Stars of the New Curfew - Ben Okri

A collection of short stories by the writer of "The Famished Road".

Critics talk about how his work is in the tradition of magic realism.  I can see this, in that he brings in a whole world of spirits and demons, visions and magic.  But to me his work seems more a portrait of place where the borders between superstition and a more objective reality are highly blurred, where demons and potions and magic actually form an important part of the fabric of life.  There is also a recurring theme of crowd hysteria leading to injury and death with no regard for the reality of accusations and supposed crimes.  (In current newspapers you can read about this kind of mass hysteria leading to murder and rioting in places like India and Pakistan.)
He paints a picture of Lagos and Nigeria as a place of absolute chaos and corruption, a chaos created deliberately by the political class to enable the corruption.  His portrait of the rest of the society is one of ignorance, anger, frustration, desperation.
An ugly world.

I should reread "Famished Road".

Adua- Igiaba Scego

A novel by a Somali-Italian author, translated from the Italian. 
It portrays the life of a Somali woman who moves to Rome to become a film star, but ends up working in the porn field.
What is interesting is the portrait of Italy's engagement with Somalia and the Horn of Africa in the course of the 20th century.  There is a lot of exploitative history there, and historical ugly racism that is explored in the book.  Somalia was Italy's exotic East, same role as the Levant and North Africa played for France and Britain.

Americanah - Chimamanda Ngozi Aichie

Originally checked this book out as a possible addition to my Tanpınar/Saleh cultural alienation collection.  Unfortunately, doesn't meet it, but it is still interesting in some ways.
Basically, the story of a Nigerian woman who moves to the States, struggles at first, but graduates from an elite university.  Years later she returns to Lagos in Nigeria.
In her time in the US, she runs a highly popular blog about being African / black in the US.   Entries from the blog are included in the novel - interesting way to run a novel of ideas within the context of a "story" novel.  For me, these blog entries are the most interesting part of the book - they provide some very sharp and deep thoughts on race, race relations, race culture, race attitudes etc. in the contemporary US.  (One of my favourites:  I wasn't black until I moved to the US)

The book is mostly a very perceptive and critical look at race politics and relations in current society in the US.  The Nigeria section does present some critical analysis, but much more shallow - and strangely, sounding more like the criticism an urban Westerner would levy.

Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe

A novel recounting the life of an upstanding Igbo man in his society just before the collapse of the traditional social structure.  In latter part of the book it also looks at the confrontation of traditional Igbo society and values with European colonizers in Niger during the very early years of the 20th century.
The story is told completely from Okonkwo's perspective.  Achebe develops a detailed picture of the society, its values, its structures and how different groups relate. Okonkwo, as a successful member, stands behind the values and norms of his society and strives to maintain a high socia position.  Part western style tragedy, things fall apart for him partially because of bad luck, partially because of his own unbending character.  And finally, because of European colonization and its effects - loss of status, loss of tribal strength and social cohesion.  Unlike the other theme I was thinking about, those who live between two cultural worlds, Okonkwo refuses to engage with that foreign system of values.  (I suppose, given that Achebe studied in Europe and is using essentially a western literature structure,  he would be the one living between two cultures....)