ABOUT
THE BOOK

2020 Longlist

Achen and Nyakale: twin sisters, separated from childhood to inherit different destinies. In the hope of inheriting a better life, a mother makes the heart-wrenching decision to send one child, Nyakale, to South Africa to be raised by her well-off sister, the child’s aunt, who has no children of her own. The other child, Achen, stays in Uganda to be raised by their mother in a village.

An Image in a Mirror is a deeply intimate African story about the coming of age of two young women, who are the same as much as they are different. When the sisters, at the age of twenty-two, finally cross their respective worlds to meet, how mirrored will each feel about the other?

About the Author

Ijangolet S Ogwang was born in Kenya to Ugandan parents and raised in South Africa. She is passionate about women empowerment and the development of Africa. She co-founded Good-Hair and works as an analyst for Edge Growth, a company focused on growing small businesses in South Africa. She also finds time to make up stories.

Librarian’s Comments

An Image in the Mirror by Ijangolet S. Ogwang is a beautifully crafted debut novel about identical twin sisters separated in childhood and destined to grow up in different worlds, yet they share an indelible sameness. They finally meet 22 years later as young women who have traversed intertwined but distinct paths. This is a touching and perceptive tale of family and the depth of shared origins. City of Cape Town Library and Information Services, South Africa