100 Notable African Books of 2023

1.
A spell of good things
A spell of good things 3.78 avg rating — 6,563 ratings
2.
Hangman
Hangman 3.57 avg rating — 1,814 ratings
3.
Maame
Maame 4.05 avg rating — 119,847 ratings
4.
Nightbloom
Nightbloom 3.95 avg rating — 3,283 ratings
5.
River Spirit
River Spirit 3.94 avg rating — 1,296 ratings
6.
Rotten Evidence: Reading and Writing in an Egyptian Prison
Rotten Evidence: Reading and Writing in an Egyptian Prison 3.99 avg rating — 418 ratings
6.
Shubeik Lubeik
Shubeik Lubeik 4.50 avg rating — 4,438 ratings
8.
Something Evergreen Called Life
Something Evergreen Called Life 4.44 avg rating — 16 ratings
9.
A Soft Landing
A Soft Landing 4.04 avg rating — 73 ratings
10.
A Little Light
A Little Light 3.33 avg rating — 3 ratings
11.
Ada's Room
Ada's Room 3.48 avg rating — 1,859 ratings
12.
Anansi's Gold: The Man Who Looted the West, Outfoxed Washington, and Swindled the World
Anansi's Gold: The Man Who Looted the West, Outfoxed Washington, and Swindled the World 3.79 avg rating — 1,267 ratings
13.
And Suddenly the Flowers Withered and Other Stories
And Suddenly the Flowers Withered and Other Stories 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings
14.
And Then He Sang a Lullaby
And Then He Sang a Lullaby 4.15 avg rating — 1,058 ratings
15.
Azúcar
Azúcar 4.43 avg rating — 23 ratings
16.
Bad Diaspora Poems
Bad Diaspora Poems 4.24 avg rating — 186 ratings
17.
Beyond the Door of No Return
Beyond the Door of No Return 3.62 avg rating — 1,864 ratings
18.
Birds of Nabaa: A Mauritanian Tale
Birds of Nabaa: A Mauritanian Tale liked it 3.00 avg rating — 2 ratings
19.
Black Foam
Black Foam 3.68 avg rating — 1,865 ratings
20.
Black Ghosts: A Journey Into the Lives of Africans in China
Black Ghosts: A Journey Into the Lives of Africans in China 3.61 avg rating — 146 ratings
21.
Black Girl from Pyongyang
Black Girl from Pyongyang 3.72 avg rating — 410 ratings
22.
Black Racist Bitch: How social media reveals South Africa's unfinished work on race
Black Racist Bitch: How social media reveals South Africa's unfinished work on race 4.14 avg rating — 7 ratings
23.
Bloomer
Bloomer 4.67 avg rating — 12 ratings
24.
Breaking the Silence: Anthology of Liberian Poetry (African Poetry Book)
Breaking the Silence: Anthology of Liberian Poetry (African Poetry Book) 4.67 avg rating — 3 ratings
25.
Burnt Eucalyptus Wood: On Origins, Language and Identity
Burnt Eucalyptus Wood: On Origins, Language and Identity 4.14 avg rating — 251 ratings
26.
Caged Ocean Dub
Caged Ocean Dub 3.74 avg rating — 23 ratings
27.
Call and Response
Call and Response 3.55 avg rating — 365 ratings
28.
Daughter in Exile
Daughter in Exile 3.88 avg rating — 921 ratings
29.
Dazzling
Dazzling 3.66 avg rating — 575 ratings
30.
Digging Stars
Digging Stars 3.51 avg rating — 191 ratings
31.
Don't Answer When They Call Your Name
Don't Answer When They Call Your Name 4.11 avg rating — 45 ratings
32.
Dreamer: The activation of Makeba
Dreamer: The activation of Makeba 4.73 avg rating — 11 ratings
33.
Drinking from Graveyard Wells: Stories
Drinking from Graveyard Wells: Stories 4.36 avg rating — 401 ratings
34.
Edge of Here: Stories From Here to Now
Edge of Here: Stories From Here to Now 4.12 avg rating — 492 ratings
35.
Expert in All Styles and Other Stories
Expert in All Styles and Other Stories 4.13 avg rating — 15 ratings
36.
