In our regular Book Digest segment, we wrap up book news for our readers with books from Lucy Mushita, Lorato Trok, Jennifer Richard, and Abi Dare.
La Vie Infinie by Jennifer Richard
Publisher: Philippe Rey
Date: August 22, 2024
Genre: Fiction, Novel
Language: French
Where to find it: Philippe Rey
Jennifer Richard
Jennifer Richard is of Guadeloupean origin on her mother’s side and Norman on her father’s side. After growing up in Tahiti and Wallis and Futuna, she divided her time between Paris and other overseas territories (Guyana, Guadeloupe, New Caledonia, Mayotte). These experiences marked her thinking on history and politics, and are reflected in her works. She now lives in Berlin.
La Vie Infinie
When you have everything, money, love, health and a fascinating job, you don’t want life to end. Adrien and Céline are a couple in their forties who are successful at everything. He, a visionary creator of digital startups, is working on a program that would offer humans an unlimited and pain-free future. She, a documentary filmmaker, has abandoned her revolutionary ideals of youth to conform to the ambient liberal way of thinking. Their daughter, Zoé, ten years old, does not tolerate any human contact and empties as many bottles of hydroalcoholic gel as she has friends on a digital dating app for children, which is to say a lot…
One day, Céline meets Pierre, her best friend from high school. He is free, close to nature, convinced that the beauty of our destiny lies precisely in the evanescence of things.
By getting closer to Pierre, Céline discovers herself. He encourages her to accept the world as it appears to us. While Adrien, wanting to seduce his wife again, offers her a dematerialized and eternal life. Between the champion of freedom and the precursor of modern times, between blending into the flow of life and participating in the general liquidation, Céline will have to choose.
This brilliant novel by Jennifer Richard, with its incisive writing, sensitive narration, humor and lucidity, questions us, faced with the technological revolution that is disrupting our daily lives. And places us, like Céline, before two options: embrace existence as it is given to us, or try the adventure of an augmented and infinite life…
Expat Blues by Lucy Mushita
Publisher: Project Iles
Date: September 10, 2021
Genre: Fiction, Short Stories
Language: French
Where to find it: Babelio, Amazon, Bertrand
Lucy Mushita
Lucy Mushita is a novelist, essayist and speaker. Born in Zimbabwe, she grew up in a traditional village before going to France at the end of apartheid. After a short stay in the USA she went back to France where she taught English in primary school, university and international schools.
Expat Blues
Expat Blues is the fragmented, fierce and hilarious story of an expatriate in search of meaning, in search of words. In the very language that welcomes her, rejects her or jostles her, Lucy Mushita questions what could be called ordinary racism, banal micro-aggressions, which end up gangrening the society in which a narrator evolves who does not have enough of the language of the country where she lives and in which she has planted her dreams. As she learns, she successively comes up against the language, stereotypes and discovers little by little, as if peeling an onion, to what extent words secrete as much violence as tenacious prejudices. However, this is not a tearful chronicle but a great burst of laughter that affirms the possible healing through the mediation of language and the power of representation.
And So I Roar by Abi Dare
Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton
Date: August 6, 2024
Genre: Fiction
Language: English
Where to find it: Penguin
Abi Dare
Abi Daré grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, and has lived in the UK for over eighteen years. She studied law at the University of Wolverhampton and has an MSc in International Project Management from Glasgow Caledonian University as well as an MA in Creative Writing at Birkbeck, University of London. The Girl with the Louding Voicewon the Bath Novel Award for unpublished manuscripts in 2018 and was also selected as a finalist in the 2018 Literary Consultancy Pen Factor competition. Abi lives in Essex with her husband and two daughters, who inspired her to write her debut novel.
And So I Roar
When Tia accidentally overhears a whispered conversation between her mother—terminally ill and lying in a hospital bed in Port Harcourt, Nigeria—and her aunt, the repercussions will send her on a desperate quest to uncover a secret her mother has been hiding for nearly two decades.
