The Mourning Bird by Zambian Mubanga Kalimamukwento

At first glance, it may appear to be the story of Chimuka, an 11-year-old girl, and her brother who are orphaned. But in reality, it is a novel that reflects the harsh 1990s in Zambia, and this is when Chimuka’s story starts making sense. It is a portrait of one of the country’s worst decades, of a nation’s struggle in the face of a coup d’état, economic decline, and HIV silently decimating the population.

While these themes have already been addressed by several African authors, and may even be recurrent, at the same time an “active remembrance” is essential. Zambian history needs to be reflected in literature and literature needs to bear witness to the atrocities of a nation that does not want to repeat in the future what a people suffered in the past.

Zambian literature in the English language is, unfortunately, one of the least prolific on the continent, and in terms of that written by Zambian women authors, I could count them on the fingers of one hand.

Amazon: The Mourning Bird

A General Theory of Oblivion by Angolan writer José Eduardo Agualusa

If there were only one word to describe the moment the main character of this novel is going through, it would be “confinement”. Does it ring a bell?

This novel is inspired by the diaries, poems, reflections, and drawings in charcoal on walls that Ludovica Fernandes Mano kept during 28 years of confinement in an apartment in Luanda, capital of Angola, on the brink of independence. The book is based on real-life events and appeared on the shortlist for the 2016 Man Booker International Prize.

This is the second novel I have read by this Angolan writer and it is like tasting once again that Latin American magical realism so characteristic of some Portuguese-speaking African authors (as is also the case with the Mozambican author Mia Couto).

Amazon: A General Theory of Oblivion