The Mirror and Nine Other Short Stories

written by Susan Nkwentie Nde

When a young girl’s dreams are cracked like a mirror and children are caught between two fathers harbouring teenage grudges we wonder at life’s surprises. These are short stories that present a cross section of an African society presenting life in the village, life in town, portraits of teenagers and adults we encounter every day. These are stories about our struggles with the inevitable forces of life, providing some subtle and interesting insights to these struggles. They have been told by a woman who has, in these stories, proven to be a keen observer who mentally records the thrills, frustrations and idiosyncrasies of the people she encounters. We would wonder, laugh and sympathise with the characters she has so vividly recreated.

Susan Nkwentie Nde

Susan Nkwentie Nde was born in 1960 in Ndop in the Northwest Province of Cameroon. After attending Our Lady of Lourdes Secondary School in Bamenda, and the Cameroon College of Arts, Science and Technology in Bambili, she graduated from the Teachers Training Colleges (ENS) of Bambili and Yaounde. She took courses at the universities of Yaounde and Buea and earned a Masters degree in African Literature, specializing in African Poetry. She has taught English and Literature for the past 23 years and currently teaches at the Bilingual Grammar School in Buea, Cameroon. Her poems, articles, and stories have appeared in various journals, newspapers and magazines.