Harare Review of Books

344 pages.

First published in 2009.

Finished reading on 26 July 2021.

Genre: Fiction and Non-fiction Anthology.

Supplied blurb: A one-of-a-kind collection showcasing the energy of new African literature

Coming at a time when Africa and African writers are in the midst of a remarkable renaissance, Gods and Soldiers captures the vitality and urgency of African writing today. With stories from northern Arabic-speaking to southern Zulu-speaking writers, this collection conveys thirty different ways of approaching what it means to be African. Whether about life in the new urban melting pots of Cape Town and Luanda, or amid the battlefield chaos of Zimbabwe and Somalia, or set in the imaginary surreal landscapes born out of the oral storytelling tradition, these stories represent a striking cross section of extraordinary writing. Including works by J. M. Coetzee, Chimamanda Adichie, Nuruddin Farah, Binyavanga Wainaina, and Chinua Achebe, and edited by Rob Spillman of Tin House magazine, Gods and Soldiers features many pieces never before published, making it a vibrant and essential glimpse of Africa as it enters the twenty-first century.

A wonderful anthology with very powerful pieces from some now very familiar writers, and others who may be unknown to you as they were to me. Included are: Chris Abani, Leila Aboulela, Chinua Achebe, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, José Eduardo Agualusa (of whose work I want to read so much more!), Mohammed Naseehu Ali, Doreen Baingana, Aziz Chouaki, J.M. Coetzee, Mia Couto, Fatou Diome, Boubacar Boris Diop, Nuruddin Farah, Nadine Gordimer, Helon Habila, Laila Lalami, Alain Mabanckou, Mohamed Magani, Zakes Mda, Niq Mhlongo, Patrice Nganang, Marlene van Niekerk, Ondjaki, E. C. Osondu, Nawal El Saadawi, Ngūgī wa Thiong’o, Yvonne Vera, Ivan Vladislavic’, Abdourahman A. Waberi, and Binyavanga Wainaina. All those luminaries!

Sections are divided roughly by geographical region, and then by former coloniser for non-English speaking regions (🥲), namely Francophone and Lusophone Africa.

Pieces (fiction and non-fiction) are listed below, with mini reviews and a few highlights following:

West Africa

Non-fiction

Chinua Achebe (Nigeria)
“The African Writer and the English Language” (brilliant, naturally; also, famous; snippets below.)

Fiction

Helon Habila (Nigeria)
“Lomba” (intriguing, and well-written; a prisoner and a prison guard make a deal)

Mohammed Naseehu Ali (Ghana)
“The Manhood Test” (one of my favourites! Very funny, also sad: a man fails to make love to his wife)

Chris Abani (Nigeria)
from Becoming Abigail (TW/CW 😖 I *think* this is about abuse and incest)

E. C. Osondu (Nigeria)
“Voice of America” (rather delightful! A young man finds a penpal)

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Nigeria)
from Half of a Yelllow Sun

Chinua Achebe

“Can he ever learn to use it like a native speaker? I should say, I hope not. It is neither necessary nor desirable for him to be able to do so. The price a world language must be prepared to pay is submission to many different kinds of use. The African writer should aim to use English in a way that brings out his message best without altering the language to the extent that its value as a medium of international exchange will be lost. He should aim at fashioning out an English which is at once universal and able to carry his peculiar experience.” (Achebe)

Francophone Africa

Non-fiction

Patrice Nganang (Cameroon)
“The Senghor Complex” (*loud buzzing sound*)

Fiction

Alain Mabanckou (Republic of Congo)
from Broken Glass (did not enjoy The Lights of Pointe-Noire, but this was amusing)

Fatou Diome (Senegal)
from The Belly of the Atlantic

Boubacar Boris Diop (Senegal)
from Murambi, The Book of Bones (CW: about the genocide in Rwanda)

Fatou Diome

North Africa

Non-fiction

Laila Lalami (Morocco)
“The Politics of Reading” (Excellent)

Fiction

Nawal El Saadawi (Egypt)
from Woman at Point Zero (–brutal!)

Mohamed Magani (Algeria)
from The Butcher’s Aesthetic

Aziz Chouaki (Algeria)
from The Star of Algiers

Leila Aboulela (Sudan)
“Souvenirs”

Laila Lalami

East Africa

Non-fiction

Binyavanga Wainaina (Kenya)
from Discovering Home

Fiction

Ngugi wa Thiong’o (Kenya)
from Wizard of the Crow

Doreen Baingana (Uganda)
“Christianity Killed the Cat” (CW: violence against an animal)

Nuruddin Farah (Somalia)
from Knots

Abdourahman A. Waberi (Djibouti)
from The United States of Africa (very woke in 2009, but also unsettlingly trope-y)

Former Portuguese Colonies

Non-fiction

Mia Couto (Mozambique)
“Languages We Don’t Know We Know” (truly excellent essay on language and cosmology)

Fiction

Ondjaki (Angola)
“Dragonfly” (interesting!)

Jose Eduardo Agualusa (Angola)
from The Book of Chameleons (dreamy; going to read the book)

I’m not a fan of Mia Couto‘s fiction, but this essay really spoke to me! So I highlighted almost everything:

And then, I really love the humour in José Eduardo Agualusa‘s writing. There will be reviews!

Southern Africa

Non-fiction

J. M. Coetzee (South Africa)
“The Memoirs of Breyten Breytenbach” (Mostly, I just widened my eyes)

Fiction

Yvonne Vera (Zimbabwe)
“Dead Swimmers” (sad; women, and loss)

Niq Mhlongo (South Africa)
from Dog Eat Dog (oof! A student encounters the police.)

Nadine Gordimer (South Africa)
“A Beneficiary” (enjoyed this; a woman dies, and her daughter discovers something that makes her question her identity)

Marlene van Niekerk (South Africa)
from Agaat (think I’d need to read the whole book)

Zakes Mda (South Africa)
from Ways of Dying (rather fun, about a stinky Professional Mourner)

Ivan Vladislavic (South Africa)
“The WHITES ONLY Bench” (super quirky; the bench is my favourite character)

In all, except for Patrice Nganang’s essay on Senghor and Negritude, which went completely over my head, I found this very engrossing, and a good way to get a feel for the work of writers I haven’t read yet.

Rated: 9/10. Read!