![]() ![]() ![]() The flatness in the character inevitably seeps into the plotline which becomes increasingly unbelievable and frustrating, particularly in Ayoola’s main character trait - her beauty - causing every single character around her to act in increasingly outrages ways. ![]() Yet, as Ayoola functions within these archetypes, she fails to evolve beyond them and introduce a new twist to the genre. Korede and Ayoola are a manifestation of the virgin-whore dichotomy often present in the noir genre, and Braithwaite plays with this dichotomy to reveal society’s ugly obsession with beauty, light skin, and privilege. While Braithwaite masterfully crafts relatable prose, her insistence on sticking to the conventions of the femme fatale trope at times detracts, rather than adds, from the satire in her novel. This is further underscored by the short-length of each chapter - each managing to pack a punch while understanding how younger readers consume media. These references develop organically throughout the novel often in a humorous manner, allowing Korede’s narrative to read more like a chat between friends than a lifeless imitation of it based off a Google search on millennial trends. Braithwaite’s references to Bratz, the Joker, or Snapchat manage to accomplish what many authors today try, but ultimately fail to do: relate to today’s youth. In another passage, Korede sarcastically notes that she “would be more at ease if the Joker were to smile at me” as she attempts to avoid the feigned smile of a nosy colleague. Korede claims “the resemblance is there-we share the same mouth, the same eyes-but Ayoola resembles a Bratz doll and I resemble a voodoo figurine” to describe the juxtaposition between Ayoola and herself - a distinction that would be clear to any reader who grew up with the famous doll collection. The highlight of the novel is truly Korede’s interior monologue - an expert combination of contemporary references and wit which Braithwaite effectively utilizes to create a connection between the reader and Korede. The frustrations caused by Braithwaite’s adherence to noir stereotypes are mildly alleviated by the novel’s surprise ending, which helps elucidate the complex relationship between Ayoola and Korede and distracts from some of the novel’s flat characterization of its protagonists. Korede’s clever commentary introduces an interesting twist on the predictable and often sexist femme fatale trope, but remains restricted by the conventions of the genre it attempts to parody as Korede attempts to protect her work-crush Tade from Ayoola. Set in Lagos, Nigeria, Oyinkan Braithwaite’s debut novel, “My Sister, The Serial Killer” tells the story of beautiful serial killer Ayoola through the eyes of her protective older sister Korede as she struggles to keep her sister’s murderous habit in check. “She acted as any reasonable, gorgeous person would under the circumstances,” is just one of the many justifications that could be used to defend breathtaking Ayoola’s bad habit of taking her boyfriends’ breaths away - literally. ![]()
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