The Sabi, 2013, Diane Brown ****

"The Sabi" is a true story of the life of a young woman. Who was born in South Africa, into a family of  both African and European heritage when apartheid was in high gear.

Her father, a generous hard working man; nonetheless was harsh and ruled his household with an iron hand. Time without numbers, he pushed the envelope by hitting his wife and daughter violently. Though, she attributed her father's attitude to the violent circumstances of that time.

"I was born into a violent world. I grew up in violence. I live in a violent world. I experienced and witnessed violence in my home, in my school, on the playgrounds, in the streets, among siblings, in relationships, on the television, among parents and everywhere else. In South Africa violence is pandemic, and it is as common a phenomenon and part of our culture and psyche as boerewors, biltong and sunny skies."

Even though, she was born into a family of both African and European descendant, her looks was more like that of an African woman. For that reason, she suffered from more violence and racism. Perhaps, more than her other siblings whose skin were not as dark or whose hairs were not as coarse as hers. Incidents that later on  depressed her adulthood.

"You are beaten for just being black?......But I couldn’t do anything about being black. All I had to do was get up in the morning and I was guilty".

Moreover, as a result of the violence and racism towards her persona, she suffered from a crisis of

The Shadow of a Smile, 2009, Kachi A. Ozumba ***

Zuba's father left his job as a University Professor and decided to open a school. He employed a school principal, who together with her husband, a retired military were wolves in sheep's clothing. They dragged him to his deathbed. Due to his delicate health, his son was obliged to take over the management of the school. Zuba, as the new head of school decided to sack the principal when he discovered her  malicious intentions. However, he found himself sinking in a quagmire.

Firstly, she threatened him and demanded for a huge amount of money that she did not deserve. Upon Zuba's refusal, they made up a story whereby he was eventually accused of robbery and theft. Consequently, he was arrested and taken into custody by the police.

This novel mainly narrates Zuba's plight in prison. How he found himself trapped in his country's legal system rife with corruption. Where Guilty or Not Guilty was a matter of "how-much-are-you-ready-to-bribe-the-police?" The whole novel was mostly about Zuba vainly trying to put the record straight in order to leave the prison.

"The Shadow of a Smile" was well written and an easy read, you know it is not the type you annoyingly come across grammatical errors every now and then. I liked it. Some of the settings were in my home town Ogidi and the characters were Igbos like me. Everything sounded so familiar. However, it was not a novel I thoroughly enjoyed. I had the feeling it lacked somethings that could have made it more enjoyable and interesting, you know the type that keeps you hunger looking forward for more; hence the three stars. All the same, it was a good read.

Finally, I recommend, especially if you would like to find out what it feels like to be in a prison in Nigeria. Kachi A. Ozumba is a Nigerian writer, winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize (Africa) 2009. This is his first novel. In my opinion he is quite promising and I would not hesitate to read more of his works in the future.

Living, Loving and Lying Awake at Night, 1991, Sindiwe Magona ****

Living, Loving and Lying  Awake at Night is a collection of short stories set in apartheid South Africa. Divided into two parts. Part one is a collection of interlinked narratives of African women who were enslaved as housemaids in the houses of their white madams and masters. While, the second part is a collection of short stories along the same line.

Similar to "The Help" by Kathryn Sockett, in apartheid many African women could only aspire to work as housemaid in the house of the whites, where they were disgracefully under-payed and in a never-ending position of indebtedness.  They lived in their working place. That is, a box they called the maid's room and worked twenty-four-seven. If they were lucky enough to have their child with them, at age five he or she was already

Born In The Big Rains, 2004, Fadumo Korn *****

Fadumo Korn, born in Somalia, went through genital mutilation at the age of seven.

"My heart was racing. My mouth was dry and not a word came out....My mother squatted behind me and held me tight...Hands touched my body everywhere, a horde of hands, pressing, tearing, pulling....The first cut was ice cold. A deep blue pain. A lightening bolt to the head".

