i read it a while ago so i can't remember all the details but it's the story of Okonkwo in nigeria around the time of first contact with the europeans. VERY good book. very celebrated as well.
i would also recommend stuff by Ngugi wa Thiong'o (The River Between, Petails of Blood, A Grain of Wheat etc)
he's a Kenyan writer. so far i've only read the river between and i liked it a lot, then i hear that all his other ones are MUCH better.

another short read... Go tell it on the mountain- James Baldwin