Our Daughter, Who Art in America

by Mukana Press (Compiler)

Two years ago, we embarked on a journey to discover Africa’s most promising writers. Our debut Anthology of African writing was incredibly successful, winning multiple awards. This reassured us that there was in fact an audience for Africa’s voices. It spurred us on to discover more obscure writers and provide a platform for voices who otherwise never would’ve been traditionally published. This year we received 564 submissions from 23 countries.

In this year’s collection, we sought stories that explored the human condition, particularly stories that advocated for traditionally underrepresented voices. Within these pages, you will find an exploration of the human experience, woven through the threads of emotion, discovery, and introspection. Each story is a testament to the power of storytelling, offering a glimpse into the lives of intriguing characters and the worlds they inhabit.

Genres: Fiction, Africa, Anthologies

ebook

Published April 15, 2024

Reviews

[Rosh ~catching up slowly~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a Nutshell: An OwnVoices anthology from indie writers hailing from the African continent. Some amazing stories herein dealing with complex yet realistic human situations. I would have loved to see a greater number of and a greater range of stories.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mukana Press was established two years ago "to discover Africa's most promising writers". I had read the first two short story anthologies by this publisher in 2022 and found both a delight to read. As such, I picked up this collection with high hopes. The stories matched my expectations in terms of quality, but not in terms of range or quantity.

The publisher stated that they received 564 submissions from 23 countries last year. This number is promoted on the blurb as well as in the foreword of this collection. Imagine my disappointment then to see that the book contains only ten stories, and of these, one was repeated from their earlier collection, ‘Send Her Back and Other Stories’ by Munashe Kaseke. With the talent that these writers possess, I would have loved to see double the number of stories in this anthology. Ten is too few!

I loved the foreword. This is exactly the kind of introduction I love to see in anthologies: one that offers a clear idea of the intent behind the collection, the editorial and selection process and the theme of the shortlisted tales.

The ten stories here explore a gamut of human emotions. However, almost all of the stories have women in key roles, making it a somewhat lopsided depiction. I suppose women exhibit a larger range of emotions without inhibitions, thereby making them the optimal gender for an emotion-oriented anthology. But I wish the diversity of the tales had extended to other genders and social themes as well.

There is an undeniable African tang to the writing. The culture, the beliefs, the gender bias, the social mores, the superstitions – all come intermingled with the picture of modern Africa with its cities and environmental-focussed initiatives and ambitious citizens. A couple of the stories have a delicious undertone of irreverence, but most of them are dramatic in flavour, and even when they have some light moments, they are more satirical than comic.

The endings of the stories are mostly satisfying, though not neat or happy. They do justice to their plots, and that’s what matters most in short fiction.

The stories have been divided into two sections. The foreword specifies that the first part (with seven stories) has easy-to-read, lighter stories, while the second part (with the remaining three stories) tackles more serious issues. However, the “lighter” tales aren't necessarily happy or relaxing stories. They also have weighty themes, and many of them deal with darker human experiences, though admittedly, not as dark as the final three tales. So “lighter” is a very relative word in this context.

The shortlisted authors hail from Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, with three authors’ country of origin left unspecified. I wish the author bios had included this data clearly; it is so important in a collection that stresses on the OwnVoices background of the author. Also, the included bio should have been placed immediately after the story rather than being pooled together at the end. This helps us in checking out the other works of the authors whose stories we enjoyed without having to flip back to the index to see which story was theirs.

As always, I rated the stories individually. Every single story crossed the three-star mark for me, meaning I hated none of them. These were my favourites from this book:

🌍 Little Woman - Favour Ahuchaogo: A beautiful story about a woman much larger than her physical size. Didn't expect it to go the way it did, but was a memorable journey nonetheless. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

🌍 The Ripening - Gloria Mwaniga Odary: A bittersweet story from a little girl's point of view, telling us how she lost her best friend due to the "ripening" of certain things. Loved how it takes a dark subject matter and gives it a lighter tough thanks to the choice of narrator. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

🌍 Market Craze - Delight Chinenye Ejiaka: A tragicomic story about the tussle between two priorities. Loved the ending; it’s a sharp comment on human behaviour. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

🌍 The Way We Bend – Milred Barya: A touching story about an African American woman who wants to embrace her roots in Africa but finds herself struggling. Very poignant! - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Overall, I enjoyed this collection, though not as much as I had hoped. It has a strong African flavour in its content as well as its voice: the benefit of reading OwnVoices writing.

Recommended to readers who would enjoy authentic OwnVoices short stories from Africa or stories about the human psyche as affected by social restrictions.

