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22nd out of 106 books
—
36 voters
On Black Sisters Street: A Novel
by
Chika Unigwe
On Black Sisters Street tells the haunting story of four very different women who have left their African homeland for the riches of Europe—and who are thrown together by bad luck and big dreams into a sisterhood that will change their lives.
Each night, Sisi, Ama, Efe, and Joyce stand in the windows of Antwerp’s red-light district, promising to make men’s desires come tru...more
Each night, Sisi, Ama, Efe, and Joyce stand in the windows of Antwerp’s red-light district, promising to make men’s desires come tru...more
Hardcover, 272 pages
Published
April 26th 2011
by Random House
(first published 2007)
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Jun 10, 2011
Wanda
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
international-stories,
depressing-ending
Wow. I don't even know how to begin describing how amazing this book was. I'm a person who is very interested in other's backgrounds and Chika Unigwe gave me a enlightening glimpse into the past of 4 Nigerian prostitutes and what brought them all together in one of Belgium's red light districts. Their stories broke my heart, and even though this book is fiction, their's are the stories of not just African women, but stories all women can relate to regardless of our differences. Not only that, bu...more
On Black Sisters Street is an eloquently written novel, that provides a vivid account of the global sex trade industry. Author Chika Unigwe depicts the numerous elements of the trade, by profiling four young African women, who each come from different backgrounds and circumstances, that bring them together in Antwerp Belgium to serve as night women. A tragic loss will transform the women as fellow work and housemates to a permanent bond of sisterhood, which delivers encouragement and strength to...more
Black sisters' street refers to Zwartezusterstraat, a street in the red light district of Brussels famous for its African prostitutes. Unigwe's story starts with three young women learning the news that the fourth woman they share a house with, Sisi, has been brutally murdered. Although they have kept their distance from each other in the past, this news brings the three women together and they start to share their stories. Efe had an affair with a married man as she thought this would lead to...more
At first I really didn't get into this book. It was set in the gloomy red light district of Antwerp, a desolate place full of ruined women's lives. Then we meet four women all sharing the same house and madame. Their names are Sisi, Efe, Joyce and Ama. Their lives all converged in Lagos, a city in Nigeria, before they were shipped off to Belgium by a rich "export specialist" named Dele. The girls lives are all told in colorful flastbacks to Nigeria. Some of their childhoods were happy, some were...more
Ahhh, the Black boogie man is alive and well in this purported look into the sex industry. The government that allows for women to stand in windows and offer themselves to strangers, is never taken to task. The bad white men are nonexistent in this novel. But, there are black men of evil a plenty. If you are going to write from the ladies perspective, surely they have thought about ALL men involved in the industry; and a world that has taught people to value the pursuit of material over all else...more
I've wanted to read this book since Chika Unigwe won the coveted $100k Nigerian literature prize. This book is entertaining indeed, in some places unfolding just like the popular and highly entertaining Nigerian dramas. One thing that Unigwe did well here was the rich dialogue: you could envision yourself in the middle of the conversation. And the strategic sprinkle of dialect: just enough to be authentic, not too much to overwhelm.
The story is about African women with traumatic childhoods who...more
The story is about African women with traumatic childhoods who...more
3 likes · like · see review
I really like this book and I'm really torn between whether to give this a 4 or 5 star rating...It may be a cliche but really, I could not put this book down. Unigwe is a very talented the writer and I'm looking forward to more from her. This book made me sad and mad (sex trafficking will do that) but Unigwe has a gift in her ability to infuse some humor into the horrific story.
