Reviews

Our Sister Killjoy by Ama Ata Aidoo

paulette1133's review

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

africanbookaddict's review against another edition

5.0

One of the best books I’ve read this year. ‘Our Sister Killjoy’ has managed to fill the void I’ve been battling/constantly grappling with, wrt my conflicting feelings on ‘Afropolitanism’, 1st gen Americans, living abroad, assimilation, ‘the real African’, moving back to the continent & the ‘savior’ mentality the ‘been-tos’ bring, feminism, loneliness.
A LOT is explored in this short book and its fucking golden. I wish I read this earlier in my life.
I don’t know if I can even write a full review on this book, but once I let it marinate in my mind and heart, I surely will.

louka01's review

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

thepoisonwoodreader's review

challenging reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

romeri's review

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Really good prose and poetry—a fusion of the two forms that was bold for its time and still bold now. 
As much as I (an Asian from a post-colonial society) resonate with Aidoo’s critiques on Africans who left Africa, and her seeing this almost as their betrayals, I can’t help but think that we have to stop pointing fingers at people, and start pointing fingers at systems. Aidoo made some really strong points regarding the colonisation of the mind, and I wish she approached this in a way more understanding and less bashing. We tend to blame the colonised since we don’t think the coloniser is capable of change, but blaming individuals for their private life decisions is really hardly taking us anywhere. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape

zedohee's review against another edition

challenging funny informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I was groping for a way to tell him what was in my mind. Of life being relevantly lived. Of the intangible realities. Such stuff.”

Indeed. 

Power 2 the Killjoys now and forever. 

bluestarfish's review against another edition

4.0

Sissie, the student protagonist of this prose-poetry novel(la), is a Ghanian exploring Germany, England and Europe on a sponsored visit and her experiences as a traveller in the "civilised world" of colonisers of the African continent. Ama Ata Aidoo explores Europe as a place of exile for Sissie, somewhere to report back from, somewhere that isn't the idealised place "West" that is held up/onto by many back home. This was published in 1977 although written years earlier.

ffn's review

informative reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

2.0

very boring, barely understood anything going on. i get how it discusses race as a theme but i couldn’t understand any of the points. the poems here and there were random and a bit hard to understand. 

irmakkilinc's review against another edition

4.0

3.5 stars.

wamboikay's review against another edition

5.0

This book helped me look deeper into myself as an African having recently relocated to Europe. I’m definitely donating my copy to my local library!

‘Oh Africa. Crazy old continent...’ -I couldn’t agree more!