Planning a trip to Tanzanie and want to learn more about the country, its history, its people, and its traditions before your journey? We've compiled a list of our favorite books to help you dive into Tanzanie of yesterday and today.

1. Paradise by Abdulrazak Gurnah

We begin with a must-read book before traveling to Tanzanie whose author, a native of Zanzibar, won the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature. Paradise is a deeply moving coming-of-age story that recounts East Africa in the early twentieth century, where territories were mired in colonialism.

It tells the story of Yusuf, a twelve-year-old boy living in a Tanzanian village who expects to travel for a visit with his uncle in the city. While his parents led him to believe they were sending him on a family visit, the young man will soon discover quite another truth. He has, in fact, been sold into slavery to a wealthy merchant to repay a family debt…

2. The Lioness by Katherine Scholes

The story begins when Angel, a seven-year-old girl, finds herself alone in the Tanzanian desert after her mother dies from a snake bite. Destined for certain death, the little girl encounters a lioness... Meanwhile, an Australian biologist sees the girl's mother's camels arrive back alone from the desert. She sets out to find them with the help of a Maasai doctor and a man known as the Lion Man… An adventure that will take them far beyond what they expected...

This book offers a genuine immersion into the heart of Tanzania's landscapes, from the white peaks of Mount Lengaï to the desert and savanna. The book is a true hymn to nature and wildlife. You'll discover the incredible bonds a man can forge with lions. Beyond these Tanzanian discoveries, Katherine Scholes above all presents a novel about self-discovery…

3. The Clove Trees of Zanzibar by Adam Shafi Adam

What better way to learn and gain another perspective on history than through literature? That's what Adam Shafi Adam offers with his book The Clove Trees of Zanzibar. Indeed, this narrative recounts a little-known event in contemporary Tanzanian history: the revolution of January 1964. It marked the sharp break with Zanzibar's feudal sultanate and the establishment of a popular republic.

To tell his story, the author stages the January 1964 revolution through the life of Kijakazi, a woman born in Zanzibar into a slave family. She is the most faithful servant of Lord Malik, whose family lives well by exploiting slaves to cultivate and harvest clove plantations. That is, until Marxist theories arriving from the city upset everything on the farm…

4. The Snows of Kilimanjaro by Joseph Kessel

In his book The Snows of Kilimanjaro, Joseph Kessel recounts his African journey and takes us to 1950s Tanzanie. Though the book is brief, it features a collection of reports both moving and captivating that transport us through Tanzania's must-see destinations, from Lake Victoria to Kilimanjaro. He details unforgettable experiences such as an encounter with a tribe of pygmies, a motorboat crossing of the Nile, an evening in the heart of the savanna, the incredible bond of friendship between a lioness and a little girl...

No doubt about it—this giant of twentieth-century literature offers us here a magnificent journey through Tanzanie and gives us one irresistible urge: to pack our bags and set off immediately to discover this country of many facets…

5. Black Museum by Alexandre Kauffmann

We close with Black Museum, a book that should change how you see Tanzania's ethnic peoples. Indeed, this book was written by journalist Alexandre Kauffmann, who was sent to Tanzanie to conduct an investigation for a travel magazine. His mission? To meet the Hadzabe (or Hadza), a nomadic people known as the country's first inhabitants and considered the last representatives of the hunter-gatherer peoples at the dawn of humanity.

During his stay, the journalist quickly discovers the limitations of tourism. He discovers that some tourist attractions centered on this people amount to folk stagings designed to feed visitors' fantasies about the hunter-gatherers of the African savanna. He thus reveals what lies behind the scenes and immerses himself in the daily life of a people who hunt but who, contrary to what many believe, are far from ignorant of the Western world… All of this offers a poignant travel narrative that turns into social satire!

To Go Further…

Here are other books to discover to immerse yourself in the heart of Tanzanie, from yesterday to today:

• Admiring Zanzibar by Abdulrazak Gurnah;

• By the Sea by Abdulrazak Gurnah;

• The Rain Queen by Katherine Scholes;

• The Cradle of Mankind by Katherine Scholes;

• The Wild Bougainvillea Flowers by Katherine Scholes;

• The Lovers of the Wild Land by Katherine Scholes;

• Maasai: Legends of Tanzanie by Eric Fayet;

• Like Snow in the Sun by William Boyd

• The Front Line by Jean Rolin;

• How I Found Livingstone by Henry Stanley…

And you—which books about Tanzanie have touched you most?

Florine Dergelet