Eight Wonderful African Books that Center Queer Experiences

A growing canon of books continues to strengthen the validity of the lives and loves of queer people in Africa. Here are some recommendations.

A photo of Chukwuebuka Ibeh resting on a table surrounded by multiple copies of his books, snacks, and drinks.

Nigerian author Chukwuebuka Ibeh's debu novel, 'Blessings,' is poignant, engrossing, and filled with wisdom.

Photo by Chukwuebuka Ibeh.

More than half of Africa's countries have laws penalizing same-sex relations. It's a damning consequence of the erroneous belief that homophobia is African. In literature, perhaps more than any other art medium, the validity of the lives and loves of queer people in Africa and the diaspora has been unapologetically expressed by a growing number of authors.

Pride Month may be coming to an end, but every day is a great time to read African books featuring queer characters. Below are eight recommendations to get into.

'God's Children are Broken Little Things' - Arinze Ifeakandu

In "The Dreamer's Litany," the first story in Ifeakandu's brilliant collection, a small-time shop owner living a perfectly satisfactory life has a tryst that is initially exciting but turns emotionally taxing. It sets the tone for stories with an abundance of heart and almost no unfussiness. Ambition, lies, sex, responsibility, and more themes are laid out to bracing results. The macro effect of living in a country where same-sex relations are punishable by up to 14 years is apparent. Still, the nuances of intimacies are where readers will find the most reward, from a musician who sacrifices his identity at the altar of success to a man working through grief with his deceased partner's daughter.

'La Bastarda' - Trifonia Melibea Obono

The first book by an Equatoguinean author to be translated into English, La Bastarda is a coming-of-age story in which a young girl discovers not only her sexuality but also her identity outside cultural norms. That the Equatorial Guinean government has banned it is further proof of the effectiveness of Obono's novel. It's an accomplished tale following Okomo, a teenage girl eager to find her father despite her grandmother's wishes. Her search takes her outside the acceptable margins of her village, where she meets queer girls who support her freedom to embrace feelings that were alien to her. The ending to La Bastarda is tragic, but its characters feel eternal.

'For What Are Butterflies Without Their Wings' - Troy Onyango

In the first story of Onyango's debut collection, a trans woman has her identity casually affirmed by a matatu conductor. A few pages later, a passenger in another matatu is flabbergasted by her appearance. In For What Are Butterflies, the primary characters in the Kenyan writer's stories are offbeat, for better or worse. The desires of previously unfriendly sister wives unfurl in tender shades under an atmosphere of uncertainty, a lover fed up with the uneven intensity of reciprocity from his interest goes red, and a young woman reacts fatally to years of domestic violence. Onyango situates the desires and passions of queer people and women within the severity and levity of society that serve as persecution and roadblocks to wholesomeness.

'Blessings' - Chukwuebuka Ibeh

Within the canon of Nigerian coming-of-age books, Blessings feels familiar. As a story about the human condition, it is singularly compelling. Obiefuna finds himself drawn to an older boy his father brought back from the village; the ensuing romance is discovered by a father deeply displeased and ships his son off to boarding school. Thus begins a life where relationships are formed and upended, physical assault happens readily, familial dynamics are reshaped, and self-acceptance doesn't guarantee the path forward will be smooth. Ibeh's writing is incredibly poignant, engrossing, and filled with wisdom.

'These Letters End in Tears' - Musih Tedji Xaviere

Bessem and Fatima are star-crossed lovers, one Christian and the other Muslim. When Fatima's staunch Muslim brother finds out about their love affair, he's outraged and inflicts physical punishments on both ladies. Shortly after, Fatima goes missing after being arrested during a police raid on a gay bar. With no details about her forever love interest's whereabouts, Bessem must continue living her life, secretly dating other women, until a mutual friend intervenes and prompts Bessem to search for Fatima. Xaviere's debut novel is a heart-tugging tale of yearning in a place that actively criminalizes those valid desires.

'Becoming Him: A Trans Memoir of Triumph' - Landa Mabenge

The triumph in the title of Landa Mabenge's memoir is an incredibly loaded word; the weight will hit readers multiple times as they flip through pages packed with difficult, traumatic experiences. Becoming Him details Mabenge's transition, which made him the first South African trans man to make a medical aid agency pay for his surgeries. The path to embracing the identity he's felt since he became sentient of his body is lined with familial uprooting, domestic assault, emotional torment, radical lifestyle changes, suicidal attempts, and much more. It's heavy, but the liberation and joy are palpable in Mabenge's writing.

'Lighter' - A. Aduma

In A. Aduma'sLighter, the earth underneath Rasheed's feet is shifting. The health of his grandma, who came with him to the U.S., raised and anchored him, takes a serious hit. He must deal with reestablishing a relationship with his estranged mother, and Adam, the subject of his unrequited yearnings, resurfaces after over three years of radio silence. Initially determined to hunker down and focus on finishing his senior year in high school without drama, Rasheed has to handle multiple moving dynamics in his personal life, discovering new truths, redefining personal values, and coming to terms with the fact that reciprocity can sometimes be complex. Lighter is breezy and affecting.

'Vagabonds!' - Eloghosa Osunde

Vagabonds! is a dizzying, frequently thrilling maze of metaphysical beings. There are fairygodgirls, body masks, ominous angels, the profound and funny gossip peddler Tatafo, and much more. The looming spirit of Èkó is explored, but it's the outsiders, those forced to fold themselves into the margins, that give Osunde's avant-garde cult classic its beating pulse. Grown children are summoned, opening your voice can lead to death, and money stops all nonsense. "For every law made, there are people who are always under it and people who are above it," the resident gossip says. It's up to you to decide where you fall and where your empathies lie.

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