The Greatest African Books of All Time

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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 759 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
60 Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe 1958 Nigerian English
255 Disgrace J. M. Coetzee 1999 South African English
265 Cry, the Beloved Country Alan Paton 1948 South African English
443 Americanah Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 2013 Nigerian English
471 Waiting for the Barbarians J. M. Coetzee 1980 South African English
516 Season of Migration to the North Al-Tayyib Salih 1966 Sudanese Arabic
733 Arrow of God Chinua Achebe 1964 Nigerian English
746 Nervous Conditions Tsitsi Dangarembga 1988 Zimbabwean English
771 God's Bits of Wood Ousmane Sembène 1960 Senegalese French
818 The African Child Camara Laye 1953 Guinean French
857 Midaq Alley Naguib Mahfouz 1947 Egyptian Arabic
859 The Palm-Wine Drinkard Amos Tutola 1952 Nigerian English
938 Burger's Daughter Nadine Gordimer 1979 South African English
1003 A Dry White Season Andre Brink 1979 South African Afrikaans
1025 Ambiguous Adventure Cheikh Hamidou Kane 1961 Senegalese French
1108 Chaka Thomas Mofolo 1925 South African Sesotho
1115 The Cairo Trilogy Naguib Mahfouz 1956 Egyptian Arabic
1158 Half of a Yellow Sun Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 2006 Nigerian English
1195 Song Of Lawino Okot P'Bitek 1966 Ugandan Acholi
1233 Children of Gebelawi Naguib Mahfouz 1959 Egyptian Arabic
1234 Woman at Point Zero Nawal El Saadawi 1975 Egyptian Arabic
1278 So Long a Letter Mariama Bâ 1980 Senegalese French
1319 The Story Of An African Farm Olive Schreiner 1883 South African English
1321 A Question of Power Bessie Head 1973 Botswanan English
1502 The Beautyful Ones are Not Yet Born Ayi K. Armah 1968 Ghanaian English
1505 The Famished Road Ben Okri 1991 Nigerian English
1648 Wizard of the Crow Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o 2006 Kenyan English
1662 Down Second Avenue Es'kia Mphahlele 1959 South African English
1743 Life & Times of Michael K J. M. Coetzee 1983 South African English
1852 July's People Nadine Gordimer 1981 South African English
2024 Elizabeth Costello J. M. Coetzee 2003 South African English
2051 Palace Walk Naguib Mahfouz 1956 Egyptian Arabic
2268 A Grain Of Wheat Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o 1967 Kenyan English
2273 The Wretched of the Earth Frantz Fanon 1961 Algerian French
2276 Long Walk To Freedom Nelson Mandela 1994 South African English
2319 The Sacred Night Tahar Ben Jelloun 1987 Moroccan French
2411 The Joys Of Motherhood Buchi Emecheta 1979 Nigerian English
2467 La Grande Maison Mohammed Dib 1952 Algerian French
2495 Miramar Naguib Mahfouz 1967 Egyptian Arabic
2504 Homegoing Yaa Gyasi 2016 Ghanaian English
2605 The Conservationist Nadine Gordimer 1974 South African English
2809 Summertime J. M. Coetzee 2009 South African English
2814 Matigari Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o 1987 Kenyan Gikuyu
2838 Facing Mount Kenya Jomo Kenyatta 1938 Kenyan English
2874 Boyhood J. M. Coetzee 1997 South African English
2927 The Return Hisham Matar 2016 Libyan English
3009 Labyrinths Christopher Okigbo 1971 Nigerian English
3098 Second-class Citizen Buchi Emecheta 1974 Nigerian English
3135 Ake Wole Soyinka 1981 Nigerian English
3237 The Man Died Wole Soyinka 1972 Nigerian English
3506 The Most Secret Memory Of Men Mohamed Mbougar Sarr 2021 Senegalese French
3563 The Beggars' Strike Aminata Sow Fall 1979 Senegalese French
3859 Tales of Amadou Koumba Birago Diop 1947 Togolese French
3859 Forest of A Thousand Daemons Daniel O. Fagunwa 1938 Nigerian Yoruba
3859 The Wrath of the Ancestors Archibald Campbell Jordan 1940 South African English
3859 Amal'eZulu B. W. Vilakazi 1945 South African Zulu
3859 Ethiopia Unbound J. E. Casely Hayford 1911 Ghanaian English
3859 The History Of The Yorubas Reverend Samuel Johnson 1921 Nigerian English
3859 The Soul of the White Ant Eugène N. Marais 1925 South African Afrikaans
3859 Native Life In South Africa Sol Plaatje 1916 South African English
