My New Friend, "MY SISTER, THE SERIAL KILLER," by Oyinkan Braithwaite

 

Me and my new friend, My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Hello. I'm Bobby Keniston, and my only friends are books. You might think this is a call for sympathy, but, the way I see it, books will never call you up unexpectedly and ask you to help clean up after a murder. 

Speaking of such things, my new friend I want to tell you about today is My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite. This dark wonder of entertainment is a fascinating debut, and I have no doubt you will find it easy to make friends with it. 

HOW I MET MY NEW FRIEND

My Sister, the Serial Killer came up on a number of different book talks I watched on YouTube. Like most people with a pulse, I found the title more than a little intriguing, so I checked it out of my local library. 

ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

My Sister, the Serial Killer is a darkly comic first-person narrative about a Nigerian nurse named Korede who has a bit of a problem. The problem is not a spoiler, as it is laid out in the title. Korede's younger sister Ayoola is a serial killer. Before she was simply a killer, but 3 is the magic number to get one to the title of "serial killer".  The book begins with Korede helping her sister clean up the mess. I guess it is helpful that Korede is a bit of a cleaning freak. 

Korede feels responsible for taking care of Ayoola, and has since the very beginning. Ayoola is the beautiful one, the one who turns heads, the one their mother believes actually has a chance of being married. Ayoola is also very shallow, uses her looks to get what she wants, and, is a bit of a narcissist sociopath who never takes responsibility for her actions. 

But what can you do? Family is family. 

Korede is in love with a doctor named Tade. It seems the only respite she gets from her sister's shadow is at the hospital, where she works hard, runs a tight ship, but daydreams about Tade and confesses her sister's sins to a coma patient. 

But when Ayoola shows up at the hospital and Tade catches a glimpse of her, he is immediately smitten. This is no surprise to Korede--- people are always smitten with her sister. But how can she let the man she loves date a woman who may end up killing him?

THINGS I LOVE ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

Korede is a wonderful narrator, given a complex and believable voice by Braithwaite. More than the dark humor and violence at the core, this book is about a relationship between sisters. Korede is expected to always take care of her sister, the pretty one, the fair one, the one that men love and fawn over. One is immediately sympathetic to Korede. And though she feels this bitterness toward her sister (justifiably so, in my opinion), Braithwaite manages to make the reader believe that Korede will protect Ayoola, even after she kills. 

I love that the chapters are short. It keeps the pages turning, and, like with Vonnegut, each little chapter seems to be a compact, interesting moment that keeps the story building and building. If one is in a reading slump, I think the pace and structure of this book--- along with the fact that it is a quick read--- will help get you out if it. 

I also love the fact that Braithwaite examines the fact that people want to believe there is something deeper in a beautiful person who attracts them. Tade is a nice, sensitive character, but Korede witnesses him fall for his shallow sister. More than this, she sees him attribute more to Ayoola than what is truly a part of her personality. It is a kind of delusion and justification. Ayoola even tells Korede that Tade is no different than any man, and only wants her because she is beautiful. This is a fascinating theme to explore, and one that feels all too true at times in the real world. 

I also love the device of Korede confessing her feelings to a coma patient. It tells us so much about her as a character, and her need to connect with someone, in some way. 

FINAL TAKEAWAYS

Do yourself a favor, and make friends with My Sister, the Serial Killer. It won't take you long to read, and, if you're like me, once you're finished you will be eagerly wondering what Oyinkan Braithwaite will bring us next. 

Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!