Forged by Blood (The Tainted Blood Duology, #1)
Forged by Blood (The Tainted Blood Duology, #1) 3.45 avg rating — 2,300 ratings
37.
Gaslight (Philip Taiwo #2)
Gaslight (Philip Taiwo #2) 3.99 avg rating — 672 ratings
38.
Ghost Season
Ghost Season 4.03 avg rating — 838 ratings
39.
History of Ash: A Novel
History of Ash: A Novel 3.25 avg rating — 16 ratings
40.
House Woman
House Woman 3.27 avg rating — 591 ratings
41.
I Am Still With You: A Reckoning with Silence, Inheritance, and History
I Am Still With You: A Reckoning with Silence, Inheritance, and History 3.85 avg rating — 113 ratings
42.
I Am the Mau and other stories
I Am the Mau and other stories 3.82 avg rating — 50 ratings
43.
In the Belly of the Congo
In the Belly of the Congo 3.34 avg rating — 234 ratings
44.
Innards: Stories
Innards: Stories 3.70 avg rating — 148 ratings
45.
Langabi: Season of Beasts
Langabi: Season of Beasts 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings
46.
Last Seen in Lapaz (Emma Djan Investigation #3)
Last Seen in Lapaz (Emma Djan Investigation #3) 4.08 avg rating — 859 ratings
47.
Like Thunder (The Desert Magician's Duology #2)
Like Thunder (The Desert Magician's Duology #2) 3.98 avg rating — 722 ratings
48.
Love Offers No Safety: Nigeria's Queer Men Speak
Love Offers No Safety: Nigeria's Queer Men Speak 4.13 avg rating — 23 ratings
49.
Lucky Girl
Lucky Girl 4.09 avg rating — 1,740 ratings
50.
Mama's Sleeping Scarf
Mama's Sleeping Scarf 4.05 avg rating — 372 ratings
51.
Mass for Shut-Ins (Volume 117) (Yale Series of Younger Poets)
Mass for Shut-Ins (Volume 117) (Yale Series of Younger Poets) 4.22 avg rating — 45 ratings
52.
MOTHERSOUND: The Sauútiverse Anthology
MOTHERSOUND: The Sauútiverse Anthology 4.25 avg rating — 12 ratings
53.
My Everyday Lagos: Nigerian Cooking at Home and in the Diaspora [A Cookbook]
My Everyday Lagos: Nigerian Cooking at Home and in the Diaspora [A Cookbook] 4.17 avg rating — 42 ratings
54.
No Edges: Swahili Stories
No Edges: Swahili Stories 3.76 avg rating — 149 ratings
55.
No One Dies Yet
No One Dies Yet 3.57 avg rating — 281 ratings
56.
Nomenclatures of Invisibility (American Poets Continuum Series, 200)
Nomenclatures of Invisibility (American Poets Continuum Series, 200) 4.45 avg rating — 20 ratings
57.
Onyeka and the Rise of the Rebels (Onyeka #2)
Onyeka and the Rise of the Rebels (Onyeka #2) 4.16 avg rating — 459 ratings
58.
Other Names, Other Places
Other Names, Other Places really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 96 ratings
59.
Raising Boys Who Do Better: A Hopeful Guide for a New Generation
Raising Boys Who Do Better: A Hopeful Guide for a New Generation
by: Uju Asika
4.24 avg rating — 37 ratings
60.
Relations: An Anthology of African and Diaspora Voices
Relations: An Anthology of African and Diaspora Voices 3.93 avg rating — 56 ratings
61.
Riambel
Riambel 3.95 avg rating — 424 ratings
62.
Rootless
Rootless 3.83 avg rating — 4,996 ratings
63.
Saltwater Demands a Psalm: Poems
Saltwater Demands a Psalm: Poems 4.10 avg rating — 82 ratings
64.
Sand Roses
Sand Roses 4.49 avg rating — 35 ratings
65.
Serwa Boateng's Guide to Witchcraft and Mayhem (Serwa Boateng #2)
Serwa Boateng's Guide to Witchcraft and Mayhem (Serwa Boateng #2) 4.27 avg rating — 384 ratings
66.
Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon
Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon 3.65 avg rating — 1,370 ratings
67.
Sister Nature
Sister Nature 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings
68.
