My Sister, The Serial Killer

Richelle, Adrian, Tina, and I met with first-timer, Jill at Shantell’s Cafe in Sanford to discuss the debut My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite.

Why This Book

Jill, our lovely guest, asked a great question: How this book was chosen?

This book was chosen for its departure from the “norm,” which coincided with the purpose of the “optional” reads. These will be books that are not necessarily “mainstream” and will reflect overlooked or niche genres. My Sister, the Serial Killer was marketed as a dark-humored, pulp fiction-ish, suspense-noir novel set in Lagos, Nigeria. It had been reviewed favorably by The New York Times and other notable book reviewers, carries a 3.8 rating with nearly 15,000 people rating it and 2700+ book reviews - so many had consumed the book and seemingly liked it well enough. The cover was gorgeous, it was a short, debut, so I thought the club might like the book while supporting a young, female, African author attempting to break into a genre where “we” are not often represented.

I’m not sure how many read the novel - so if you weren’t able to attend the meeting, please share your comments and rating with the group!

The Discussion

For those who met Sunday, the novel yielded a somewhat polarizing result from one who attempted reading it and two of the the three who actually completed it. As mentioned earlier this novel had a ‘pulp-fiction’ vibe to it that requires the reader to suspend belief in order to ‘enjoy’ the story, thus it’s not going to appeal to everyone.

We instead concentrated on the themes, ideas, and issues presented in the book and elevated it to a level where Adrian and Tina could chime in. Too many to list all of them, so here are just a few topics we touched on:

• Social Media Etiquette. Appropriate periods/methods to ‘grieve’ online? Personal crisis/trauma in an online world. Ex: Jussie Smollett case and GMA appearance after the “attack.”

• Societal Views on Beauty. Do looks really matter? Do “beautiful” people get a pass? The shallowness of the men in the book who seemed to value beauty above other qualities.

• Views/Attitudes on Girl Children. Cultural and Societal views regarding children (preferably young girls) sexuality, value of their lives, expected roles, arranged marriages, children as payment of debt, etc. The role of mothers/aunts who are complicit in exploitation, abuse, molestation of girls. Commentary on R. Kelly’s predatory behavior; views can vary by culture, nationality, etc.

• Human Life/Family Values. Does culture/societal beliefs, customs, traditions influence value of human life? How far are we willing to go for our siblings/loved ones? Is blood really thicker than water? Would we ever turn in our siblings to law enforcement?

Our Thoughts & Ratings

Revised Group Rating: 3.5

Updated Comments...

Tamara said she liked that men who only see outside beauty got what they deserved. She also liked that in the end the end the sisters stand up for each other and could relate to being the older sister looking out for the younger. She said she liked that in the end - in her head- Lorene gets a happy ending. It was an easy read and took it as fiction so she didn’t analyze too much. Rating: 4

Marilyn. I misplaced Marilyn’s comments, but I believe she said she was disappointed in the “mystery/suspense” marketing as those aspects were not present in the book (at least not very well). Was also disappointed with the rather ‘open’ ending that offered little to no closure. Rating: 3.5

Sharice found it confusing because Korede was making her upset for not sticking up for herself and always going to her sisters rescue. She was hoping that her sister would get caught so that Korede could live her life. The sister, Ayoola, was so inconsiderate. She felt that she may have had some mental issues going on or was just so regarded as the best that she did what she wanted whether it hurt people her not, hence her killing her boyfriends. Rating: 3.5

Previous Comments...

Adrian did not read it due to time constraints.

Tina admitted she attempted to get into it, but realized early on it was just not for her. Being the sweetheart she is, she joined us for food and fellowship. Rating: DNF (DNF = Did Not Finish in the literary world)

Richelle attempted to suspend belief, but even then too much still didn’t make sense to her. She persevered to finish the book but didn’t like it at all; would have liked more character development of other characters (i.e. the comatose patient); however she appreciated the commentary on physical attraction. Although the book was a fail for her, Shantell’s cornbread was worth the wait. Rating: 1.5

Jill appreciated the novel tremendously as it was a much needed break from the daily technical and/or academic readings. The author’s storytelling technique allowed her to envision the story play out in her mind as it flowed from scene to scene; it read like a movie screenplay and Jill enjoyed that aspect. She also has Nigerian relatives, so the dialogue and sentence structure and cadence rang true to her ear. She really enjoyed the quirkiness of the story and the sardonic humor (and classic shadiness) sprinkled throughout the book. Rating: 5

Phyllis liked that it was a quick, frivolous read - it was different, didn’t have to think hard - a palate cleanser in between heavier reads for me. Enjoyed the Lagos, Nigeria setting. Would have liked to explored other point of view from other characters; it was a bit stilted/limited with only Korede's viewpoint. Rating: 3.5

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