The Newlyweds’ Window: Stories x Various Authors, Mukana Press (DRC)

212 pages.

First published July 5, 2022 (Mukana Press).

Fiction anthology.

A few days after finishing this, I’m still truly delighted by two particular stories: an epistolary one, my very favourite, from Zambia—Rain by Muuka Gwaba, a series of emails to her friend from a woman living in the village who doesn’t get along with her neighbours, and who becomes caught up in a supernatural event; and a particularly well-written one from Zanzibar, the title story, The Newlyweds’ Window by Husnah Mad-hy, featuring a young woman who sits at her window and dreams of the lives of the people she sees. But this collection surprised me because while most short story collections are uneven—particularly, perhaps, if they collect stories from different authors—in this collection, only two of the twelve didn’t really work for me.

Mukana Press collected stories from emerging African writers, and the result is exciting! It may sometimes feel like Africa’s literary arc is travelling an uneven path; but it would seem this is more about publishing choices than about the latent talent on the Continent. (Spoilers ahead.) I was very pleased with the range of these stories—from city life to the village, across different cultures, touching on topics as diverse as the perils of social media (Our Girl Bimpe by Olakunle Ologunro) to (another fave) a story that felt accessible in both a Western conceptual space and a very African one, Old Photographs by Hannah Onoguwe: a woman has trapped someone in a photograph, which recalls to me old African ideas about cameras stealing the soul and trapping it in a photo, but also so many fairytales from other traditions about trapped beings: genies, spirits in mirrors, etc.

Mareba’s Tavern features a woman with a difficult relationship with her daughter because of the life choices she’s made, including to continue running her tavern; This Is For My Aunt Penzi, Who— by Idza Luhumyo (later, the winner of the 2022 AKO Caine Prize) contrasts the ways we judge African women and the way we see the actions of Western (white) women doing the same thing; The Daya Zimu by Vanessa Nakayange reminded me of childhood ghost stories (I even knew a variant of the term!), and really didn’t end the way I expected; Gasping for Air by Ogechukwu Emmanuel Samuel is a really disturbing story (why are eyes so very disturbing??) about a killer; Border Control by Altine Jojo Elhassan explores the experiences of a woman in labour; Black Pawpaw by Obinna Ezeodili is heartbreaking and also unexpectedly funny, because the narrator is so unreliable; How Are You by Cynthia Nnadi will be painfully relatable for all first-born African daughters, but particularly those who have one parent; and finally, A Letter From Ireland by Victor Ehikhamenor explores queer love from an unexpected angle.

Again, this is a very strong (and exciting!) collection of African voices that I really enjoyed reading. Many thanks to Mukana Press and to Edelweiss for access to a DRC.

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