Africa's 100 Best Books Of The 20th Century

"If Death Should Steal Upon Me"

Bury me where the grasses grow
Below the weeping willow trees
To let their branches shed upon me
Leaves of varied greens.
Then, as I lie there, I shall hear
The grasses sigh a soft behest:
"Sleep, beloved one, sleep and rest."

Bury me above the dams,
There where the little chirruping birds
Are heard to sing in merriment
And welcome of the coming Spring
While fluttering to the waters' brink 
To drink protected from the heat.

Let me die beside the road,
There where youthful scholars pass,
For now I can no longer bear 
The loads that burden me.
Children's chattering must be 
A blessed comfort to the souls
Of those who rest eternally.

Bury me in a place like this:
Where those who scheme and give their tongues
To plots and anger, never can
Displace the earth that covers me
Nor ever keep me from my sleep.
If you who read these lines should chance
To find me, 0 then bury me
Where grasses whisper this behest:
"Sleep, beloved one, sleep and rest."

Benedict Wallet Vilakazi.

The list was the idea of Ali Mazrui, mooted at the 1998 Zimbabwe International Book Fair (ZIBF) held in Harare. Archbishop Desmond Tutu, was patron of the "Africa's 100 Best Books", Professor Njabulo Ndebele was Chairman of the selection jury, and Professor Rukudzo Murapa was Chairman of the ZIBF, the body responsible for organising the event. The names of the jury members responsible for the selection are not known.

There are many copies of this list to be found across the internet, all following the format as originally published giving Author / Nationality / Title / Publisher with errors perpetuated ad infinitum. I felt that corrections and additional information could be added which has resulted in the lists below, and which is presented in a slightly different format.

Obviously, considering the period during which many of these books were written, there is a healthy bias to the problems of colonialism, newly gained independence with its dreams and failures, and feminism. All these were and are very real issues in Africa.

Lists of 100 Best Books

The 100 Best Books Of All Time

The 20th Century's Greatest Hits: 100 English-Language Books of Fiction

Modern Library 100 Best Novels

Africa's 100 Best Books Of The 20th Century

Some Notes on our version of the list

Information has been collated from various sources. Advice of any errors or omissions gratefully received. I have taken information from the pages of Wikipedia knowing that this may not be considered a definitive source. Caveat lector.

Our list is not a list of 'First Editions', rather a reading list of these books. Hence isbn numbers are not given and titles are unashamedly given in English when known as translated and published in English. Otherwise titles are given in the original language. The original writing language, gender and nationality of author, and date of publication are given to set the writings in their original context of time and location. Names currently given as per the Wikipedia entry, but may be amended as necessary to show that given on the English publication. The full title is given as opposed to the some of the abbreviated versions on the 'official' list. For the sake of conformity names are given in the format first-name - last-name, avoiding the preference of some writers for this to be reversed.

Where I feel an error or omission has been made, my correction is shown italicised.

The original list is broken down into sections, 'Literature for Children', 'Creative writing', and 'Scholarship / Non-Fiction'. I have incorporated the Children's items into 'Creative writing', Thus we have separate Creative Writing and Scholarship / Non-Fiction lists below. These are followed by the original list.