Unfortunately, after the trauma Fadumo did not fully recover. She developed symptoms typical of rheumatoid arthritis (Inflammation and swelling of joints, muscle weakness and fatigue). Though, the medical diagnosis was not mentioned at first. Hence, she was sent to her rich Uncle's house in Mogadishu to receive medical treatment. Which marked the beginning of her transition from nomadic to city life. Since her family was related to Siad Barre a military dictator and Somalian president from 1969 - 1991, she was introduced to a luxurious life-style that many people would envy. Inspite of  all that, she was not making any recovery and it was decided that she went to Germany to receive proper treatment. In Germany, she fell in love with a German and eventually got married. However, her sexual life, with respect to her genital mutilation was a frightening topic, considering the fact that she was all cut and sewn up.

"Excisors remove the clitoris and labia minora. Sometimes they scrape the inside of the labia majora and remove tissue from the vagina. They use razor blades, silver of glass, knives, scissors, and sometimes even their sharp fingernails. Then they sew the outer lips with thorns and thread so they adhere. Only a minuscule opening remains for urine and menstrual blood to exit drop by drop"

"Born in the Big Rains" is a first hand account of a survivor of Female Genital Mutilation. A non-fiction that narrates on the psychological and physical damage of such an insensitive and barbaric practice. As luck would have it, Fadumo sought help and was able to speak out. She later on became the vice president of an organisation in Germany dedicated to promoting action to stop "FGM".

Like most non-fictions, the narrative style is clear and simple with an engaging and interesting storyline that narrated on the Female Genital Mutilation experience with no restrictions whatsoever. I highly recommend if you want an insight into the loss and damages of this primitive, brutal and inhuman custom.

For more novels on FGM please click here.

Commonwealth Writers Prize for Africa Region Winners Reading Challenge

Today, my birthday 6th of September, I have at long last officially made up my mind to join Geosireads and ImageNation in the challenge of reading all the Commonwealth Writers Winners for Africa Region. Although, I have no time limit in achieving this goal.

This Prize is divided into three categories: Commonwealth Writers' Prize: Best Book, Commonwealth Writers' Prize: Best First Book,  and Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Nonetheless, I would only be reading books in the first two categories. Please click here to read more about the Commonwealth Writers. Books read are rated and linked to their reviews.

Commonwealth Writers' Prize: Best Book, Africa

2011 – The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna (Sierra Leone) 3*

2010 - The Double Crown by Marié Hesse (South Africa)

2009 – The Lost Colours of the Chameleon by Mandla Langa (South Africa)

2008 – The Hangman’s Game by Karen King-Aribisala (Nigeria)
Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best Book Overall (2008) The Book of Negroes (Canada) 5*
2007 – The Native Commissioner by Shaun Johnson (South Africa)

2006 – The Sun by Night by Benjamin Kwakye (Ghana)

2005 – Boy by Lindsey Collen (South Africa)

2004 – The Good Doctor by Damon Galgut (South Africa)

2003 – The Other Side of Silence by Andre Brink (South Africa)

2002 – The Pickup by Nadine Gordimer (South Africa)

2001 – The Heart of Redness by Zakes Mda (Soutth Africa)

2000 – Disgrace by J.M Coetzee (South Africa) 5*

1999 – If You Can Walk, You Can Dance by Marion Molteno (South Africa)

1998 – Walking Still by Charles Mungoshi (Zimbabwe)

1997 – Under the Tongue by Yvonne Vera (Zimbabwe)

1996 – No Selection Made

1995 – The Master of Petersburg by J.M Coetzee (South Africa)

1994 – The Rape of Sita by Lindsey Collen (Mauritius) 4*

1993 – Tides by Isidore Okpewho (Nigeria)

1992 - Changes by Ama Ata Aidoo (Ghana) 5*

1991 – The Last Harmattan of Alusine Dunbar by Syl Cheney-Coker (Sierra Leone)

