My Sister The serial Killer was a quick, fun, read packed with dark humor. A story about two sisters raised by the same parents who suffered abuse from their father but turned out to have personalities as different as the way they looked. Ayoola, the beautiful younger sister who turned the heads of every man in sight and Korede, the responsible elder sister who seemed to always have her act together shared a bond which is not uncommon among siblings. However, the unusual thing here was that Ayoola killed her boyfriends while Korede helped her clean up the mess. Contrary to the publisher’s blurb, I didn’t think Korede was bitter or jealous of her beautiful sister Ayoola. Ok, maybe a bit jealous sometimes but I would rather say she was more co-dependent and a serious enabler to her sister than anything else. In a world where you are raised to always look out for and protect your siblings especially your younger siblings, it seemed almost natural for Korede to play the role she played in Ayoola’s life even if she was more affected by Ayoola’s actions than Ayoola herself. Unfortunately, I didn’t quite find a character I liked in the entire book. Korede May have been one to sympathize with but in my opinion she had so many opportunities to break free from her sister’s manipulation and stronghold. I also felt the book ended a bit abruptly, not the ending I expected or wished for but this is what fiction is all about. It takes you on a journey without a warning about how it will all end.
My favorite quotes from this book would be:
“I can’t pinpoint the exact moment I realized that Ayoola was beautiful and I was….. not. But what I do know is that I was aware of my own inadequacies long before”.
“No. You know nothing about me, or the woman you are about to propose to. And by the way, Ayoola would never wear a ring less than three carats. He stares at me as though I am speaking another language, the ring box still clutched in his hand. What a waste of time all this was”.
“He isn’t deep. All he wants is a pretty face. That’s all they ever want”.
If you love satires and dark humor, then this is a good book to read this holiday. Kudos to Oyinkan Braithwaite on this one! We are proud of you.
Published: December 2018 by Narrative Landscape Press
Pages: 225
Genre: Fiction
Purcahse @ http://www.narrativelandscape.com
P/s Please buy the Nigerian version of this book and help grow the naira.
The Author: OYINKAN BRAITHWAITE is a graduate of Creative Writing and Law from Kingston University. Following her degree, she worked as an assistant editor at Kachifo, a Nigerian publishing house, and has been freelancing as a writer and editor since. In 2014, she was shortlisted as a top-ten spoken-word artist in the Eko Poetry Slam, and in 2016 she was a finalist for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize. She lives in Lagos, Nigeria.
