MyWeku

 

To show our appreciation to all MyWeku fans who have followed us throughout the year, we have decided to give our readers the chance to win 6 of some of the most interesting books around. Some you’d have heard of and others you’d probably be unfamiliar with. All written by authors with a knack to inspire and irritate in equal measure.

The rules are simple!

CONDITIONS

To enter you need to satisfy one of two conditions:

1.   Be a Fan of the MyWeku Face Book Fan Page and share this post on you Face Book profile –  Click here to join the MyWeku Fan Page, if you are not a fan yet.

2.   Be a follower of MyWeku on tweeter and re-tweet this post once –  Click here to follow Myweku on tweeter (MyWeku will follow you back).

 

HOW TO ENTER

To enter choose one of the 6 books below and tell us what your choice is in the comments section below by stating the title of the book.

Winners will be selected at random from the list in the comments section below on Christmas Eve 2010. Winners will be notified on Christmas Day! Good Luck!. 

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – Half of  a Yellow Sun

Half of a Yellow Sun, takes its title from the emblem for Biafra, the breakaway state in eastern Nigeria that survived for only three years, and whose name became a global byword for war by starvation. Adichie’s powerful focus on war’s impact on civilian life, and the trauma beyond the trenches, earns this novel a place alongside such works as Pat Barker’s Regeneration trilogy and Helen Dunmore’s depiction of the Leningrad blockade, The Siege.

Namwali Serpell – Muzungu

Best known for her writing and academic work, Namwali Serpell, a Zambian who holds a Ph.D from Harvard University, has made it onto the shortlist for the Caine Prize 2010 with Muzungu. Her story, Muzungu,  from ‘The Best American Short  2009′, in her own words helps her understand “the sadness and exhaustion of race; how events can press against each other; the disruption of the solipsism of childhood, a breaking out into being seen by others but also into being with them” . Namwali Serpell joined fellow shortlisted writers, Lily Mabura (Kenya), Ken Barris (South Africa), Alex Smith (South Africa) and Olufemi Terry (Sierra Leone) for the 2010 Caine Prze, arguably Africa’s most prestigious literary prize.

Ngugi wa thiong’o – Petals of Blood

Ngugi has dedicated his life to describing, satirising and destabilising the corridors of power. Ngugi wa Thiong’o is a chip off the old block but does his pen, like those of Wole Soyinka, Ben Okri and Chinua Achebe, still tell an engaging story? Yes! Petals of Blood written in 1977, largely deals with the skepticism of change after Kenya’s liberation from the British Empire, questioning to what extent free Kenya merely emulates, and subsequently perpetuates the oppression found during its time as a colony.

V.S Naipaul – The Masque of Africa

The Masque of Africa is his latest 2010 – quite likely last – full-length work of non-fiction. It is a quest through the continent for the spirit of African belief, the belief systems that preceded the arrival of Christianity and Islam. Naipaul, who is 80 journeys across the continent takes him from Uganda, where he lived for a short while in the 1960s, to Nigeria, then to Gabon via the Ivory Coast and Ghana, and finally to South Africa. Along the way, he meets and talks to people about their beliefs. His sources are virtually all African rather than aid workers and expats. This is a controversial book that has been described as promoting the same tired, stereotypical garbage about Africa and civilisations of colour by some.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali – Nomad

Ali’s personal journey from Somalia to the West, and the Somalis she describes generally emerge as ghastly — prone to acts of psychotic violence, blinded by their religion and tribalism, sexually repressed and universally either contemptuous or loathing of the infidel western countries. Ali asks: what is it about Somali culture that holds us back? “Perhaps part of it is that we do not have much to call culture any more”. Ali who was recently named in the FP’s list as one of the top 100 global thinkers alongside Bill Gates and President Obama is provided with around the clock security by the Dutch government for controversial statements she made about Islam.

 Chika Unigwe – Black Sisters’ Street

Black Sisters’ Street is Zwartezusterstraat, in the middle of Belgium’s red-light district, home to four African women who have fled their homeland in the naïve hope of betterment. All have been put there by Dele, a Lagos pimp who gets them out and set up for “taty t’ousand euro”, but withholds their passports until they have paid it back. It is rich material for a novel – lost, lonely women with a severe case of culture shock seeking solace in each other – and Unigwe is in some ways up to the task. She has passion, has done her research, and the small pleasures the women indulge in to steel themselves against the indignity of their lives are exquisitely observed and heartbreaking all by themselves.

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Winners will be sent email notifications. Delivery will be made directly by Amazon to all 6 winners. All reasonable efforts will be made to deliver in areas not covered by Amazon Book Stores.