My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was my end of the year palate cleanser book. It was a light, short, darkly humored mystery thriller that entertained me to no end. I consumed this book in 24 hours and I don’t regret a thing. I waffled between 4 and 5 stars because… I don’t know… I couldn’t find anything wrong with this book. I was laughing, I was serious, I was annoyed, I was sympathetic, I was apathetic… I mean I swung through the gauntlet of moods/emotions throughout this short mystery novel.
When I read: “We take him to where we took the last one – over the bridge and into the water. At least he won’t be lonely” on page 4, I knew I was going to be in for a wild ride! I was not disappointed at all. I also loved the somewhat poetic, staccato prose that I felt while reading this book. The language made for an easy short read, and I just flew through the chapters like I was eating Lays Potato chips (just can’t have one!).
There are a few dark undertones here that I feel the author wanted to bring out to light. Ayoola, the younger sister is (in my opinion) acting out in ways she could not do so when her father was alive. Her father, violently abusive, was allowed to wreck havoc in their lives with no regards. He even set her up to be possibly betrothed at the age of 14! He was brutal and unrelenting. I feel as though Ayoola was coming to grips with her father’s abuse in these murders that she committed of the guys she dated. There was also the undertone of how men, often times fraught with toxic masculinity, can behave in any way and get away with it. “The knife was for her protection. You never knew with men, they wanted what they wanted when they wanted it.” (p. 8) Ayoola was the one who tried to get them before they got her. However, there were a few things working for and against her… she was the favorite daughter, the beautiful one, the spoiled one, the one who got her way always, even if she had to kill for it, and the one everyone believed could do no wrong.
The oldest sister, Korede, is an unfortunate enabler. She loves her sister and has to protect her at all costs no matter the consequences. She feels responsible for her, especially as the oldest sister, she can’t let any harm happen to her sister. Korede may have learned the behavior of enabling through protecting her sister during her father’s raging abuse, and because her mother has told her before, that she’s the oldest sister and needs to protect her sister from danger. However, Korede is OCD, and needs to clean, everything, in order to gain back control/order. Ayoola knows this, and knows that her sister will protect her from anything at any cost, and clean up her messes. The two of them are a messy package to say the least.
The humor is dry in this novel, but it packs quite a punch. You are able to see everything for what it is, there is no hiding. No secrets. It is, what it is. You also kind of sympathize with them as they discuss their father and his horrific behavior. “We didn’t call him Daddy. We never had. He was not a daddy, at least not in the way the word “daddy” denotes. One could hardly consider him a father. He was the law in our home.” (p. 184)
Both sisters have flaws. Both need each other. Both are using the other as a crutch. However, Korede knows this, and wants to rectify this situation, but not sure if she can or should she, given the circumstances as to choosing family over a man’s welfare.
I was very interested in learning how Korede told everything to Muhtar, the comatose patient in room 313. It was funny that he would wake up and remember things that Korede confessed to while he was in a coma. However, the more she talked to him (when he was awake) the more she leaned towards doing the right thing and stopping her enabling. However, when she set fire to his number, it seemed like all of the right way of thinking went out the window, and they were back where they (the two sisters) started.
Enabling is a fierce disease. Something that becomes so engrained that a person feels guilty
for not being there for that person who’s being enabled. As the enabler, you basically are a co-conspirator to whatever they are doing because you are not stopping them even when you know they are wrong. Ayoola knew that Korede would do anything for her. “It’s him or me, Korede.” “Ayoola…” “You can’t sit on the fence forever.” (p. 207)
I’m so glad that I read this book. I kind of wished I had read this before, but seeing that it’s the end of the year, and I needed a light read before the new year, this came at a perfect time. I would rate this book a 5. You can easily read this book in one sitting or a day with no problem, and it will have you entertained with no problems through the whole of it. I can’t wait to read more from this author!
P.S. In the acknowledgment page, she gave kudos to Adeyemi Adebayo! That gave me super good vibes about Braithwaite!
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