Back home in Lagos a few days later, Adunni, a plucky fourteen-year-old runaway, is lying awake in Tia’s guest room. Having escaped from her rural village in a desperate bid to seek a better future, she’s finally found refuge with Tia, who has helped her enroll in school. It’s always been Adunni’s dream to get an education, and she’s bursting with excitement.
Suddenly, there’s a horrible knocking at the front gate. . . .
It’s only the beginning of a harrowing ordeal that will see Tia forced to make a terrible choice between protecting Adunni or finally learning the truth behind the secret her mother has hidden from her. And Adunni will learn that her “louding voice,” as she calls it, is more important than ever, as she must advocate to save not only herself but all the young women of her home village, Ikati.
If she succeeds, she may transform Ikati into a place where girls are allowed to claim the bright futures they deserve—and shout their stories to the world.
Golden Girl by Lorato Trok
Publisher: Jacana
Date: July 2024
Genre: Children
Language: English, Afrikaans, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Sepedi, Setswana, Xitsonga
Where to find it: Jacana
Golden Girl
The story of Ouma Katrina Esau.
Katrina and her family are forbidden from speaking their language, N|uu, but they continue to do so secretly.
For many years N|uu is rarely spoken and nearly disappears. But Katrina is determined to save her language.
N|uu holds stories of hunters and gatherers, of starry nights and connections to our ancestors. It’s a language that sings the songs of the land.
Join Ouma Katrina Esau on her inspiring journey and discover the power of language and the importance of never giving up on your dreams.
Ouma Katrina Esau
Ouma Katrina Esau is a respected elder and cultural custodian within the Khoe and San South African communities. She has played a vital role in preserving and revitalising the N|uu language, one of the world’s oldest languages. Ouma Katrina was determined to save her language from disappearing. She started a school in her home 21 years ago and still teaches young children how to speak N|uu. Her dream is to see her language spoken by many people, especially children.
Authors
Lorato Trok
Lorato Trok is an experienced early literacy expert with over 20 years of experience in publishing, writing, editing, translating, and developing stories for children’s literature. She began her career as a children’s librarian and has worked on notable projects such as the First Words in Print initiative and Room to Read. Lorato has received awards for her translations and editing work. She has facilitated writing workshops internationally and presented papers on children’s literature. Lorato is an accomplished author of children’s picture books and young adult biographies. She is actively involved in various boards and initiatives to promote literacy and advance African publishing. Lorato is the author of The Forgotten Scientist: The Story of Saul Sithole, a forgotten black scientist who contributed considerably to anthropology and ornithology.
Wendy Hartmann
Wendy Hartmann has published more than 40 children’s books. They range from concept and counting, beginner readers, high interest/low vocabulary readers, to picture books. Her books have been selected for honour lists and nominated for awards for writing and illustration. Wendy lives in Cape Town, is married and has two daughters. In her spare time, she paints and has taken part in numerous exhibitions and has worked in private collections in South Africa and overseas.
Elizabeth Pulles – Illustrator
Elizabeth Pulles is a talented, award-winning South African illustrator whose artistic journey has been fuelled by a passion for storytelling and a love for visual expression. Born with a natural curiosity and a vivid imagination, Elizabeth discovered her affinity for art at a young age. She embarked on a creative path, qualifying with a Master’s Degree in Art, where she specialised in children’s book illustration. Dedicated to bringing diversity to picture books and drawing inspiration from the natural beauty of South Africa, Elizabeth’s illustrations seek to celebrate the vibrancy of the environment and reflect warmth in relationships with others. Elizabeth’s creative approach makes room for both traditional and digital techniques. She begins with thumbnail sketches, developing a storyboard where she plays with the visual unfolding of the story and then sets the characters in their environments with the aid of intensive research. Her colourful illustrations have graced the pages of many books and magazines, captivating readers with their evocative storytelling and visual charm.
Please support our work at Writing Africa with a one-off donation or regularly on Mobile Money, PayPal, or Patreon starting at US$3 a month by clicking here
Leave a Reply