Nigerian Made Romance
I grew up reading African romance novels from the Pacesetters series. Then they disappeared and most books about Africa became about poverty, crime, racial injustice, politics, struggles and everything but love. They were dark, heavy and most times just left one depressed. It was hard to find love stories, much less ones I could relate to.
Were Africans not loving, kissing, dating, breaking up and getting married? Along came Ekene Onu, Myne Whitman, Lara Daniels, Tolulope Poopola, Kiru Taye with her erotica series (yes, erotica series set in Africa), even Chimamanda with Americanah and Sarah Ladipo Manyika with my favourite love story of the decade, In Dependence. I was happy but I still wanted more, I wanted stories that read like mine, or those of my friends. Woke up one morning and saw a retweet about Ankara Press, an imprint of Cassava Republic, rolling out 6 romance e-books. I immediately went on the site, read through the blurbs and purchased all 6 available titles, never mind that I hate reading e-books and a fanatic member of #TeamPaperback.
The stories are predominantly about women taking charge of their relationships and their lives. Mira, Sindi, Adoo, Kambi, Ada and Tishe are independent, hardworking women who love their jobs and are not waiting for a man to complete them. They are quite happy as they are, not desperate to be in a relationship. I definitely could see myself in them.
The male protagonists aren’t bad either; they are hot, confident men who have everything going for them but still show that it is okay to be totally smitten and emotional. They are not threatened by independent and sexually assertive women either. None of that played out alpha male swoops in to save the damsel who had been doing nothing but waiting for him all her life plot.
I am all here for that and more.
The stories are set in urban towns and cities across Africa – Lagos, Jos, Cape Town, even Obudu!
I enjoyed all the books, some more than the others. I don’t do reviews and hardly ever rank books so I won’t say which my faves are. All the writers did well and they can only get better.
Last month, on 14th February, Valentine’s Day to be precise, Ankara Press launched a collection of (very) short stories.
The Valentine’s Day Story Anthology is remarkable because each story is written in English as well as the African language of the author – including Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, Kiswahili, Kpelle and French – and audio recordings made of the stories and translations.
An impressive roll call of African contemporary writers and collaborators that include:
Abubakar Adam Ibrahim * AfraGiKete * Billy Kahora * BinyavangaWainaina * ChikodiliEmelumadu *ChumaNwokolo * Dike Chukwumerije * Edwige-Renée Dro * EghosaImasuen * ElieshiLema * Elnathan John * HawaJandeGolakai * Helene Cooper * MukomawaNgugi * Kola Tubosun * Sarah LadipoManyika * Toni Kan * YarkpaiKeller * YemisiAribisala * Victor Ehikhamenor
It was the first time I had read a modern story in Igbo and I thoroughly enjoyed it as well as the story in Pidgin (broken) English. I really hope to see more of such collaborations.
Ankara Press books are available at a special promotion rate of N500 (£3/ $4.50). The Valentine’s Day anthology is also available for free download. All available at www.ankarapress.com.
Happy reading!
