9 Incredible Books set in Africa
It’s hard to find books set in Africa, let alone a good read that will really pull you into the story, make you feel like you’re there. Books with an African setting are often underrepresented in the global spotlight and don’t get the fame that they often deserve.
Well, I’m here to change that. These incredible books set in Africa will move you, allow you to experience life in different African countries through their characters, and make you fall in love with diverse languages, foods, and cultures throughout Africa. They’re the kind of books that stay with you for a long time.
Whether you’re going on a trip to somewhere in Africa, simply want to learn about Africa or love to read -I’m certain you’ll find some great suggestions below that you hadn’t thought of yet. Here are the most amazing books set in Africa.
Fiction Books set in Africa
1. The Parlour Wife
By: Foluso Agbaje
Set in: Nigeria
Genre: Historical fiction
Published: 2024
The Parlour Wife takes place in the former capital of Nigeria, a city on the Atlandtic coast called Lagos. It’s the 1930s, and a young woman named Kehinde gets stuck in a life marrying a much older and influential man (and being his third wife) in order to secure her livelihood.
But, Kehinde has dreams, and a strong desire to create change. World War 2 has just been announced and the British are trying to take away rights from the Nigerian People – Kehinde is doing what she can to stop that from happening. She becomes involved in a movement to fight against the British, even though its at risk to her marriage – if her husband found out, he would leave her. The Parlour Wife is an unusual WW2 book, as it tells a story from an angle that is rarely explored or talked about.
2. How Beautiful We Were
By: Imbolo Mbue
Set in: Unnamed fictional village in Cameroon
Genre: Political/climate fiction
Published: 2021
How Beautiful We Were is about a community in Cameroon coming together to lobby against an American oil company who’s pipeline spills have had catastrophic consequences for the Cameroonian people – farmlands ruined, children dying from drinking toxic water, etc. Sadly, the Cameroon government is no help in protecting its people – so the brave people of a small village do it on their own. They lobby together to fight against the big oil company, struggle that lasts many years and comes at a huge cost.
This story is completely fictional, but it’s based on real-life examples of corporate negligence and environmental destruction in Africa. It’s a powerful story where the bravery of people and their willingness to fight for their ancestral land will deeply move you.
3. Mama Namibia
By: Mari Serebrov
Set in: Namibia
Genre: Historical fiction
Published: 2013
Mama Namibia is about a 12-year-old girl (the main protagonist, named Jahohora) who has to survive in the desert after her home is colonized by Germans. It’s set in Namibia, but during a time when it was still governed by South Africa. Germany claimed control of all of South West Africa, so she tried to hide and escape.
Jahohora is from the Herero ethnic group. They have their own language, called Bantu, and their culture, customs, and beliefs are central to the story in Mama Namibia. Of all the books that take place in Africa, Mama Namibia is the only one set in Namibia that I could find; which makes it unique!
4. The Poisonwood Bible
By: Barbara Kingsolver
Set in: The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
Genre: Literary/historical fiction
Published: 1998
The Poisonwood Bible is about a religious American Christian family who move to the Congo as missionaries with their four daughters. It’s the 1950s at the start of the book, and the story unfolds over the following decades. Congo goes through some major historical changes during their time there, including independence from Belgium,
The family remain in the Congo; their daughters grow up, there, some marry, have kids… and well, I don’t want to spoil the story. But this is a book where you’re pulled into the lives of this family; these young women, with the backdrop of the Congo and its changing political landscape. I loved this book, I read it many years ago and its a story that has stuck with me.
5. Cutting for Stone
By: Abraham Verghese
Set in: Ethiopia
Genre: Historical fiction
Published: 2009
Cutting for Stone tells a story of two conjoined twins born in Ethiopia in the 1950s, and the decades following as their lives unfold. They are abandoned and orphaned at birth, and raised by two doctors.
The author, Abraham Verghese, is a doctor, and his other book, Covenant of Water is set in India and made me want to read more of his books. Cutting For Stone dosn’t disappoint. It’s set partially in Ethiopia, with emigration to New York City and building a life there as part of the plot too.
6. Purple Hibiscus
By: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Set in: Nigeria
Genre: Historical fiction
Published: 2003
Purple Hibiscus is set in Nigeria during the 1990s, when the county was newly independent but also facing political issues like oppression, and control. The main characters are a brother and sister from a wealthy Nigerian family, and are more or less ignorant to the problems going on in their country.
The siblings are sent by their dad to live with an aunt temporarily, for their own safety due to some political tensions in the city. Their stay with their aunt changes their perspective as their eyes are opened to other ways of living and looking at things.
This book may be a bit slow in the beginning, as its a chracter driven novel – but as you get into it, Purple Hibiscus is a very powerful read. The author, Chimamanda Adichie also wrote another really successful book called Half of a Yellow Sun, and it was a tough choice between adding that one or Purple Hibiscus to the list.
7. Homegoing
By: Yaa Gyasa
Set in: Ghana
Genre: Historical fiction
Published: 2016
Homegoing spans several generations of descendents of two half-sisters. Effia and Esi are Ghanaian half-sisters whose lives take very different turns. One is married off to an Englishman, and the other is sold into slavery.
