In our regular Book Digest segment, we wrap up book news for our readers with books from Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo, Fary Ndao, Lisa Stringfellow, and Solo Niaré.
The Kingdom of Dust by Lisa Stringfellow
Publisher: Quill Tree Books
Date: August 20, 2024
Genre: Fiction, Young Adult
Language: English
Where to find it: Harper Collins
Lisa Stringfellow
Lisa Stringfellow is the author of A Comb of Wishes, which Newbery Award–winning author Kelly Barnhill called “one of the most promising works of fiction in a long time.” Lisa writes for her twelve-year-old self, the kid waiting to be the brown-skinned hero of an adventure, off saving the world. Lisa’s work often reflects her West Indian and Black southern heritage. She is a middle school teacher and lives in Boston, Massachusetts, with her children and two bossy cats.
The Kingdom of Dust
Author of A Comb of Wishes Lisa Stringfellow returns with a West African–inspired fantasy about a girl who is determined to return both magic and justice to her people—and whose destiny holds more surprises than she could ever imagine. “A fascinating fairy tale of memory, the power of storytelling, and magic! Lisa Stringfellow has crafted a fantastic story of a young girl seeking to save her kingdom from the usurper that would destroy it. This coming-of-age story of self-discovery is a gift to young readers, who will see themselves mirrored in a heroine worth rooting for!” —P. Djèlí Clark, author of Abeni’s Song “Storytelling has the ability to shape who we are and how we navigate the world. Nowhere is that more true than in Kingdom of Dust, where Lisa Stringfellow has crafted a heartfelt tale full of adventure, community, mystery, and magic. This story is one that all young readers will be absolutely delighted to discover!” —New York Times bestselling author Kalynn Bayron “Such a cool, different, princess-in-a-tower story; I loved the world Lisa built and the determined young heroine who has to save it.” —Tui Sutherland, author of the New York Times bestselling Wings of Fire series Though the land of Kun used to be lush and green, Amara has only ever known her homeland as a dry, dusty desert. When the griots vanished more than a decade ago, they took their magic with them, along with goddess Oala’s gifts of rain and plenty, leaving Kun controlled by a powerful and uncaring king. And though her foster mother, Zirachi, assures her that Kun is not under a curse, Amara can’t help but wonder if her own origin, which is shrouded in mystery, is somehow linked to the broken kingdom. When Amara and Zirachi are attacked by the Nkume, the fearsome king’s guard, Amara must flee, leaving all that she has known behind. With nowhere to go but knowing that she is under Oala’s protection, Amara sets off to do the impossible: find the griots and save Kun before the kingdom blows away like dust.
L’eunuque et l’empereur by Solo Niaré
Publisher: Nimba Editions
Date: June 20, 2024
Genre: Fiction, Historical
Language: French
Where to find it: Amazon, Lisez
Solo Niaré
Solo Niaré is a Malian-Guinean writer. Passionate about history, he likes to narrate Africa that crosses time, periods and civilizations. His novelistic writing highlights the little-known stories that he brings to light by having them carried by atypical and unexpected characters. He likes to tell the little story in the big one. Solo Niaré lives in Paris.
L’eunuque et l’empereur
Dive into pre-colonial history and the court of one of the most powerful kingdoms in Africa: the Mali Empire.
Emperor Kankou Moussa, the richest man in the universe, decides to go to Mecca on a pilgrimage, accompanied by his people of nearly 15,000 men and women.
Taking advantage of this expedition from sub-Saharan Africa, which will leave its lasting mark on the Arab-Muslim economy, a eunuch, a former slave and steward of a princely harem, returns to Medina, the city where he was martyred for years. He wants to find the woman he loves, free his unfortunate comrades and take revenge on his tormentors in the land of Islam.
With the immunity acquired due to his proximity to the emperor, he challenges them on their own ground and offers us, through many adventures, a new reading of this medieval period.
Le dernier des arts by Fary Ndao
Publisher: Presence Africaine
Date: September 27, 2024
Genre: Fiction
Language: French
Where to find it: Presence Africaine
Fary Ndao
Born in 1987 in Dakar, Fary Ndao lives in Senegal where he writes and works in the energy sector. He is one of the co-authors of the collective work Politisez-vous! (United Press, 2017) and published an essay, L’or noir du Sénégal, in 2018. Le dernier des arts is his first novel.
Le dernier des arts (English: The Last of the Arts)
“Politics is not and has never been a rational matter. It is, ultimately, only a matter of guts and heart. And perhaps that is for the best.” *
“Without ego, it is impossible to survive in this environment bordering on the mafia, where ambitions, deep and excessive, abrade and crush each other, sometimes engulf each other or collide in a tectonic of unheard-of violence.”
With these words, Sibi, a torn narrator and presidential candidate in a West African country, immerses us in the intimacy of a campaign where his destiny and that of his family are put in peril and hang by a thread, that of secrecy. The Last of the Arts is a rich and intimate novel that invites us to reflect on the true meaning of commitment. It gives us a glimpse behind the scenes of the political scene as we have perhaps never imagined before…
The Syndicate of 22 Natives: The Stan Sangweni Story by Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo
Publisher: Pan Macmillan South Africa
Date: August 1, 2024
Genre: Nonfiction
Language: English
Where to find it: Wordsworth Books, Pan Macmillan South Africa
Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo
Serving as CEO of the Birchwood Hotel and OR Tambo Conference Centre further solidified her reputation as a leader in the industry. Sangweni-Siddo was also a board member of South African Tourism and chaired the Tourism Transformation Council of South Africa (TTCSA) from 2019 to 2022.
The Syndicate of 22 Natives: The Stan Sangweni Story
In The Syndicate of Twenty-two Natives, Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo offers an elegy to her father, the late Professor Stan Sangweni, which explores the personal saga of a family’s lineage rooted in Zuka on Suspence Farm, Newcastle, in what is now northern KwaZulu-Natal. In turn, Prof Sangweni opens a window into a past where his grandfather, with foresight and ingenuity, became part of The Syndicate of Twenty-two Natives, a group that secured land for their families, including his family of seven wives, and for succeeding generations at a time when Black people in South Africa were being systematically dispossessed of their land. While packing up her father’s study as her parents prepare to move from their home after 27 years, Lindiwe and her father uncover his lifelong collection of documents and pictures that detail the intricacies of his life as a devoted family man, an ANC veteran and anti-apartheid activist, a pioneer of public service excellence in post-apartheid South Africa and an inveterate stickler for detail in every aspect of his life. Inspiring, often humorous, occasionally cataclysmically disruptive and generally victorious, this memoir is a tribute and a testament to the enduring legacy of those who paved the way amidst the trials of history for future generations.
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