Our Sister Killjoy (African Classics)

Rating:
Summary: Whiny and trite...
Review: Aidoo gives new meaning to the term "female whiner". Her brief "novel"(about 132 pages) is a trying exercise in whining about being a woman, and being an African. She may have cause to whine, but please spare us the long poems that break up the text. If I wanted to read poetry, I'd buy a poetry book. I hate it when authors insert poems in midstream. It breaks up the text, and detracts from the action. Anyway, Sissie is a Ghanaian who visits Germany, makes cute with a German woman, and reflects on how bad colonization and Africans can be. Not recommended except for insommiacs.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, complex novel
Review: It took me a while to understand the structure of this book, but after I did, it made the themes and Aidoo's narration that much more powerful. The story is told from a young female student's p.o.v.--Sissie is chosen to "represent" Ghana and travels to Europe. In Germany, she befriends a local woman named Marija. During her travels, she grapples with issues regarding colonialism, race, love and nationality.

The novel jumps between prose and poetry, from unbiased narration to the jumbled thoughts running through Sissie's head. There are little treasures that could go un-noticed: the use of "Sissie" as the name, the plums, the story of Kunle's death. This is a story rich with meaning, and a very quick read. I highly recommend it.