African Short Stories to Read for the TPL Reading Challenge 2020

September 21, 2020 | Danya Elsayed

Africa has cultivated a breadth of dynamic writers. Some of my favourites include Nigerian authors Chinua Achebe and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie as well as Sudanese author Leila Abouelela and Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz.

These authors have also written short stories, essays and poems alongside their feature novels. Their works usually focus on the lives of Africans within the continent and across the diaspora. They cover themes of love, colonialism, identity, imprisonment, cultural shifts, exile and everything in between.

Why you should read a short story by an African author

Short stories sometimes have a bad reputation. It's kind of like watching your ice cream cone fall out of your hands after your first lick. You had the taste of something great, but now it's gone. Similarly, if you're used to reading 300-page books, a short story may not feel like enough. So what can you do? Savour the one lick you did get because it was probably amazing.

Young woman wearing a denim jacket reading on a bench surrounded by trees

Photo by Gift Habeshaw from Unsplash.

In Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's popular TEDx talk, she highlights the drawbacks of focusing on a singular story – especially when it comes to Africa and its people.

The narrative that most people are used to is that African countries are politically unstable and economically poor. But in reality, Africa has over 50 different countries, with technologically advanced cities and booming industries. Its countries have unique histories, cultures, religions and experiences.

As a member of the African diaspora myself, I find myself drawn to reading stories by African authors. I want to learn about the countries through the eyes of their people.

Last month, I picked up 20 years of the Caine Prize for African Writing, which includes the winning short stories from 2000-2019. Each year, the Ako Caine Prize for African Writing is granted to an African writer of a short story published in English. A panel of esteemed judges comes together to select the shortlisted winners, which eventually dwindles down to one.

Cover image of Twenty years of the Caine Prize for African writing

Some of the stories in the anthology were amazing, others I didn't feel as drawn to. Here are my favourites.

"The Museum", Leila Aboulela

Shadia is a young Sudanese Master's student studying in Aberdeen, Scotland. She befriends a quiet Bryan who shares his study notes with her. On one occasion, they visit a museum and are faced with the evidence of colonialism: artifacts stolen from Africa on display. While Bryan is in awe, Shadia is in tears – homesick and hurt at the museum's portrayal of her home.

"Love Poems" Helon Habila

Lomba is a former journalist detained in a Nigerian prison. His secret diary entries paint a picture of the aggressive power dynamics between the prisoners and guards. As his life in prison becomes even more destitute, an unexpected request from one of the guards offers a glimmer of hope.

"Discovering home" Binyavanga Wainaina

Wainaina takes us on a journey from South Africa to Kenya and Uganda, describing the cultures, people and scenery in each country. What struck me the most about this short story is how the narrator describes our choice of seeing things. When Europeans come to visit, they are bombarded with images of wildlife. This adds to the stereotype of Africa as an uncultivated mass of land with animals roaming free.

"...I know, chances are I will see no elephants for the weeks I am here. I will see people. It occurs to me if I was White, chances are I would choose to see elephants and this would be a very different story. The story would be about the wide, empty spaces people from Europe yearn to get lost in rather than the cozy surround of kin we Africans generally seek."

"The Story of the Girl Whose Birds Flew Away" Bushra al-Fadil

This is a love story of a kind. An unnamed poet falls in love with a woman he sees on a crowded city bus. He follows her through the streets of Sudan until an unexpected ending brings the story to a screeching halt. al-Fadil's poetic writing may beg you to read the story a few times to really grasp its impact.

"The girl whose birds flew away skipped ahead out of joy. Her form wavered until she disappeared, the sweet ring of her bells still in my ear. The image of her eyes remained in my mind, growing bright then dim then bright again, her face still nourishing my memory with joy."

Why you should read a short story by an African author

Photo by Gift Habeshaw from Unsplash.

In Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's popular TEDx talk, she highlights the drawbacks of focusing on a singular story – especially when it comes to Africa and its people.

As a member of the African diaspora myself, I find myself drawn to reading stories by African authors. I want to learn about the countries through the eyes of their people.

Some of the stories in the anthology were amazing, others I didn't feel as drawn to. Here are my favourites.