said she found it boring. Some felt that it lacked content and that it was repetitive. On the other hand, a couple of readers thought it was a multi-layered story, touching on topics as diverse as … Continue reading The Icarus Girl
“In the United States of Africa” by Abdourahman A. Waberi (Djibouti) Review Readers all agreed that the idea of turning the world upside down was a clever and original one. They liked the beginning of the book, but became disenchanted as they read on finding the story more and more difficult to follow. Although they thought there was some very fine writing, they felt that … Continue reading In the United States of Africa
“Moses, Citizen & Me” by Delia Jarrett-Macauley (Sierra Leone) Review Readers were looking forward to this book and they all found the beginning very promising. However, although the topic of child soldiers was both a challenging and interesting one for a novel, they felt that the author did not quite succeed in making the story a good read. Most readers felt too distant from the … Continue reading Moses, Citizen and Me
“Disgrace” by J.M. Coetzee (South Africa) Book Club Favourite of Season 12 Review Although readers found the protagonist highly unappealing and they had difficulty engaging with Lucy and some of the other secondary characters, they enjoyed the book very much, describing it as extremely well written and rich. They felt it was a story with many layers needing a number of readings to fully appreciate … Continue reading Disgrace
“An Elegy for Easterly” by Petina Gappah (Zimbabwe) Review Readers loved this book describing it as one of the best collections of short stories they have ever read. They found the themes contemporary and accessible, and they liked the diverse accounts of life in Zimbabwe. With each story, some only a dozen pages long, readers felt they learnt so much about the protagonists that it … Continue reading An Elegy for Easterly
Nicola's Book Club 