I saw an article on the New York Post website about a bookstore that was proudly selling books from Trump's "shithole country" list.
Coming from a shithole country myself I thought this would be a good opportunity to shift the narrative and highlight some brilliant authors and books that I've read or am excited to read this year who come from supposedly "Shithole countries."
I've created a tag on my youtube channel diana in colour encouraging others to share the love and turn something negative into something positive. If you want to save some reading, give it a watch.
Those of you who would prefer a written account can check out some of my favourite books and most anticipated books from these beautiful 'Sh*thole Countries' right here.
Nigeria
Ayobami Adebayo is a Nigerian writer.This book is about a Nigerian couple called Yejide and Akin. The couple fell in love at University and have have been married ever since. Despite the cultural expectation for Akin to take several wifes, the couple swore to each other that they would have a polygamous marriage. However, there’s trouble in paradise as Yejide struggles to get pregnant even after consulting healers and doctors and after four years, there’s still no baby. One day her family turns up with a young woman who is apparently supposed to be Akin’s second wife. Yejide is hurt and embarrassed but in order to save her marriage, Yejide makes an enormous sacrifice.
Behold the Dreamers
Imbolo Mbue
Cameroon
African Psycho
Alain Mabanckou
Congo-Brazzaville
Allain Mabanckou was born in Congo-Brazzaville. This novel is about Gregorie Nakobomayo who has decided to kill his girlfriend. Trouble is, he’s not very good at it. He calls for the help of dead serial killer Angualima to help him and holds several lengthy conversations with him despite the fact he’s dead.
This book is hilarious and great for anyone who likes macabre humour.
This book is hilarious and great for anyone who likes macabre humour.
Behold the Dreamers
Imbolo Mbue
Cameroon
Imbolo Mbue was born in Limbe, Cameroon. This novel touches on one of the most pervasive political issues in western countries. The rising hostility towards immigrants. Jende Jonga is a Cameroonian immigrant living in Harlem in search of a better life with his wife Neni and their six-year-old son. The two are both hardworking and desperate to make the life they’ve always dreamed of and when Jende gets a job as a chauffeur for a senior executive at Lehman Brothers, whose wife offers Neni work too, the couple is overjoyed and desperate to prove themselves. The job gives them a glimpse of a brighter future but the couple soon begins to notice something amiss in their new employers as privilege and power are explored.
Kumukanda
Kayo Chingonyi
Zambia
Kayo Chingonyi was born in Zambia and moved to Newcastle Upon Tyne. Kumukanda translates to initiation. It's the name of the rites of passage a boy from the Luvale tribe must undergo before he is able to be called a man. Kumukanda is a collection of poems that explore this passage, contrasting the living and the dead and the ancestral and the contemporary in the context of who Chingonyi is and how other's see him. I explore race, identity, masculinity touching on the unique issues that come from trying to find your place while being torn between two cultures.
Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth
Warsan ShireSomalia
Warsan Shire Knows how to use words. Warsan Shire is a Kenyan-born Somali poet and writer, based in London. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read this collection of poetry. It’s a very sombre and beautiful portrait of immigration, rape and the effects of trauma. She uses the poems to speak on the experience of living in a country of war and the unique issues that affect women in these situations as well as the immigrant and refugee experience. Her words are so simple yet lyrical, and every word drips with meaning. The subtlety of her words creep up on you. She really knows how to extract meaning from her worlds.
Difficult Women
Roxane Gay
Haiti
Roxane Gay is a Haitian-American writer.To sum this book up, it’s a collection of short stories about women dealing with trauma
Haiti
Roxane Gay is a Haitian-American writer.To sum this book up, it’s a collection of short stories about women dealing with trauma
Stories about losing children, about a woman made of glass, about a wealthy white man who fetishes black women and goes after a white-passing stripper with black features, about a woman who attracts resin and moisture, stories about losing children, sexual abuse and domestic violence. These are very dark stories.