A Question of Power Bessie Head Heinemann 1974 In the village of Motabeng, Botswana – the place of sand – Elizabeth and her son have made their new home, far away from their old life in South Africa. But the past cannot be conveniently left behind at the border. Even though she may be free…
Coming to Birth Marjorie Oludhe Macgoye Virago 1987 In this quietly powerful and eminently readable novel, Kenyan writer Marjorie Macgoye deftly interweaves the story of one young woman’s tumultuous coming of age with the history of a nation emerging from colonialism. At the age of sixteen, Paulina leaves her small village in western Kenya to…
A Small Place Jamaica Kincaid Virago 1988 From Wikipedia: A Small Place is a 1988 work of creative nonfiction published by Jamaica Kincaid. A book-length essay drawing on Kincaid’s experiences growing up in Antigua, it can be read as an indictment of the Antiguan government, the tourist industry and Antigua’s British colonial legacy. But some natives–most natives in the world–cannot go anywhere. They…
Arrival of the Snake-Woman and Other Stories Olive Senior Longman 1989 Arrival of the Snake-Woman by Jamaican-born Olive Senior narrates the story of an isolated child who is coming to terms with the strange, harsh ways of the adult world. From Encyclopedia.com: In the story, “snake-woman” is the name given by black Jamaicans to young…
I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem Maryse Condé Mercure de France 1986 This wild and entertaining novel expands on the true story of the West Indian slave Tituba, who was accused of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts, arrested in 1692, and forgotten in jail until the general amnesty for witches two years later. Maryse Condé brings…
Wide Sargasso Sea Jean Rhys WW Norton & Company 1966 From Wikipedia: Wide Sargasso Sea is a 1966 novel by Dominica-born British author Jean Rhys. It is a feminist and anti-colonial response to Charlotte Brontë’s novel Jane Eyre (1847), describing the background to Mr. Rochester’s marriage from the point-of-view of his mad wife Antoinette Cosway, a Creole heiress. Antoinette Cosway is Rhys’ version of…
The Bluest Eye Toni Morrison Holt, Rinehart and Winston 1970 The Bluest Eye is Toni Morrison’s first novel, a book heralded for its richness of language and boldness of vision. Set in the author’s girlhood hometown of Lorain, Ohio, it tells the story of black, eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove. Pecola prays for her eyes to turn blue…
The Unbelonging Joan Riley The Women’s Press 1985 The Unbelonging is a moving story of self-discovery and survival. It tells of an 11 year old girl, who finds herself in a land of strangers with hers the only black face in a sea of white, after being summoned to Britain by the father she has…
The Gilda Stories Jewelle Gomez Firebrand Books 1991 From Wikipedia: The Gilda Stories is the debut novel of American author and activist Jewelle Gomez. Published in 1991, this speculative fiction vampire novel follows the experiences of a black bisexual heroine whose power and morality challenge assumptions about the vampire myth. Readers see this central character travel through time and lead multiple lives. The Gilda…
Shapeshifter Pauline Melville The Women’s Press 1990 A collection of short stories dealing with post-colonial life in the Caribbean, notably in the author’s native Guyana, as well as of some stories set in London. Many of the characters, most of them displaced people from former colonies struggling to come to terms with a new life…
