My Sister, the Serial Killer
MY SISTER, THE SERIAL KILLER, the subject of a recent TIME magazine review, was written by a Nigerian novelist, Oyinkan, Braithwaite, and as such is an intriguing read.
The book is not so much different than any other serial killer novel in respect to voice. There's only the occasional dialect reference. Instead of the Canadian “eh?' we get an “o”. Instead of maam we get “ma,” at least that's my best guess, but it's mostly told in standard English by an educated narrator.
The book starts with the murder of Koreda's younger sister's Ayoola's boyfriend with a knife. She's only 5' 2” and he's over six feet tall, but he wasn't expecting her to stab him with a six inch pig-sticker she got from her father's desk after he died. Rather than call the cops, Koreda, who happens to be a nurse, helps her clean up the mess and get rid of the body. We're told this is the third boyfriend, which makes Ayoola a serial killer.
Koreda loves her sister; they slept together and occasionally still do, but only as normal sisters would. Nothing hinky there. There is lots of jealousy on Koreda's part. Ayoola is very beautiful and she attracts men with little effort. Koreda is rather plain. Koreda is also in love with Tade a good-natured doctor at the hospital.
Koreda visits a man who has been in a coma for some time, thinking he'll never wake up. She tells him all about her sister and the angst involved in not being able to bring herself to do anything about the murders. She's implicated herself, after all.
Ayoola is also a fashion designer, her schooling paid for by a sugar daddy who also helped her start her business. They go off on a vacation in Dubai. Prior to this Koreda has easily snatched Tade away from Koreda, but she doesn't seem to think there's anything unusual about running off with another man. During the vacation, she changes her M.O. a bit. Of course she puts the weight on Koreda.
Oh, yes, the girls' father was abusive; there's a scene where he punishes Ayoola with his belt; Koreda tries to save her but gets in the way of the belt more than helping Ayoola.
So . . . Koreda uses their upbringing as an excuse for why Ayoola is doing what she's doing. There's another scene where Ayoola takes the blame for something Koreda did.
The climax arrives with a big complication. Somebody besides Koreda knows what Ayoola has been doing. Think about who that might be. And Ayoola is stabbed herself. Let's just say she asked for it, but the wrong person pays when Koreda continues to protect her sister.
How will it all end?
The book is not so much different than any other serial killer novel in respect to voice. There's only the occasional dialect reference. Instead of the Canadian “eh?' we get an “o”. Instead of maam we get “ma,” at least that's my best guess, but it's mostly told in standard English by an educated narrator.
The book starts with the murder of Koreda's younger sister's Ayoola's boyfriend with a knife. She's only 5' 2” and he's over six feet tall, but he wasn't expecting her to stab him with a six inch pig-sticker she got from her father's desk after he died. Rather than call the cops, Koreda, who happens to be a nurse, helps her clean up the mess and get rid of the body. We're told this is the third boyfriend, which makes Ayoola a serial killer.
Koreda loves her sister; they slept together and occasionally still do, but only as normal sisters would. Nothing hinky there. There is lots of jealousy on Koreda's part. Ayoola is very beautiful and she attracts men with little effort. Koreda is rather plain. Koreda is also in love with Tade a good-natured doctor at the hospital.
Koreda visits a man who has been in a coma for some time, thinking he'll never wake up. She tells him all about her sister and the angst involved in not being able to bring herself to do anything about the murders. She's implicated herself, after all.
Ayoola is also a fashion designer, her schooling paid for by a sugar daddy who also helped her start her business. They go off on a vacation in Dubai. Prior to this Koreda has easily snatched Tade away from Koreda, but she doesn't seem to think there's anything unusual about running off with another man. During the vacation, she changes her M.O. a bit. Of course she puts the weight on Koreda.
Oh, yes, the girls' father was abusive; there's a scene where he punishes Ayoola with his belt; Koreda tries to save her but gets in the way of the belt more than helping Ayoola.
So . . . Koreda uses their upbringing as an excuse for why Ayoola is doing what she's doing. There's another scene where Ayoola takes the blame for something Koreda did.
The climax arrives with a big complication. Somebody besides Koreda knows what Ayoola has been doing. Think about who that might be. And Ayoola is stabbed herself. Let's just say she asked for it, but the wrong person pays when Koreda continues to protect her sister.
How will it all end?
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