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Mamle Kabu's Mr. Oliver  is a story about the relationship that exists between the rich and the poor and the fake camaraderie shared among the rich and high-society folks, who keep up appearances to please their fellow glitterati and the socialite.   Written in the first person singular, Alex's wife tells of how things aren't going well between her and her nouveau-riche husband. Oliver is the mason working on the extension of their house and belongs to the early wealthy folks whose third generation children are languishing in poverty. Like most artisans he knows that the Alex's wife is 'soft' when it comes to money; hence, even though he had been provided with all the necessary materials required to complete his job, he went to her for the money-equivalent of a bag of cement. Alex's wife, fascinated by Oliver's eyes, was surprised how such a man could also be an alcoholic and wonders what actually happened to him, especially their branch of the fa...

When did you begin writing? I did a bit of writing aged about 8 or 9 with illustrations but later I got embarrassed about it and threw it away so nobody would see it. I’ve always regretted that. In adulthood, I knew I wanted to write, I knew I would write, but interestingly, I felt I wasn’t ready, not experienced enough to be worth listening to or reading, till I was about 30. Then I felt ready and I started. But I think another factor was that that was when I stopped keeping a journal and I think the urge needed somewhere else to go. For whom do you write/ who is your audience? This is different according to different stages of writing. At the inspiration stage I don’t really have an audience, it’s just me and the story. As I write I do consider the audience in terms of technicalities, say, in using a phrase in a vernacular language, whether it’s necessary for it to be understood by everybody and if so, how to go about that. Then of course, if I want to try and get it published, I ha...

Author: Mamle Kabu Title: The End of Skill Genre: Short Story Publisher: Picador Africa Published in: Dreams Miracles and Jazz Year: 2008 Editors: H. Habile and K. Sesay This week is Ghanaian Literature week at Kinna Reads and I have joined her in bringing to light the gems of Ghanaian Literature. Amy at Amy Reads is also participating. The End of Skill, which was shortlisted for the 10th Caine Prize in 2009 , is a different kind of short story told by Mamle Kabu. The story unlike many others takes a path that lies untrodden. Most at times stories are told of change; of how wills must be asserted; of how parents force their children to tow a path, take a career, marry a given person, and how the children are affected by their parent's decisions. Always negatively affected. However, in The End of Skill, Mamle Kabu tells a story of how parent's decisions aren't all that colloquial. Jimmy or Kweku, as known and called by his father, was tired of c...