Royal Chundu Reads #1 “No Be From Hia” by Natasha Omokhodion-Kalulu Banda
Published in 2019, this beautiful book is a homecoming tale of a family brought together by migration and torn apart by tragedy and secrets. In a search for identity, love and acceptance – two ordinary girls travel from London to Lusaka to Lagos in order to save their family and discover their destiny.
Author, Natasha Omokhodion-Kalulu Banda is a UK-born Zambian of Nigerian and Jamaican heritage who lives in Lusaka.
Step into the mind and heart and world of this full, heartwarming and modern Zambian tale with its universal relevance before or while exploring the country, from Lusaka to South Luangwa to the Zambezi!
The Perfect Zambian Itinerary to enjoy it with (15 April to 15 November):
2 nights – Latitude 15, Lusaka
4 nights – Chinzombo
4 nights – Chongwe Suite
4 nights – Royal Chundu Island Lodge
Royal Chundu Reads… #2 The Old Drift: A Novel ~ by Namwali Serpell
Another incredible book by a Zambian writer, to inspire your Zambian travels and give insight into Zambia’s diversity, vibrancy and talents.
Born in Lusaka, Carla Namwali Serpell is a Zambian writer who teaches in the United States. This Zambian debut novel follows three generations of three families, telling the story of a nation, and of the grand sweep of time.
“Namwali Serpell’s impressive first novel is an indulgent, centuries-spanning slab of life marbled with subplots, zigzagging between characters and decades to play snakes and ladders with the bloodlines of three Zambian families with roots from around the world.” ~ The Guardian
Salman Rushdie called it, “A dazzling debut, establishing Namwali Serpell as a writer on the world stage.”
The New York Times Book Review NAMED IT ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR!
Add this book to your Reading List en route to Zambia on one of our travel itineraries of dreams, such as this Zambian Journey, available year-round:
2 nights – Latitude 15, Lusaka
4 nights – Time + Tide Chinzombo
4 nights – Royal Chundu Island Lodge
Get your COVID-19 test and certificate within 24 hours before leaving for home again, with a whole new bookshelf of understanding, and a mind and heart renewed with inspiration and excitement! Zambia has it all!
Zambia is open: reservations@royalchundu.com
Royal Chundu Reads… #3 “Hibiscus” by Lopè Ariyo
An incredible Nigerian cookbook by Lopè Ariyo, featuring this special ingredient, which also grows in this part of Africa. The book showcases the hibiscus in different dishes to ours as well as other favourite ingredients that also grow in Zambia, such as baobab!
As the Observer said in a review: “For all its richness and mindboggling variety, African food has yet to cross over in the UK. With her freewheeling, boldly flavourful take on Nigerian cuisine, Lopè Ariyo could be the person to make it happen.”
It’s always inspiring to see African food being shared across the world and to see attention brought to eating local food. When in Nigeria! When in Zambia! When in Rome!
Royal Chundu Reads #4
For your travels between Zambia and other parts of Africa, we’ve been recommending inspiring novels by writers about different corners of the African continent and one such novel that has long excited all kinds of travellers to this vast wonderland is “West with the Night” ~ a 1942 memoir by Beryl Markham, chronicling her experiences growing up in Kenya in the early 1900s, leading to celebrated careers as a racehorse trainer and bush pilot there.
Beryl Markham was one of the pioneering female adventurers and writers, an English-born Kenyan aviatrix, adventurer, racehorse trainer and author and the first person to fly solo, non-stop across the Atlantic from Britain to North America. This is her memoir!
Add it to your list en route to Kenya and then come and join us in Zambia to experience the adventures and magic of Africa for yourself!