The New York Times said it better than I can: "Despite the horrors it depicts, On Black Sisters' Street is also boilin...more
The New York Times said it better than I can: "Despite the horrors it depicts, On Black Sisters' Street is also boilin...more
2 likes · like · see review
I discovered this book while looking for a Nigerian author for a reading challenge. As with any book set outside of the United States, I liked being transported to two different countries: Nigeria and Belgium, neither of which I had ever visited. I also liked the structure of the book as it moved from the present in Belgium and the mystery surrounding the murder of a fellow sex worker back to the pasts of four different women and their paths from Africa to Europe and to their current trade. This...more
Jun 27, 2011
Yasmin
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Literary Enthusiasts who enjoy reading books with black female protagonists
Recommended to Yasmin by:
Phyllis Rhodes, Beverly Jackson
On Black Sisters Street is the story of four African females, who for various reasons, end up prostitutes in Belgiums red light district. All are chasing the dream of a better life outside their native countries in Africa. For one of them the dream will end tragically. On Black Sisters Street is a raw, provocative and riveting novel from debut author Chika Unigwe. The beginning was a little juxtaposed for me, but once I got past the first couple of chapters and began to hear the voices of Ama, J...more
This novel tackles the desperation which drives ladies to become willing, and sometimes not so willing, participants in the Nigerian sex trade, as well as those who prosper and take advantage of those who find themselves in such a hopeless situation. The novel tells the story of Sisi, Ama, Efe and Joyce. Readers will learn about familial abuse, lack of economic opportunity and the impact of genocide through the eyes of these women. The bonds of friendship will ultimately help to lighten the load...more
"They are all the family she has in Europe. And families who know so little of one another are bound to be dysfunctional" (38).
"...buying bits of happiness" (50). *I can already tell that consumerism and the idea that things and money will play a big role (sadly) in this book.
"The only luggage of worth she carried was in her head" (74).
"She thought this: Too many people. Too many houses. An excess of everything. Nothing was organized. It reminded her of a drawing by an enthusiastic child with ve...more
"...buying bits of happiness" (50). *I can already tell that consumerism and the idea that things and money will play a big role (sadly) in this book.
"The only luggage of worth she carried was in her head" (74).
"She thought this: Too many people. Too many houses. An excess of everything. Nothing was organized. It reminded her of a drawing by an enthusiastic child with ve...more
2.5 stars. I won this book from GoodReads and thought it sounded promising - four Nigerian immigrants are thrown together in Belgium, where they've been imported to work as prostitutes, and the murder of one of them draws the other three closer together into a tight-knit sisterhood. Unfortunately, this book did not live up to its promise. I never felt as if the women were truly bonding or forming a sisterhood, and the story was so weak on the main plot that threaded everything together that it f...more
Black Sisters Street is Zwartezusterstraat, in the middle of Belgium's red-light district, home to four African women who have left their homeland in the naïve hope of betterment. The story begins when one of the women, Sisi, is found murdered. As her remaining co-workers and house mates, Ama, Efe and Joyce come to terms with her death, each relives their painful journey from Nigeria to Belgium to become sex workers, and how they have been brought together by Dele, a Nigerian pimp, and by "the t...more
Inhalt:
Sisi, Efe, Ama und Joyce - vier nigerianische junge Frauen - zusammengeführt durch das Schicksal des Lebens. Jede der vier Frauen leidet unter ihrer persönlichen, tragischen Lebenserfahrung und sie haben nur einen sehnlichsten Wunsch: Sie möchten ihrem Land den Rücken kehren und im Ausland eine Chance auf ein besseres Leben finden. Denn trotz größter Bemühungen sehen sie keine Zukunft in ihrem Land. Sie bekommen trotz sehr guter Schulausbildung keinen Job, sie werden missbraucht oder wer...more
Sisi, Efe, Ama und Joyce - vier nigerianische junge Frauen - zusammengeführt durch das Schicksal des Lebens. Jede der vier Frauen leidet unter ihrer persönlichen, tragischen Lebenserfahrung und sie haben nur einen sehnlichsten Wunsch: Sie möchten ihrem Land den Rücken kehren und im Ausland eine Chance auf ein besseres Leben finden. Denn trotz größter Bemühungen sehen sie keine Zukunft in ihrem Land. Sie bekommen trotz sehr guter Schulausbildung keinen Job, sie werden missbraucht oder wer...more
Uneasy going at first, and I nearly gave up, but by about chapter three it seemed to morph into another book altogether, a steady pace of storytelling, almost oral in style; measured and quite metronomic, rather too journalistic maybe.
