From corrupt detectives to questions of morality, the appetite for crime fiction is only growing across Africa - but these page-turners can do more than just entertain.
Abuja - The definition of African fiction is often reserved for literary writing that has international appeal, thus excluding popular and genre fiction. Though remarkable African writing is being produced and published on the continent, by publishers such as Cassava Republic Press in Nigeria, Modjaji in South Africa and Kwani Trust in Kenya, literary fiction publishing continues to face problems of affordability, distribution and mass appeal. While there is still potential in the African market for literary works, there is also a range of other fiction which could appeal to a broader and more diverse market.
The tradition of popular and genre fiction is well-developed in Africa: from Onitsha Market Literature in Nigeria, the Pacesetters series across West Africa and the Hausa Soyayya romances thriving today in Kano, Nigeria. South African crime fiction has been on the rise for several years, and this trend has now spread to Nigeria with the launch of two crime fiction imprints: Cassava Crime, from Cassava Republic Press and Cordite, from Parrésia Publishers. African publishers are diversifying by tapping into readers' desires to be entertained by books which are both accessible and engaged with the vibrancy and challenges of life in contemporary African cities like Lagos, Nairobi and Johannesburg.
'Lowbrow' know-how
Despite this growth, crime fiction is often dismissed because as 'popular' and 'lowbrow', and it rarely features in conversations about African literature. As crime fiction author Mũkoma wa Ngũgĩ points out, the lack of critical attention to crime fiction, in spite of its popularity, is not unique to Africa. "Genre fiction is generally not seen to have any literary merit in the West as well," he says, even though genre fiction such as romance and crime are the financial mainstay of publishing there. Such a narrow view fails to recognise crime fiction as a form to explore difficult social realities. Crime fiction is accessible, entertaining literature that can bring to the forefront uncomfortable truths about society. It is unafraid to ask questions about race, violence, class, corruption and morality.
"Humid, thick and salty to taste, that was Nairobi Heat" is Mũkoma wa Ngũgĩ's introductory salutation to Nairobi in his first crime fiction novel, Nairobi Heat. Like most crime fiction, it is from the outset provocative and wa Ngũgĩ refuses to romanticise or gloss over the less pleasant and more complex aspects of the modern African city. "I wanted to portray Nairobi as a city of contradictions," he says. "There is no way of going around it. In an inflight magazine the Nairobi you find is the one of skyscrapers and a lively music scene. But that is not the Nairobi on the ground."
Wa Ngũgĩ has faced criticism for his unfavourable portrayal of Nairobi, which he defends by insisting on the need for a depiction of Africa that is more nuanced than the image often perpetuated by the West. Crime fiction is the ideal space to do this; cities have a central role, with the rarely-seen dysfunctional elements of urban spaces intentionally drawn out to drive the story. Cities must be explored and depicted in all their variety: murkiness, glamour, danger and excitement. Crime fiction relies on revealing dark underbellies and difficult realities in ways other fiction does not need to.
Breaking the mould
Altering stereotypes and exposing contradictions is evident in many forms throughout wa Ngũgĩ's writing. While writing genre fiction requires a certain respect for the chosen format, he is clear to avoid narrow tropes in his writing, like the "linear white detective who womanises [and] epitomises masculinity" often deployed by popular crime writers such as Raymond Chandler. Instead, he is influenced by writers such as Walter Mosley, "whose popular writing does not shy away from the hard questions of race and class" and Sara Paretsky, both of whom "subvert" and challenge cultural hegemonies of the genre.
Even so, wa Ngũgĩ's influences are not limited to other crime writers. He is a poet, political commentator and a professor of African literature at Cornell University. He brings this varied literary background into his writing. "When writing crime fiction, I am not writing crime fiction, rather I bring all my training as writer and reader to the table," he explains.
By refusing to declare himself in one camp or the other, wa Ngũgĩ breaks down the divides between populist fiction and highbrow literature. Writing within a genre while refusing to be defined by it, Nairobi Heat is poetic, political and entertaining, drawing on elements from different forms of writing to create an atypical crime novel. It depicts an African-American detective, a blonde female victim and an African suspect. It poses questions of race-relations and the difficulties of presenting an African villain, while challenging gender stereotypes by featuring an ex-soldier turned performance poet as the protagonists' love interest. The plot centres around corrupt aid money related to the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide. Combined with settings from the US to Kenya and Rwanda, the book bluntly confronts the realities of modern-day Africa: race-relations, corruption, war, justice, love and morality are all mixed up here to produce a cerebral fast paced thriller.
A political matter
These are all fraught political issues and for wa Ngũgĩ, regardless of writing style or genre, his writing is at its core political. Whether writing poetry, fiction or academic writing, politics is always present. It is this that undercuts the narrow expectations and disparaging attitudes towards crime fiction. In fact, it is a genre that manages to marry entertainment with social commentary, using gripping plot lines and seductive characters to probe the issues of the day for a wide audience. Like his father - Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, known for his social critiques of Kenya and revolutionary writing - wa Ngũgĩ cannot ignore the political. He goes so far as to suggest that apolitical writing on the African continent is impossible: "I don't know how one can write an African novel that is not political - where your characters live, their education level, who they love and why, what they eat - they all have political and social forces behind them."
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If politics is inevitable in all writing about Africa then why read about it in the form of crime fiction? In spite of his commitment to the political, wa Ngũgĩ admits that crime fiction is really about telling good stories. One of his main influences are the Meja Mwangi Cowboy stories his older brother used to narrate to him as a child. "The driving force behind much of my fiction is to tell a good entertaining Mwangi cowboy story," he says. He also confesses to being hooked on thrillers and pulp fiction throughout his youth.
There are many ways to tell a good story and many ways to portray Africa. Crime fiction is just one of these forms and ultimately, wa Ngũgĩ argues, "We have to allow African literature to be many things if we are going to have a vibrant and growing literary tradition." If crime fiction can contribute to further developing a rich, diverse and dynamic literature from within Africa, surely the only thing left to ask is: whodunit?
Anthea currently works for PEN International. She has an English and Related Literature degree from the University of York, and has spent time in South Sudan, South Africa and Nigeria. Her particular interests include the arts, health, human rights.