3.6 stars, based on the average of my ratings for each story.


My thanks to Mukana Press and NetGalley for the DRC of “Our Daughter, Who Art in America”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Connect with me through:
My Blog || The StoryGraph || Instagram || X/Twitter || Facebook ||

[Liralen · Rating 3 out of 5]

My dear, she hung up the phone before I could ask her what happiness had to do with the marriage. (loc. 87, "Our Daughter, Who Art in America")

A mother struggles against the reality of a lonely life with her daughters both gone. A girl learns that she is more like her mother than she thinks. A child is unprepared for her brother to grow up without her, and for her friendship with the family maid to come to a forced end. A swimmer witnesses a horror from the underworld of South Africa. A college student learns that your own perceived identity does not always match the identity perceived by those around you.

Our Daughter, Who Art in America takes its title from the first of the ten stories in this collection. I am only rarely a short-story reader (I read very quickly and find it frustrating for stories to end just as I feel that I am getting into them!), but I couldn't resist picking up this collection of diverse voices from parts of the continent and beyond (as far as I can tell, from the author bios: Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, the US). Per the editors' note at the beginning, the stories are divided in two, with the lighter stories up front and the darker stories in the second half (to allow for a choose-your-own-adventure style of reading). I have to admit that I struggled to find the distinction; though the characters move through with determination, there is more rawness in these stories than there is joy.

As is inevitably the case with collections, some of these stories resonated with me more than others; I particularly enjoyed "Body Parts," in which the narrator stumbles across an organ-harvesting ring (is it odd to say that I enjoyed that story? It startled me, and of course it was well written) and the understated social dynamics of "The Ripening," in which a girl sees her household fall into upheaval and her brother and the maid, previously her allies, become strangers to her. It's nice to see a mix of settings and contexts, and especially to see some stories from writers I might not have found otherwise. (And for the stories lower on my list: well, that's the good thing about short stories going by so quickly!)

I'm very curious about the selection process for the stories in this book; as other reviewers have noted, it's a pretty slim volume, and—while obviously no one writer is representative of a given country!—it surprised me a bit to see that three of the ten writers are from Kenya. (On the other hand, I guess it's safe to assume that the call for stories was loudest in countries where English is more prominent? So perhaps I shouldn't be too surprised not to see any stories from, e.g., parts of Africa where French/Arabic/etc. are more common.) I hope Mukana Press carries on with this sort of anthology, but I'd also love to see some pieces from farther-flung locales next time.

Thanks to the authors and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

[The Bibliophile Doctor · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a debut being a success, mukana press has compiled another collection for us which consists of 10 stories from African authors. As per the introduction they received 564 submissions from 23 countries and I find it odd that this collection compiles only 10 stories but what stories. Definitely worth your time and effort if you want something that teaches you about life of black authors.

So the collection have 7 stories in part 1 and 3 in part 2. In publisher's words We ultimately divided the anthology into two. Part one has easy
to read stories with vibrant characters that will make you laugh and Smile, and part two has stories that will ground you into some of
the atrocities our world faces.

I myself did not find the part 2 stories very dark as such, maybe because I have read too much dark stuff also I did not find stories in part 1 to be easy apart from maybe first story where the humour is blanketed in sarcasm and pain.

I will give a short summary without any spoilers to help you pick this book up.



Part 1
Our Daughter, Who Art in America -Chioma Iwunze Ibiam
A mom goes to buy some grocery and ends up discussing her current affairs with an old friend. It's funny in a dark way but left me feeling happy even when a part of me was sad for the mom.
And as if this Analysis wasn’t enough, she reeled out some statistical reports my menopausal brain could neither fathom nor store.

Then I imagined a Nigerian policeman
answering an emergency call in his guttural voice, “You’re dying, and you can talk? Okay, send gas money so we can fuel our truck.” And then I laughed at Bon’s blind faith in the Nigerian police. I was dying, and yet there was some laughter left in my heart.



Little Woman - Favour Ahuchaogo
A mom who's small and yet a fighter. I loved this story and loved how the mom and even dad are portrayed here. A part of me wished that I could be like the mom. Strong willed, and opinionated she is ready to fight for what's right and what's wrong.
At her height, she endured the embarrassing feeling Of people literally looking down on her, and she probably swore to herself that she would not let anyone do it figuratively.



The Ripening - Gloria Mwaniga Odary
At dinner, the food tasted like cloth because Kagonya’s laughter stayed stuck in her throat. The ripening is a coming of age story but I found it sad that in every world the rules for girls and boys are different.