It is the story, or stories, of four women contracted out of Nigeria to work as prostitutes in Antwerp. All are told in the third person. Three of the stories are stereotypical and related with just a modicum of emotion and sentimentality - impartial almost as a ne...more
It is the story, or stories, of four women contracted out of Nigeria to work as prostitutes in Antwerp. All are told in the third person. Three of the stories are stereotypical and related with just a modicum of emotion and sentimentality - impartial almost as a ne...more
I really don't know where to start with this book except to say the stories of these women saddens me. Their lives would unfortunately resonate with many women in the world today. Not so much the life of prostitution, but tales of last resorts.
The story brings together four women from Africa to the life of prostitution in the city of Antwerp. The story does not focus on the fact that the women are prostitutes but it gives insight into the circumstances that led them to this lifestyle. You have...more
The story brings together four women from Africa to the life of prostitution in the city of Antwerp. The story does not focus on the fact that the women are prostitutes but it gives insight into the circumstances that led them to this lifestyle. You have...more
1 like · like · see review
It's certainly difficult to criticize a book that tackles such heart wrenching subject matter with dignity and eloquence. Kudos to Ms. Unigwe for avoiding cliches, shock value, and indignation to drive her narrative. That being said, this story falls short of being great. Its vividly described characters deserve more, and her writing flickers with a creative energy akin to the Toni Morrison's works that is never fully realized. Walking a fine line between journalistic narrative and magical story...more
Four Nigerian women are thrown together in Belgium, where they will be working as prostitutes. When Sisi is found murdered, the three of them open up and tell each other their stories, and what drove them to Belgium. I have to admit, the beginning of this novel was a bit slow, but I stuck through it. Author Unigwe strongly captures each women journey, and how they joined the sex industry. I also like how she let us know what these women accomplished in the long run. I highly recommend this book...more
While not great literature - especially towards the end where a lot of the language descends into cliches - still an interesting novel about four African prostitutes living and working in Antwerp.
Good counter viewpoint for people who read Nicholas Kristoff in the NY Times every week. For three out of four of these women (one is murdered), working as a whore in Antwerp is understandably better than their alternatives in Lagos.
Unigwe is a Nigerian writer living in Belgium.
Good counter viewpoint for people who read Nicholas Kristoff in the NY Times every week. For three out of four of these women (one is murdered), working as a whore in Antwerp is understandably better than their alternatives in Lagos.
Unigwe is a Nigerian writer living in Belgium.
I won this book in the Goodreads First Reads contest. It was a hard look at prostitution and human slavery. With this topic, it would be hard to say that I 'enjoyed' the book because the subject matter at hand would preclude that. I do think that the author or publisher should include a note at the end of the book suggesting websites or giving information that could direct the reader as to help these women trapped in such dire situations.
Chika Unigwe's book is truly heartbreaking and full of strong authentic emotion. Skilfully, she portrays the lives of four exploited sex workers from Nigeria and the Sudan, without sinking into dogma or cliché. The continent the women leave behind is full of tragic lives riddled with loss, failure and financial burdens, and yet Unigwe also paints a portrait of loving families, cropped careers, diminished expectations - and hope. Her use of colloquial language makes the story authentic without be...more
"On Black Sisters Street" is the story of 4 African female sex workers living and working together in Antwerp. When one of the women is murdered, the others finally open up about themselves and their pasts as their attempt to solve the mystery of the slain woman's last day. Slightly hard to follow as it moves back and forth through time and jumps from woman to woman, "On Black Sisters Street" is a window into the lives that most of us will never experience or understand.
