Ernest Emenyonu's collection of six short stories, Princess Mmaeyen and other Stories exposes topical and multicultural issues and problems in politics and society. Some of the stories are set in Africa, some in America, but all interrogate universal questions, and canvass a new sense of direction in the affairs of men. The humor, often sarcastic and caustic, is rendered vividly in measured, restrained and appropriate language that capture the tenor, rhythm and sentiments of the characters and the values they represent in this collection.Princess Mmaeyen and Other Stories beckons on us all to read it, if not for the precision and beauty of its language, but also for the savoring of the distilled experiences of an author whose wisdom, gathered over time and in several climes and circumstances ennobles the fictive enterprise.

The first story in the collection, ‘Listen, my Momma Pays Your Taxes’ details the challenges of Africans, particularly Nigerians who migrate to the United States of America to try out on a new life before returning home, and who in their attempts to integrate cause unforeseen problems which turn awry for diasporic relationships; like making babies and abandoning them. The title itself expresses the frustration of Kathy, one of such children. Her then teenage American mother had been deceived and abandoned by one such Nigerian immigrant, Tommy Ben Cliffe. Now a teenager herself, Kathy is a bundle of inter-racial prejudices and confusion. She has a deep aversion for Africans, but particularly Nigerians. For the sin of her father who abandons Kathy's mother, then his girlfriend, only four months pregnant with Kathy, she builds a wide psychological gulf that complicates her relationship with Africans. Kathy's hatred for Africans is one which she could not hide even in classrooms, seminars and other public places, and it ultimately impacts on her social life. Her academic life suffers. She has frequent run-ins with authorities; she is what could be called a hot mess whose boyfriend is a convicted druggie who is later murdered by a gang. She insults and curses her teachers and she is defiant of rules. As we read the story, we come to understand that the trouble with Kathy is the problem of her socialization, burdened by a narrative of self-hatred, enabled by her mother who disguises her own disappointments for affection, and turns Kathy against her own ‘race.’