Body Parts - Christine Coates
I thought this was quite a dark story. A daughter who's father is disappointed in her as she failed to achieve the dream he had for her and later is lost too this world and his expectations. I told myself to keep brushing against death. It becomes a whisper, just a breath, and you can face
anything.



Tsoro - Munashe Kaseke
Tsoro is a story of a woman's survival in a professional world dominated by men. What a woman has to do to make herself stand out is quite different from what is expected from men.
They fold their personalities into themselves, avoiding my eyes, crocheting their fingers, and turning their bodies away from me. The young man is still facing me; I try to meet his eyes but realize he’s staring at my hips.



Market Craze - Delight Chinenye Ejiaka
A crazy day at the market, my least favorite story from the collection but funny in a way that it made me mood light



Her Name shall be peace - Alex Nderitu
This was a heartwarming story. It tells us how would is still full of people who care and want to bring difference.




Part 2
She Lingers- Okoronkwo Chisom
Ma felt pride and shame at the same time. Pride for knowing her husband didn’t build the marriage on the bedrock of child-bearing. Shame for her inability to bear a living child and quell
the mouths of men. part of this story was sad for still seeing women just as a way to have kids. And then there's story of Addanne which is even sadder and mind numbing.

Half Portraits Underwater - Dennis Mugaa
Another story of loss and grief and hidden secrets that led to destruction.

The Way We Bend - Milred Barya
This was heartbreaking to read. A young African American trying to set her roots in her own country but she is struggling.

Overall I enjoyed reading it but it felt strangely odd that all Stories were centred around women. I really don't mind that but personally I feel it's okay to have all women centred stories if it says women fiction maybe. But lack of important male characters felt just odd and confusing. Apart from that these stories are definitely good .

Thank you mukana press and Netgalley for wonderful ARC in exchange of an honest review.

[Maria Clara Salla Nogueira · Rating 4 out of 5]

read it as a net galley arc, and took my time reading it so i could enjoy every single short story for itself.
In total, it´s a very nice and well written selection, especially when it comes to discussing family relations, women issues and inequality. the book as a whole paces itself between loud feelings in quiet environments or a quiet loneliness in loud places, beautiful setting descriptions and some very interesting characters.
my personal favorites are: she lingers, market craze, little women and the book tittle, our daughter who art in america; they were funny, ironic, emotional, a nice reading.

[Swapna Peri ( Book Reviews Cafe ) · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this collection, the short stories are divided into two parts: the first is lighthearted and colorful, while the second delves into some of the harsher realities of life. In Chioma Iwunze Ibiam’s title story, Lolo Ezigbo haggles over market prices while sharing tales of her daughter’s adventures in America (“My dear, she hung up the phone before I could ask her what happiness had to do with marriage”). Favour Ahuchaogo’s “Little Woman” highlights the strength and perseverance of a short-statured woman and her daughter in a male-dominated culture after her husband dies.

Other stories include Gloria Mwaniga Odary’s “The Ripening,” which explores a young woman’s maturation through her youngest daughter’s eyes, and Christine Coates’ “Body Parts,” a dark tale of unhoused people being kidnapped for organ harvesting. In Munashe Kaseke’s “Tsoro,” a highly qualified Zimbabwean woman lands a job in an American company only to be labeled the “diversity hire.” Okoronkwo Chisom’s “She Lingers” deals with a family coping with the public murder of the oldest daughter, while Dennis Mugaa’s “Half Portraits Underwater” follows Olioma’s search for a fitting memorial for her twin sister on the one-year anniversary of her death. Milred Barya’s “The Way We Bend” tells the story of a Black American woman who travels to Africa for school, only to find she’s not “Black enough” for Africa just as she’s not “white enough” for America.

The 10 stories in this anthology offer readers a glimpse into cultures that are often underrepresented in modern literature. Each author has a unique style, and each story contains elements that will stick with readers. It’s a captivating anthology that mixes fun and heart-wrenching stories of the African experience.

[Anjali Bhandari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good books have the power to transport you to other dimension and feel the world the writer has built and welcomed you into, to feel her, live like her, understand her, and her world.

Our daughter, who art in America is a fabulous anthology collection by African writers, the stories being very women centric.

Not a great deal of people are lucky enough to travel and explore all places, and even if they do, it’s difficult to get familiarised with their culture in a short while. This book gives you a detailed sneak peek into the culture and the stark differences in thought process of African people with the rest of the world. For instance, the emphasis on women bearing children as soon as they get married and the preference given to bearing a male child. I thought this existed in very few backward areas in South Asia but turns out there ain’t much difference.