Each chapter of the book focuses on a different descendent of one of the initial two sisters, with the stories set in Ghana and the United States. The entire story spans 300 years! You can really see the impact colonializm, slavery and oppression can have across generations. It’s a moving and powerful book. The author , Yaa Gyasa is Ghanaian-American whose visit to Ghana inspired her to think about how different two lives could be given a difference circumstance.
8. The Book of Negroes
By: Lawrence Hill
Set in: West Africa (current day Niger), and Sierra Leone
Genre: Historical fiction
Published: 2007
The Book of Negroes is written and (largely takes place) in a Canadian setting, but the story starts in Africa, and later parts of the book revisit the African parts of the story. It’s about a young girl living in the 1700s who is sold into slavery, and shipped to the Americas. It follows her life as she works as a slave, and later lives in Nova Scotia, Canada.
I don’t want to spoil the book by sharing how her life unfolds. But The Book of Negros is also a book I recommend for books set in Canada, because a large part of it is the settlement of Africans in the Maritimes. The Book of Negroes won many awards and is definitely worth reading if you haven’t yet.
9. The Book of Two Ways
By: Jodi Picoult
Set in: Egypt (and the US)
Genre:
Published:
The Book of Two Ways is a Jodi Picoult book with a fascinating backdrop of archaeology in Egypt as a major theme. A big part of the story is set in the US, as that’s where the main character lives with her husband and daughter. The book flips back to her past, when she used to work in Egypt doing archeological discoveries.
The Book of Two Ways discusses ancient Egyptian spirtual belief and culture in depth, especially with regards to how they buried their loved ones, their beliefs about the afterlife, and their art and designs in stone. The strong Egypt setting and culture makes it quite different from books that Jodi Picoults usually writes – so I recommend giving it a shot if you’re interested in ancient Egypt!
In Addition: 5 Amazing Memoirs that Take Place in Africa
These are books by people were either born in Africa, lived there (or both) or travelled to Africa
1. Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
By: Trevor Noah
Set in: South Africa
Published: 2016
Born a Crime was actually the first book that I listened to on audiobook, and it got me into audiobooks. The author narrates it himself, and its about his life growing up in South Africa as a biracial (white and black) child at a time when it wasn’t legal for whites and blacks to mix. His life was so interesting, him and his mom are both inspirational people. I read Born a Crime for a book club nd
2. I Dreamed of Africa
By: Kuki Gallmann
Set in: Kenya
Published: 1991
I Dreamed of Africa is a memoir written in 1991, but it deserves some spotlight as its still a great book; popular enough to be turned into a movie in the 2000s with Kim Basinger as the lead role. It’s about an Italian woman in th 1970s who packs up and moves to Kenya – permanantly. The book is a love letter to Kenyal; with its nature and wildlife, and the author deeply examines her connection to Kenya’s wilderness.
However, there is some pretty deep tragedy in this book which I do not want to spoil. The book talks about the grief process, and handling loss. It’s a sad book in this way, but deals with real human experience and emotions. The beginning of the book is set in Italy, but the remainder in Kenya after the family moves there.
3. Kilimanjaro Diaries: Or, How I Spent a Week Dreaming of Toilets, Drinking Crappy Water, and Making Bad Jokes While Having the Time of My Life
By: Eva Melusine Thieme
Set in: South Africa, Tanzania
Published: 2018
I went through a phase where I wanted to climb Kilimanjaro, and I read Kilimanjaro Diaries during that phase. It’s about a woman who seeks to climb Kilimanjaro with her husband and son. They’d been living in Africa for a while before the book starts, and want to climb Kilimanjaro before they move home. This memoir details all the details about what was like for them to climb Kilimanjaro, and they dont’ shy away from some of the grosser, less glamourous facts about it. It’s an honest and interesting book whether you have any aspirations to climb Kili or not. (I no longer do, but am still so glad that I read this.)
4. A House in the Skye: A Memoir
By: Amanda Lindhout
Set in: Somalia
Published: 2013
A House in the Sky starts off reading as a travel memoir of the main character, a Canadian woman, who sets off to explore many parts of the world, including South America, Asia and the Middle East. She’s drawn to Somalia, where she spends some time working as an unofficial photographer (since the country was so unsafe, she was the main source for many news outlets to take photographs of what was happening in Somalia.)
She soon suffers consequences of her role in Somalia when she’s kidnapped, along with her partner and driver, and held hostage for months at a shack deep in the middle of nowhere of Somalia, by captors who hope to receive ransom. These later parts of the book are challening to read, as there is sexual assault, torture and other really hard thing to read. Having said this, I’m glad I read it – we read it for a book club, and it makes a good discussion piece as well.
5. Two Bugs on Bikes: Our middle-aged gap year cycling across Europe and Africa
By: Jacqui Webster
Set in: Morocco, Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, Rwanda
Published: 2025
Two Bugs on Bikes is a travel memoir by indie authors, who set off for an extensive bikeride through 30 countries. They start in Europe, but spend most of their time in the book biking through several countries in Africa. They talk about the people they meat, the foods they ate, and what it was like to bike through all of these diffferent countries. It’s quite an impressive story and being able to live vicariously through their book can bring you to Africa, appreciating all that makes it special.