Living in Switzerland, stopping human trafficking is a goal for many Int'l agencies here. It's a very interesting book because the topic, though fictional, is very real. It's not just a problem in Belgium, as depicted in the story, but all across Europe, Asia, and yes, North America. The stories and circumstances for which the women find themselves are believable and very sad. The author does a good job in providing some insights into the backgrounds of these characters. If I have any criticism,...more
My review of On black sisters' street in a nutshell: I was disappointed with the book. It made false promises. The book wasn't about the world of prostitution in Belgium, but about Nigeria's societal ills such as poverty, sexism, statutory rapes, bad governance, ethnicity, nepotism, violation of children's rights, sexual and other forms of abuse. That was what Chika Unigwe tried to elaborate on with a little bit of detail. There was nothing on the gruesome client demands, physical and verbal abu...more
lovely book. I thought I would be tired of reading about 4 females and their perspectives, but I couldn't escape the sheer pleasure of reading a book so eloquently draw out. That in my mind's eye I could see all the ladies and I could watch everything happening in 3D.
Sisi was murdered, that's the vehicle in which tales of EFe, Ama and Joyce were drawn out. We get to read their stories on how they came to work in a red light district and each tale is terrible as you go on.
And the twist at the end...more
Sisi was murdered, that's the vehicle in which tales of EFe, Ama and Joyce were drawn out. We get to read their stories on how they came to work in a red light district and each tale is terrible as you go on.
And the twist at the end...more
Chika Unigwe is Nigerian refugee living in Belguim and shares the stories of four women who willingly, or unwillingly, become trapped in the sex trade on Belguim streets. All come from Nigeria seeking a better life for themselves, some are tricked, some are traded, but none can escape until they've paid back that jovial wealthy Nigerian man who manages the trade.
The writing is strong, but I didn't come to care for most of the characters, with the exception of the woman whose boyfriend sent her o...more
The writing is strong, but I didn't come to care for most of the characters, with the exception of the woman whose boyfriend sent her o...more
Enjoyed the story and learning about each characters lives, but for some reason when the book was over I was left with a little bit of "that's it?" I feel like there could have been more to the story and the development of each of the women beyond the simple reasons behind why they chose the life they did. This was a well written book and I would recommend it to others.
Unfortunate. Poorly written, flat. This reminded me of another unfortunate book, Avigail something by Chris Abani. The reason that I regarded these two identically unfortunate books is probably due to their remote, superficial look at the life of prostitutes. After all, they are 'the others' to these authors' eyes. Therefore, the undertone of these stories were identical: victimology.
On Black Sisters Street is a really well written and eye opening depiction of the lives of four African women working as prostitutes in Antwerp's red- light area. They have come to Europe as a means of escaping disparate but equally desolate lives in Africa, hoping to earn enough money to change those lives for the better. The women live together in an apartment but they are not friends and they keep their motivations, hopes and dreams to themselves as a protective shield. Their bodies may be op...more
I enjoyed reading this book. It is a sad, sad story. It started very slow for me though, but once the four women were introduced, the pace picked up! From this point on, I couldn't put the book down. The author brings to life four women from Africa, to the life of prostitution in a foreign country who; willingly or unwillingly were trapped into this life. The writing is strong, though one of the women had a confusing accent that takes getting used to. The end: I feel that there could have been m...more
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| Great African Reads: December | "On Black Sisters Street" | 11 | 28 | Jan 08, 2013 06:39am |
Chika Unigwe is a Nigerian-born poet, novelist, short story and children's writer who makes her home in Belgium (she describes herself as "Afro Belgian") and writes in Dutch and in English. She holds a Ph.D in Literature from the University of Leiden in the Netherlands.
Chika Unigwe in the English Wikipedia
Chika Unigwe is een dichter en schrijfster, geboren in Nigeria en wonende in België (zij besc...more
More about Chika Unigwe...
Chika Unigwe in the English Wikipedia
Chika Unigwe is een dichter en schrijfster, geboren in Nigeria en wonende in België (zij besc...more
Jun 12, 2011 10:16am