Speaking of which, one thing I realized while reading this story collection was that mothers are same everywhere. Their protective instincts, their reaction to their children’s migrating to different countries, to accepting their children’s broken relationships or accepting their identity(LGBTQ+), or blaming themselves for anything that goes wrong in their children’s lives, they are just the same.

This is a beautiful collection and I would recommend everyone to get their hands on it as soon as it hits the market.

Rating- 4.7/5

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy from NetGalley, and this is my voluntary and honest review.

A collection of ten stories by African authors, about storytelling and the human condition. These stories are vibrant and many-faced, dealing with emotions, grief, family and expectations. I especially enjoyed all the unfamiliar-to-me foods. The characters feel alive, and there is some beautiful writing inside this anthology.

Several stories are about strict traditions and expectations for women to be baby-makers, which was really difficult to read at times.

That being said, my main problem was that I don't think the foreword accurately represents this anthology at all. According to the foreword, the seven stories in the first part are meant to be "easy to read", "escapism" and make you "laugh and smile". I would say maybe two of the stories made me smile. The others were well-written, but often bittersweet or outright sad. One of them had a homeless person being cut into pieces for organs, which definitely didn't make me laugh. Maybe we have a different sense of humor.

On the other hand, the mention of war and atrocities in the foreword made me expect the topic of war in the second part, but instead the three stories there are about grief, biracial identity and abortion - serious and important topics, but more "mundane" than I would have expected.

So, in short, the stories themselves are wonderful, but I do think the foreword gives you some wrong expectations.

[Lily · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this fascinating African anthology about the human condition and human experiences, readers explore several short stories by different authors about women and their voices in the African diaspora. Selecting different moments as lived by different characters, this anthology incorporates local dialects and various African languages into the narratives as necessary. Not connected and nonlinear, this text might be a bit complex for those unfamiliar with short story anthologies, but the depth of detail and the vibrant mental images in this book are really powerful and well-developed. The premise of this anthology is absolutely fascinating, and the characters are complex, unique, and emotional, all of which makes the stories more immersive and engaging for the reader. By spotlighting new authors, unique characters, and distinct narratives, this book provides a fascinating insight into African literature and acts as a great starting point for readers interested in reading more about the African diaspora and African literature and authors in general. With this backdrop, readers will gain some insights into the diaspora as experienced by women, highlighting marginalized voices in a fascinating anthology. All of the stories, though separate, have these underlying threads in common and enhance critical narrative elements present in the other stories in this fascinating anthology.

Thanks to NetGalley and Mukana Press for the advance copy.

[Brigit (Cosy.horror.corner) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a heartfelt, intensely colourful and provocative anthology from various underrepresented storytellers across Africa. I found it interesting to be immersed in the vibrant markets of Lagos, to the world's largest alkaline lake in Kenya. Stories vary from upbeat aspects of female empowerment, underestimated intelligence, and warm family ties. I felt myself smile through cosy family squabbles and idle environmental noise. I appreciated the inclusion of African slang for me to look up, rather than have everything be filtered and diluted. The stories also bring light to darker themes of loss, cultural discrimination and human rights. I felt the impact and the deliberate discomfort to educate my worldview.

This is a great collection of African voices to enrich your reading if you haven't dabbled outside your cultural comfort zone.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mukana Press for this advanced digital readers copy.

This book is currently published and available.

[Dora Okeyo · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is the familiarity that rings true for me as I was reading and even after I finished reading this anthology. A collection of stories, that stir up memories of Africa, of being African of how we tell stories and why we tell them- of how we describe and remember experiences and places. The loudness of our being, for example in Little Woman, of the sheer strength of a woman, of a girl who challenges and is deemed a threat by little boys because she plays football better than them- and of course her mother who affirms her standing up for herself. It's typical of my Mom who often told me that if I got into a fight and she was summoned I had better have made my opponent bleed.
I loved this collection because of this essence of being African- of seeing familiar faces, relating to the stories and this is a great place to start when it comes to stories.
Thanks Netgalley for the eARC.

[Cassie Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Part one has easy to read stories with vibrant characters that will make you laugh and smile, and part two has stories that will ground you into some of the atrocities our world faces."

A compilation of short stories form African voices that is incredibly unique and full of lots of beautiful language. The stories were hit or miss for me, loved some and struggled with others, but I appreciate how this book pushed on me in new ways and opened my eyes to different experiences and writing styles. 

A couple lines where the language just really stuck with me:

"At dinner, the food tasted like cloth because Kagonya's laughter stayed stuck in her throat."

"Have you ever struck a peacock in the throat with a spear from a goldsmith's furnace? That's how she sounded."

