books:

	• Segu Maryse Conde Penguin (Non-Classics), 1998 - 493 pages average customer review:based on 9 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Other historical fiction I recommend: Anything by Mary Renault (The Last of the Wine, Fire from Heaven, etc.) The Great Train Robbery, by Michael Crichton

Other books about this period in Africa I recommend: Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe (which I WAS forced to read for school, and still liked)

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Magnificent

Amazing in it's historical scope and accuracy, this book pulls one into the life of early West Africa. One of the best books I've ever read.


Hidden history

Most of the non-African world is at least slightly familiar with the story of the slave trade . . . but usually starting with the future slaves being loaded onto boats in Africa. What's missing is the highly developed, sophisticated societies and cultures from which these individuals were taken. In addition, nearly all English language historical fiction takes place in Europe . . . but at similar periods of time in Africa there were equally dramatic wars, rises and falls of kingdoms, royal love stories and scandals, brilliant generals and conniving merchants . . . but we haven't heard about them. This book corrects that. Particularly interesting to me was the struggle between the old fetish religion and the new Islamic faith, mirroring the struggle behind paganism and Christianity in Europe. The visit to this world is un-missable.

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Loving Segu

I fell in love with the main character. His adventures and misfortunes kept me intrigued. I learned so much about the land and the structures of the different tribes and kingdoms, that I have used the book for reference. I spoke with Ms Conde and told her I was disappointed with the fate of one character and she merely said, "It had to happen." I felt the heat of the land and the warmth of characters and the deep belief in the different faiths of the many regions she covered. This is a must read.

It seems a pity that many young people are forced to read this book in school; hopefully they will return to it when they have the maturity to understand and appreciate it.

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Conde depicts the Bambara of 1797, a kingdom in Africa flourishing before thecoming of Islam and slavery. The tale follows the Traore family, a noble clanentrusted by the king. The four Traore sons embody the contemporaneous forcestearing at the very fabric of the nation.

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recommendations

Fiction of Development: Literary Representation & the Developing World
Africa: A Suggested Reading List
Classic/Modern Literature
Novels from West Africa
caribbean women writers