New editions among Africa's 100 best

When thought was given to selection of Africa’s 100 Best Books of the 20th century, no consideration was given to whether or not the books were available to the reading public. It is commendable that the judges considered books purely on their merits rather than commercial criteria, but that has made it difficult to acquire many of the books, especially those which have been out of print for a few years.

Yet the list has created demand and so some of those books in the 100 Best are being republished, and other works by authors whose name appears in the list are also becoming available. Two out-of-print titles which have just been re-released are Wrath of the Ancestors by AC Jordan and The Colonizer and the Colonized by Albert Memmi.

The latest edition of Wrath of the Ancestors is published by Jonathan Ball, of South Africa. Originally published in Xhosa as Ingqumbo Yeminyanya, it is the story of Jongilanga, a young, modern man who goes to the University College of Fort Hare and who, unknown to even himself, is the heir to the Mpondomise throne. Identified by a tribal elder, he leaves Fort Hare, before he has completed his studies to challenge a corrupt uncle who thought he would become the new king. Jongilanga becomes King of the Mpondomise but his progressive ideas prove to be too far ahead for most of his people. AC Jordan died in exile from South Africa in 1968.

Albert Memmi’s study of colonial oppression is republished by Earthscan of the UK (released February 2004). An introduction by Nadine Gordimer, which reflects on Memmi’s achievements and omissions, makes this work particularly relevant to the globalism of our times. Memmi was born in Tunis in 1920. He studied at the University of Algiers and the Sorbonne in Paris, where he now lives.

Other authors on the 100 Best list whose works new works are being published are Naguid Mahfouz of Egypt and Mia Couto of Mozambique. A trilogy from Mahfouz, which predates the Cairo trilogy, was published in 2003 by American University in Cairo Press. His first three published novels were Khufu's Wisdom (1939), Rhadopis of Nubia (1943), and Thebes at War (1944), all of which are set in ancient Egypt. These political and philosophical critiques disguised as historical romances show the unmistakable signs of a burgeoning literary genius.

In March 2004 the English translation of Couto’s novel, Final Flight of the Flamingo is being launched at the Bath literary festival. The book deals with the time in Mozambique in the immediate post-war period. The blue capped United Nations soldiers have arrived in their thousands to keep the peace. But in the village of Tizangara these blue capped peacekeepers begin exploding inexplicably. Couto’s first novel, Terra Sonambula, which is listed as one of Africa’s 100 Best, has not yet been published in English.