1990 – Harvest of Thorns by Shimmer Chinodya (Zimbabwe)

1989 – Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga (Zimbabwe)

1988 - Heroes by Festus Iyayi (Nigeria) 4*

1987

• Incidents at the Shrine by Ben Okri (Nigeria)
• A Forest of Flowers by Ken Saro-Wiwa (Nigeria) (Runner-up)

Commonwealth Writers' Prize: Best First Book, Africa

2011 – Happiness is a Four-Letter Word by Cynthia Jele (South Africa)

2010 - I Do Not Come to You by Chance by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani (Nigeria) 4*

2009 – Say You’re One of Them by Uwem Akpan (Nigeria) 4*

2008 – Imagine This by Sade Adeniran (Nigeria) 4*

2007 – All We Have Left Unsaid by Maxine Case (South Africa)

2006 – Tropical Fish: Stories from Entebbe by Doreen Baingana (Uganda) 4*

2005 – Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Nigeria) 3*

2004 – Gardening at Night by Diane Awerbuck (South Africa)

2003 – Waiting for an Angel by Helon Habila (Nigeria)

2002 – Ama by Manu Herbstein (South Africa) 4*

2001 – Thirteen Cents by K Sello Duiker (South Africa)

2000 – The Legend of the Rockhills and Other Stories by Funso Aiyejina (Nigeria)

1999 – The Clothes of Nakedness by Benjamin Kwakye (Ghana) 2*

1998 – Dance with a Poor Man’s Daughter by Pamela Jooste (South Africa) 5*

1997 – At the Edge and Other Cato Manor Stories by Ronnie Govender (South Africa)

1996 – Winds of Change by Dene Coetzee (South Africa)

1995 – The River and the Source by Margaret A. Ogola (Kenya)

1994 – Cry a Whisper by Lucy Safo (Ghana) 3*

1993 – The Price of Liberty by Paul Conton (Sierra Leone)

1992 - Grief Child by Lawrence Darmani (Ghana) 3*

1991 – Our Wife and Other Stories by Karen King-Aribisala (Nigeria)

1990 – The Gunny Sack by M.G Vassanji (Kenya)

1989 – No Selection Made

** From 2012 to 2013 the award was restructured , it only composed of two Prizes instead of three. First Prize was for best first book and the second Prize was for best short stories.

2013 - Sterile Sky by E.E Sule (Nigerian)
2012 - The Dubious Salvation of Jack V by Jacques Strauss (South Africa)

** As from 2014 Commonwealth Writers will no longer offer the Commonwealth Book Prize.

True Murder, 2009, Yaba Badoe ****

Ajuba a preteen Ghanaian girl was registered, perhaps abandoned in a boarding school in a faraway rural England. Far from all that was familiar to her. Her mother, mentally unstable suffered from recurrent hallucinations. While her father who couldn't put up with the continuous crisis in his marriage, gave up.

In the boarding school, Ajuba met Polly Venus with whom she became best of friends. They spent holidays and weekends together in Polly's house, like the one you can picture on the book cover. During Ajuba's stay with the Venus, she found out that they weren't as glamourous as one might think from the outside. After all, they were weirdly similar to her own family. From experience she knew it was only a matter of time before they split up. And they tragically did. Luckily, her relationship with Polly did not alter in course of their misfortune, instead new bond of friendship was formed.

"True Murder" was exquisitely and mysteriously written with credible characters. Like a diary, Ajuba narrated her emotional agitation of experiencing her parents separation and the tragic break up of her best friend's family. In addition, it is a novel somewhat difficult to classify, as in whether or not it is an African literature due to its multifaceted nature.

However, I was left slightly disappointed since I was expecting a similar storyline to "The Rival"  in African Love Stories by same author. Moreover, some adults might find it a bit YA fiction; nonetheless, they should not be discouraged because if they have read and enjoyed Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Powder Necklace by Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond, Imagine This by Sade Adeniran they might as well like True Murder. Therefore, I recommend.