Given that May is already underway, a better suited title for this blog would be “April’s African Lit Afterparty.” But, April’s guest blogs warrant revisiting regardless the month! Many thanks to our guest bloggers, Bridget Pitt, Caroline Kurtz, and Bridget Krone, who shared books spanning diverse genres and settings in the African continent–from Ethiopian life-writing, to South African picture books, to a novel set in Lesotho written by Zakes Mda who has lived in South Africa, U.S., and the Lesotho. Pitt reminds us that Mda’s The Wayfarer’s Hymns, though set in the dystopian ruins of an abandoned British colonial mine, is “like all Zakes Mda’s novels […] primarily a love story.” So, too, is Aida Edemariam’s heroic life narrative of her grandmother a loving tribute to her incredibly eventful 99 years of life in Ethiopia and beyond; Caroline Kurtz explores the way Aida Edemariam’s The Wife’s Tale: A Personal History acknowledges the injustices amongst her Grandmother’s life experiences, but as a whole celebrates with tenderness her remarkable life. As Bridget Krone’s blog demonstrates in the world of picture books, this focus on love–whether familial, romantic, or friendship–thrives in South African stories, even in the face of overwhelming economic barriers or historically oppressive systems. Her shelf full of picture books with “loving families as a quiet corrective to the tough issues they address” includes: The Best Meal Ever, by Sindiwe Magona; My Coily Crowny Hair and Brave Like Me, both by Zulaikha Patel; Ouma Ruby’s Secret, by Chris Van Wyk; and, Not So Fast Songololo, On My Papa’s Shoulders, and the Jamela series, all by author and illustrator, Niki Daly.

Thank you, GLLI readers, for coming along on this month’s (last month’s!) journey. Please browse the links below for books reviewed or mentioned in April’s blogs!

1. Zakes Mda’s The Wayfarer’s Hymns
2. Aida Edemariam’s The Wife’s Tale: A Personal History
3. Sindiwe Magona’s The Best Meal Ever
4. Zulaikha Patel’s My Coily Crowny Hair and Brave Like Me
5. Chris Van Wyk’s Ouma Ruby’s Secret
6. Niki Daly’s Not So Fast Songololo, On My Papa’s Shoulders, and the Jamela series
7. Bridget Krone’s Small Mercies and The Cedarville Shop and the Wheelbarrow Swap
8. Bridget Pitt’s Unbroken Wing, Unseen Leopard, and Notes from the Lost Property Department