As part of our Black History Month celebrations, our editors Rosemarie Hudson and Pete Ayrton have picked what they think you should read in October, from the HopeRoad and Small Axes bookshelves and beyond. Read on to discover their choices...
The Cost of Sugar by Cynthia McLeod
The Cost of Sugar is a frank exposé of life in the Dutch slave colony when sugar ruled as king – and the tragic toll it took on the lives of colonist and slaves alike.
Sugar, Sugar: Bitter-Sweet tales of Indian Migrant Workers
by Lainey Malkani
Sugar Sugar: Bitter-sweet Tales of Indian Migrant Workers is a contemporary collection of short stories based on facts which reveals a rich and culturally diverse history behind India’s migrant workers and one of the most abundant and controversial commodities in the world.
Tula The Revolt
by Jeroen Leinders
Based on historical facts and the movie starring Danny Glover and Jeroen Krabbé, Tula -The Revolt is a true story about the Great Slave Revolt on the Caribbean island of Curaçao in 1795.
Beyond HopeRoad
The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man by James Weldon Johnson – Macmillan
Calypso London by Sam Selvon – Penguin
The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell - Profile
A Long Way From Doula by Max Lobe
Important issues of violence, terrorism, homosexuality and migration feature in A Long Way From Douala, the first publication in English of a work by Max Lobe, an important new voice in African writing.
Duppy Conqueror by Ferdinand Dennis
In Duppy Conqueror, first published in 1998, Ferdinand Dennis has created a powerful narrative of the Afro-Caribbean experience in which the personal and the political seamlessly collide.
The Nowhere Man by Kamala Markandaya
First published in 1972, The Nowhere Man depicts a London convulsed by fear and bitterness. Truly shocking, it is as relevant today as when it was first published almost fifty years ago.
Beyond Small Axes
Praisesong for the Widow by Paule Marshall– McSweeney's
Avey Johnson, a widow who likes gloves and pearls goes on a Caribbean cruise with life-changing consequences.
A House for Mr Biswas by V. S. Naipaul – Picador
Mr.Biswas's quest for a house of his own is one of epic dimensions. A 20th century classic.
Broken Glass by Alain Mabanckou- Serpent's Tail
A wry satire on the dangers of rewriting history. A brilliant Francophone novel.