Small by Small: Becoming a Doctor in 1990s Nigeria
Small by Small: Becoming a Doctor in 1990s Nigeria
by: Ike Anya
4.22 avg rating — 77 ratings
69.
Small Worlds
Small Worlds 4.28 avg rating — 10,584 ratings
70.
Tales of Tangier: The Complete Short Stories of Mohamed Choukri
Tales of Tangier: The Complete Short Stories of Mohamed Choukri 3.62 avg rating — 69 ratings
71.
Tesserae: A mosaic of poems by Zimbabwean women
Tesserae: A mosaic of poems by Zimbabwean women 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings
72.
The Animals of My Earth School
The Animals of My Earth School 4.29 avg rating — 7 ratings
73.
The Beauty Hunters: Sudanese Bedouin Poetry, Evolution and Impact
The Beauty Hunters: Sudanese Bedouin Poetry, Evolution and Impact liked it 3.00 avg rating — 1 rating
74.
The Daughters of Izdihar (The Alamaxa Duology, #1)
The Daughters of Izdihar (The Alamaxa Duology, #1) 3.75 avg rating — 3,354 ratings
75.
The Drinker of Horizons
The Drinker of Horizons
by: Mia Couto
4.37 avg rating — 306 ratings
76.
The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa
The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa 3.65 avg rating — 949 ratings
77.
The Great Banned-Books Bake Sale
The Great Banned-Books Bake Sale 4.37 avg rating — 309 ratings
78.
The History of a Difficult Child
The History of a Difficult Child 3.73 avg rating — 591 ratings
79.
The House of the Coptic Woman: A Novel
The House of the Coptic Woman: A Novel 3.58 avg rating — 19 ratings
80.
The Institute for Creative Dying
The Institute for Creative Dying 3.41 avg rating — 39 ratings
81.
The List
The List 3.01 avg rating — 41,583 ratings
82.
The Middle Daughter
The Middle Daughter 3.77 avg rating — 1,183 ratings
83.
The Private Apartments
The Private Apartments 3.75 avg rating — 131 ratings
84.
The Putin Files: Excursions Around the Ideology of Pain
The Putin Files: Excursions Around the Ideology of Pain liked it 3.00 avg rating — 1 rating
85.
The Race to Be Myself: A Memoir
The Race to Be Myself: A Memoir 4.26 avg rating — 1,017 ratings
86.
The Stone Breakers: A Classic Novel of Labor Resistance
The Stone Breakers: A Classic Novel of Labor Resistance really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 11 ratings
87.
The Sun Sets in Singapore
The Sun Sets in Singapore 3.41 avg rating — 4,034 ratings
88.
The Widow who died with Flowers in her Mouth
The Widow who died with Flowers in her Mouth 3.55 avg rating — 38 ratings
89.
Three Egg Dilemma
Three Egg Dilemma 3.80 avg rating — 25 ratings
90.
Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Insha Allah: How The Journey Back To My Roots Became An Adventurous Escape From the Sahara
Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Insha Allah: How The Journey Back To My Roots Became An Adventurous Escape From the Sahara 4.03 avg rating — 38 ratings
91.
Tremor
Tremor
by: Teju Cole
3.66 avg rating — 2,426 ratings
92.
Twilight of Torment: II. Heritage
Twilight of Torment: II. Heritage it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating
93.
Voice of the Two Shores
Voice of the Two Shores really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 4 ratings
94.
Warrior of the Wind (The Nameless Republic, #2)
Warrior of the Wind (The Nameless Republic, #2) 4.06 avg rating — 345 ratings
95.
Wedged Between Man and God: Queer West African Women's stories : Coincées Entre Dieu et les hommes: Histoires de femmes queer d'Afrique de l'Ouest
Wedged Between Man and God: Queer West African Women's stories : Coincées Entre Dieu et les hommes: Histoires de femmes queer d'Afrique de l'Ouest 4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings
96.
What Napoleon Could Not Do
What Napoleon Could Not Do 3.42 avg rating — 772 ratings
97.
When We Were Fireflies
When We Were Fireflies 4.47 avg rating — 110 ratings
98.
Whites Can Dance Too
Whites Can Dance Too 3.72 avg rating — 319 ratings
99.
Lost Libraries, Burnt Archives
Lost Libraries, Burnt Archives liked it 3.00 avg rating — 1 rating