3879 The River Between Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o 1965 Kenyan English
3914 Zayni Barakat Jamal al- Ghitani 1974 Egyptian Arabic
3947 Le Passé Simple Driss Chraibi 1954 Moroccan French
3947 Antériorité Des Civilisations Nègres Cheikh Anta Diop 1954 Senegalese French
4078 Children Of Blood And Bone Tomi Adeyemi 2018 Nigerian English
4082 Death And The King's Horsemen Wole Soyinka 1975 Nigerian English
4140 Nedjma Kateb Yacine 1956 Algerian French
4205 Ghana Kwame Nkrumah 1957 Ghanaian English
4260 Petals of blood Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o 1977 Kenyan English
4265 Ancestral Voices Etienne van Heerden 1986 South African Afrikaans
4475 Al Mawt `Ala Al Asfalt `Abd al-Rahman Abnudi 1960 Egyptian Arabic
4523 The True Confessions Of An Albino Terrorist Breyten Breytenbach 1983 South African English
4556 The Blood Knot Athol Fugard 1961 South African English
4556 Inkinnsela Yase Mgungundlovu Sibusiso Nyembezi 1961 South African Zulu
4663 Dusklands J. M. Coetzee 1974 South African English
4721 The Bride Price Buchi Emecheta 1976 Nigerian English
4745 Nos Matamos O Cão Tinhoso Bernardo Honwana 1964 Mozambican Portuguese
4745 Indaba, My Children Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa 1964 South African English
4745 Oeuvre Poétique Léopold Sédar Senghor 1964 Senegalese French
4878 Massâlik Al Jinân Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba 1895 Senegalese Arabic
4878 The Wound Malick Fall 1967 Senegalese French
4934 Who Fears Death Nnedi Okorafor 2010 Nigerian English
4940 In the Heart of the Country J. M. Coetzee 1977 South African English
4994 Utenzi Wa Vita Vya Uhuru Robert Bin Shabaan 1967 Tanzanian Swahili
5138 The Eloquent Peasant Unknown -1850 Egyptian Ancient egyptian
5186 The Struggle For Mozambique Eduardo Mondlane 1969 Mozambican English
5268 A Long Way Gone Ishmael Beah 2007 Sierra Leonean English
5266 Anowa Ama Ata Aidoo 1970 Ghanaian English
5314 A General Theory Of Oblivion José Eduardo Agualusa 2012 Angolan Portuguese
5405 Our Sister Killjoy Ama Ata Aidoo 1977 Ghanaian English
5406 Murambi, The Book Of Bones Boubacar Boris Diop 2000 Senegalese French
5520 Nós Os Do Makulusu José Luandino Vieira 1974 Angolan Portuguese
5722 Youth J. M. Coetzee 2002 South African English
5918 A Guest Of Honour Nadine Gordimer 1970 South African English
5915 Egyptian Book Of The Dead Unknown -1550 Egyptian Egyptian (hieroglyphic)
5958 The Long Journey of Poppie Nongena Elsa Joubert 1978 South African Afrikaans
5958 House Of Hunger Dambudzo Marechera 1978 Zimbabwean English
5983 The Open Door Latifa Zayyat 1960 Egyptian Arabic
6005 Bound To Violence Yambo Ouologuem 1968 Malian French
6085 My Sister, The Serial Killer Oyinkan Braithwaite 2018 Nigerian English
6102 Unity And Struggle Amilcar Cabral 1979 Guinean Portuguese
6136 Country Of My Skull Antjie Krog 1998 South African Afrikaans
6151 The Steam Pig James McClure 1971 South African English
6206 A Geração Da Utopia Pepetela 1992 Angolan Portuguese
6227 Kaffir Boy Mark Mathabane 1986 South African English
6230 Idu Flora Nwapa 1970 Nigerian English
6230 Song Of Ocol Okot P'Bitek 1970 Ugandan Acholi
6266 Sozaboy Ken Saro-Wiwa 1985 Nigerian English
6330 My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts Amos Tutuola 1954 Nigerian English
6343 Another Country Karel Schoeman 1984 South African Afrikaans
6351 Karingana Ua Karingana José Craveirinha 1982 Mozambican Portuguese
6472 Anthills Of The Savannah Chinua Achebe 1987 Nigerian English
6531 Born A Crime Trevor Noah 2016 South African English
6582 Freshwater Akwaeke Emezi 2018 Nigerian English
6622 Purple Hibiscus Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 2003 Nigerian English
6710 The Old Drift Namwali Serpell 2019 Zambian English
6746 The Seven Solitudes Of Lorsa Lopez Sony Labou Tansi 1985 Congolese French
6763 Citizen And Subject Mahmood Mamdani 1996 Ugandan English
6855 Ualalapi Ungulani Ba Ka Khosa 1987 Mozambican Portuguese
6855 Male Daughters, Female Husbands Ifi Amadiume 1987 Nigerian English