God's Bits of Wood by Ousmane Sembène (1960) — The essential book for anyone visiting Thiès. Sembène's novel chronicles the five-month railway workers' strike of 1947 along the Dakar–Niger line, with Thiès as one of the three main settings. It is a powerful account of ordinary people standing against colonial power, told with compassion and specificity. Sembène later became the father of African cinema; this novel made his literary reputation.
So Long a Letter by Mariama Bâ (1979) — Bâ was born in Dakar and spent time in Thiès. Her debut novel, written as a series of letters from a recently widowed Senegalese woman to her friend, is a sharp and moving account of women's lives in Senegalese society. One of the most important African novels written by a woman.