My Sister, The Serial Killer

Oyinkan Braithwaite
2018
Rating: 5.5 (Good, with some flaws)

I dug and would cautiously recommend this debut novel, the premise of which is succinctly stated in the title.

The sisters in question live in Lagos, Nigeria. The murders detailed in the book are, it suggests, the byproduct of domestic abuse the women experienced at the hands of their father. They are also victims of a patriarchal culture that objectifies women.

I’ve read through the reviews, and they seem to be in agreement, and largely correct, about the book’s strengths and shortcomings.

The book’s strength is its plot, which is brisk, or even “taut.” I found it to be entertaining, and I don’t feel guilty about being entertained, and it’s ok both to be entertaining and to be entertained. Nyyyyyyaaaaaaah!!!I kept reading the book because I wanted to find out what would happen! It has a page-turner quality to it.

It offers interesting insights into life in Lagos, it would have been great if “My Sister” offered more of this.

The prose is not ornamental, nor flowery, nor does it really draw attention to itself, but it is, at worst, competent. It was also was tailored, I believe intentionally(?), to the protagonist, a nurse, who is also the narrator.

The book’s shortcomings are that it was perhaps too short, too limited in its scope. It did not venture far from the immediate plot twists, nor did it attempt to make the setting, Lagos, much of a factor in terms of its descriptions. The characterization was flimsy, except for Korede, the protagonist and sister of Ayoola, the murderer.

I will be curious to see what Braithwaite produces next.