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Black Ghosts

A Journey Into the Lives of Africans in China

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Black Ghosts

By: Noo Saro-Wiwa
Narrated by: Noo Saro-Wiwa
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EDWARD STANFORD TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR WINNER 2025
A FINANCIAL TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023: TRAVEL

China today is a land of opportunity for African people blocked from commerce with most of Europe and Northern America. It is also an intersection of racism and prejudice.

Noo Saro-Wiwa goes in search of China’s ‘Black Ghosts’, African economic migrants in the People's Republic. Living in clustered communities, they are key to the trade between the continents. Her fascinating encounters include a cardiac surgeon, a drug dealer, a visa overstayer and men married to Chinese women who speak English with Nigerian accents. This is a story of intersecting cultures told with candour and compassion, focusing on the shared humanity between the sojourner and their hosts.

 Asia Emigration & Immigration Social Sciences Travel Writing & Commentary China Social justice Nepal Africa
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Critic reviews

"An impressionistic but revealing account of a journey through "a separate and nebulous universe""
"A gripping examination of a little-known land: the one Africans occupy in China or, more accurately, in Guangdong . . . A revealing book" (SARA WHEELER)
"A marvellous yet unlikely book, travel with a theme, the revelation of modern China by investigating the underclass of African immigrants . . . Noo Saro-Wiwa is a brave and resourceful traveller-interrogator - outstanding in the so-called travel writing genre" (PAUL THEROUX)
"Absolutely fascinating . . . the portraits are heart-rending [and] fantastic"
"Shrewd and enthralling . . . The portraits [Noo Saro-Wiwa] presents are enlightening and affecting and a valuable contribution to this still poorly documented migration"
"Interesting [and] charming . . . the author retain[s] a freshness and curiosity about China which are increasingly hard to find in mainstream coverage of the country in the West"
"Gutsy and determined, perhaps cut from the same cloth as her subjects, Saro-Wiwa succeeds in getting her story. The reader cannot help but be filled with admiration"
"An extraordinary read . . . makes readers understand a little more about Africans's presence in China and sympathise with their fight to keep living [despite] the lack of government support to help their people in a foreign land"
"Powerful . . . [Black Ghosts] explores, with candour and compassion, the lives of several African economic migrants living in China, a group of people who are key to trade between the continents"
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Praise for Looking for Transwonderland: Travels in Nigeria:
Her gifts lie in her keen eye for the sights, sounds, souls and insanities of contemporary Nigeria, and in her ability to recreate these. The book is a breathless chronicle of diversity . . . Her encounters are at once full of pathos and brightness

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All stars
Most relevant
I first became aware of African communities in China some years ago. This entertaining, informative and and at times disturbing book has answered so many questions for me. I particularly appreciated the exposure to the different motivations and experiences of the individuals. The performance by the author was great as varying the accents and using some pidgin made it entertaining too.

Fascinating!

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It’s so well written and the spoken that you feel like a spectator standing or sitting with them and listening to their stories. Many different perspectives, insights but also general facts to put things in perspective, which it was longer. Hope we can get more similar books from the author.

Amazing stories and some many insights on Nigerians and China.

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