Thanks to Netgalley and Mukana Press for the eARC.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our Daughter, Who Art in America is an anthology of African writing offering a glimpse into various lives through it's collection of stories.

From the first story I was hooked, the collection opens with 'Our Daughter, Who Art in America' by Chioma Iwunze Ibiam. This was a heartbreaking story of a mother-daughter relationship, more specifically the distance both emotional and physical, between them. Several other stories in the anthology also focused on family life and the disconnect between generations, each beautifully written. After reading this collection, I feel I learned a lot about people and how we treat each other and seek to be treated.

This was a powerful anthology, I look forward to seeking out more works from each of these authors.

Thank you NetGalley for the e-ARC.

[RDH · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an enjoyable collection of short stories from African and American writers, covering the plight and condition of young women in various African voices. Each story is unique, some are more compelling than others. A couple don't feel complete, and leave you wanting more to the story. The stories cover such subjects as grief, misogyny, women's rights, violence against transgender women, colorism, losing a loved one, being the only person of color in a work environment, and making tough choices.
I was impressed with all of the various writing styles. I would give the majority of the stories 4 stars. There are only a couple that I would give 3 Stars, as they felt incomplete.
Overall, a great series of short stories that invoke various emotions and are poignant.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an Own Voices set of short stories all written by African authors. I thought the quality of stories was wonderful, and I was immediately hooked at the first story. I wish there had been a few more stories - there were only 10, and over 500 were submitted. But what was here kept me reading and wanting to move on to the next story. Most of the stories were female-centric, and while I would not say they all had happy endings (even the ones in the first section that were described as the lighter stories), they were all enjoyable to read.

Thank you to Mukana Press and NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

[Ivi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great short stories from different writers describing characters from all walks of life. They beautifully describe the lives of women in just a few pages which shows the talent of the writers. Liked the first one 'Our Daughter, Who Art in America' and 'She Lingers' the best.

Sometimes I had trouble figuring out out what characters were saying when they were speaking in their native language without having a translation on the page. But I guess it wasn't important for the reader to understand if there is no translation.

If you want to discover new authors, this collection is a good place to start.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mukana Press for allowing me to read this digital ARC

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've come to enjoy reading compilations of stories like this one. Though some stories leave me longing for more, I think they are likely the best ones.

Based on the foreword, I was expecting part 2 to be a lot heavier than part 1, but I found that both parts shared stories that made me smile and stories that broke my heart.

However, in my opinion, the success of a book relies heavily on how it makes me feel. And this compilation of short stories made me feel deep joy, sadness and pain about a culture with which I have no experience. I don't see how it could be more successful than that.

[bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

These short stories were great for exploring a variety of different perspectives of African writers. I particularly enjoyed "Her Name Shall Be Peace" by Alex Nderitu and Tsoro" by Munashe Kaseke.
I appreciate how the were split into two categories: the lighter, funny stories and the heavier ones.
Overall a great way to discover some new authors and I would be interested to read more from this publisher in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of the ARC.

[The Rat's Attic · Rating 3 out of 5]

A charming little collection of short stories from the African continent, without any running themes. Some are happy, some are sad, some are funny. I'm especially fond of a story about a girl buying a dress for her valedictorian speech in Lagos, and a Zimbabwean business woman working in the US.
Unfortunately I don't have that much to say, as there was no guiding theme to be built on.

[Marietere T · Rating 5 out of 5]

FUCK THESE SHORTS STORIES WERE SO GOOD! My heart! I loved every single one and every single second I spent reading this one.

I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Bisi Miyebi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novella and compilation of short stories was a quite interesting and funny read. I would rate it a 7/10. I liked a lot of the stories and they were quite relatable too. I also like the fact that the authors stuck with the women theme and had the story around it. What I didn't like was the fact that some stories ended without closure for me. I was in sort of some limbo.

But in all, the book is a good one and I will be recommending it in the near future.

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our Daughter Who Art in America is a great collection of short stories.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mukana Press for allowing me to read this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Chyanne Diaries · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a bit confusing for me in some of the stories. A lot of had different languages and native slang from different African countries that was hard to decipher. Maybe if I had the background, I would’ve enjoyed it more but it was complex to me.

[Ron Frampton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book with the stories of Africa's promising writers.

[Ewuramba Sackey-Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our Daughter Who Art in America is a delish collection of short African stories. Each story was unique, and the language used was very beautiful. I totally recommend this.

[Riane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book overall and thought that the variety of voices showcased is valuable and important. However, the stories were quite uneven and some may have benefitted from further editing.

Thanks to NetGalley and Mukana Press for the ARC.