How to Write About Africa

Starred review from April 10, 2023
This brilliant collection brings together incisive essays by the late Kenyan journalist Wainaina (1971–2019) on his life and Africa’s place in the world. In “A Foreigner in Cape Town,” Wainaina (One Day I Will Write About This Place) discusses the xenophobia he faced after emigrating from Kenya to South Africa and laments the racist double standard that “white expatriates in South Africa don’t get accused of stealing jobs.” Pushing back against Westerners who dismiss African cuisine as “bland and uninspired,” Wainaina explains how African culinary traditions influenced those outside the continent and serves up recipes for mango salad and “Swahili braised chicken.” The author shows off his talent for withering satire in the standout “How to Be a Dictator” (“be the richest man in your country” and “make America and China happy”) and “How to Write About Africa,” which critiques the racist tropes that accompany depictions of the continent (“treat Africa as if it was one country,” and avoid “ordinary domestic scenes... references to African writers or intellectuals”). Other pieces discuss the paternalism of foreign aid, the tension between regional and international cultures in Nairobi, and the author’s travels to Sudan, Togo, and Uganda, each showcasing Wainaina’s sharp wit and penetrating analysis. This fittingly sums up the considerable abilities of a talent lost too soon.