The stories in this collection are set in West Africa. They differ widely in content and form, ranging from the shocking to the amusing, from romantic comedy, to comedy of intrigue, to the exploration of the consciousness of victims of economic exploitation. In the title story, three main characters, a farmer, a school teacher and a security guard share their experiences in a effort to pave the way for effective worker solidarity. 86pp, LESOTHO. INSTITUTE OF SOUTHERN AFRICAN STUDIES.

The story of Nom Emvul, a hero to the Beti people. 406pp, in French, BNS, FRANCE. L'HARMATTAN, 2747506126

A new edition of this classic, comic novel. Liz and Paul, the occupants of `Carpenter's Gothic' do battle with the Reverend Ude to preserve the African mission on which they live. 262pp, UK. ATLANTIC BOOKS.

A comprehensive guide to the literary traditions of Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana, and Nigeria, five distinct countries bound by their experience with colonialism. Oyekan Owomoyela begins with an overview of the authors, texts, and historical events that have shaped the development of postwar Anglophone literatures in this region, exploring shifts in theme and the role of foreign sponsorship and illuminating recent debates regarding the language, identity, gender, and social commitments of various authors and their works. His introduction concludes with a bibliography of key critical texts. The second half of the volume is an alphabetical tour of writers, publications, concepts, genres, movements, and institutions, with suggested readings for further research. Entries focus primarily on fiction but also touch on drama and poetry. Featured authors include Chris Abani, Chinua Achebe, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Cyprian Ekwensi, Uzodinma Chukuka Iweala, Helen Oyeyemi, and Wole Soyinka. Topics range from the European origins of African literature and the West African diaspora to the development of an African personality, the establishment of a regional publishing industry, and the global literary market-place. Owomoyela also discusses such influences as the postwar emergence of Onitsha Market Literature, the Mbari Club, and the importance of the Noma Award. 205pp, USA. COLUMBIA U P.

Introduction to the West African oral tale and short story. B/w illus, 176pp, AUSTRALIA. DANGAROO PRES

The story of Christine Shepherd, an ordinary Yorkshire woman who works for the charity Childsafe Afro-Asia. Her life revolves around working with the orphaned, the sick and the homeless in West Africa but Christine pays for this in her personal life. As charity administrators and army generals begin to see her commitment as a threat, she must choose a new path in life. 265pp, UK. JANUS PUBLISHING COMPANY.

Amos Tutuola, Cyprian Ekwensi and Ayi Kwei Armah were pioneers in a literary movement that gathered force and swept across Africa with remarkable speed in the latter half of the 20th century, producing distinctive national literatures in new nation states that were in the process of freeing themselves from the legacy of colonial rule. 274pp, USA. AFRICA WORLD PRESS.

Sequel to 'Hustling is Not Stealing'. Hawa returns to her native Burkina Faso faced with new challenges as she creates a different life for herself from the marginality of bar girl independence in Ghana and Togo. Gloss, maps, 425pp, USA. CHICAGO U P.

Scobie, a senior police officer serving in a war time West Africa state, is distrusted since he is immune to bribery. However, when he falls in love, he is forced to betray everything he believes in, with drastic consequences for himself and those around him. 272pp, UK. VINTAGE.

Reprint of Greene's classic 1936 book based on his journey from Sierra Leone to Liberia. 250pp, UK. VINTAGE UK.

Based on research spanning over twelve years, this is an in-depth analysis of an iconoclastic religious movement initiated by a Muslim preacher among coastal Baga farmers in the French colonial period. With an ethnographic approach that listens as carefully to those who suffered iconoclastic violence as to those who wanted to 'get rid of custom', Sarro discusses the extent to which iconoclasm produces a rupture of religious knowledge and identity, and analyses its relevance in the making of modern nations and citizens. 264pp, UK. EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY PRESS.

An epic of an ethnic group living on the banks of the Niger, this is the first ever narrative cycle of the Somono published in English and Bambara.150pp, NETHERLANDS. EJ BRILL.

Interweaves the analysis of fiction, drama, and poetry with an exploration of the broader political, cultural, and intellectual contexts within which West African writers work. Anglophone literatures form the central focus of the book, with comparative comments on vernacular literature, francophone writing and oral literatures, and detailed discussion of selected francophone texts in translation (e.g., Senghor, Tadjo, Beyala, Ba, Sembene). Moving from a discussion of nationalist and anti-colonial writing in the period before independence, towards the more experimental writings of contemporary authors such as Veronique Tadjo (Ivory Coast), Syl Cheney-Coker (Sierra Leone), and Kojo Laing (Ghana), the book constantly relates texts to the social and political history of West Africa. Index, maps, 284pp, UK. OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS.

Second volume in the Women Writing Africa series which sets out to collate narratives of African women's experiences in never-before-published texts that include communal songs and lullabies, letters and speeches, poetry and fiction. Countries and territories included are: Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, Niger, Ghana, Mali, Benin, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Gambia. Numerous ethnic groups and cultures from the region are given exposure, such as the Yoruba, Hausa, Wolof, Igbo, Malinke, Fulfulde, Akan-Fante, Tuareg, Songhai, as well as English and French. 480pp, USA. FEMINIST PRESS.