Review: Evening Primrose by Kopano Matlwa

The Blurb

With urgency and tenderness Evening Primrose explores issues of race, gender and the medical profession through the eyes of a junior doctor.

When Masechaba finally achieves her childhood dream of becoming a doctor, her ambition is tested as she faces the stark reality of South Africa's public healthcare system.

As she leaves her deeply religious mother and makes friends with the politically-minded Nyasha, Masechaba's eyes are opened to the rising xenophobic tension that carries echoes of apartheid.

Battling her inner demons, she must decide if she should take a stand to help her best friend, even it comes at a high personal cost. 

My review

Despite the brightness of the cover and thinness of the book, this was a very heavy read. From the heroine suffering from an embarrassing potentially debilitating condition when she was younger, losing someone she cared about, and joining a profession that attempted to break her down even though she’d wanted it since childhood.

The experience she went through in her attempt to stand up for what she thought was right was heart wrenching. And yet like so many things in life once a person has suffered through the torment and gotten through to the other side, everything worked out.

I found this to be a difficult read because it was sad throughout. The heroine lived a privileged yet challenging life that was well portrayed by the author.

I give this book five out of five stethoscope shaped chocolate bars.

I purchased my copy from the Ghana Must Read Book Club. It is available on Amazon and other retailers.

Review: My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

The Blurb

Satire meets slasher in this short, darkly funny hand grenade of a novel about a Nigerian woman whose younger sister has a very inconvenient habit of killing her boyfriends.

"Femi makes three, you know. Three and they label you a serial killer."

Korede is bitter. How could she not be? Her sister, Ayoola, is many things: the favorite child, the beautiful one, possibly sociopathic. And now Ayoola's third boyfriend in a row is dead. Korede's practicality is the sisters' saving grace. She knows the best solutions for cleaning blood, the trunk of her car is big enough for a body, and she keeps Ayoola from posting pictures of her dinner to Instagram when she should be mourning her "missing" boyfriend. Not that she gets any credit.

A kind, handsome doctor at the hospital where Korede works, is the bright spot in her life. She dreams of the day when he will realize they're perfect for each other. But one day Ayoola shows up to the hospital uninvited and he takes notice. When he asks Korede for Ayoola's phone number, she must reckon with what her sister has become and what she will do about it.

Sharp as nails and full of deadpan wit, Oyinkan Braithwaite has written a deliciously deadly debut that's as fun as it is frightening. 

My review

This is not the type of book I normally read, but I really liked it. The story was well written, jumping from scene to scene, but not in a way that left me frustrated at not being able to read a straight story. Instead the shifts in scenes intrigued me. The book was a page turner and I read it very quickly. 

I appreciated Korede’s resolve to stand by her sister, yet at the same time I didn’t like that she’d done it until another character brought up a striking point that had me looking at the situation from a different perspective. 

I, unlike everyone else in the book, did not like Ayoode (the serial killer). The fact that she had killed didn’t completely contribute to my dislike. When I opened the book I knew that Korede’s sister was psychologically unstable (hence the killings) and this was brought out insidiously throughout the book. Explained to the reader through vividly described scenes. Brilliant. I still didn’t like her. She possessed a selfishness that I detested and didn’t treat the one person she should’ve cared for most well at all.

The fact that the story took place in Nigeria was dispersed throughout the book through use of language clothes, food and gestures. It was great.

I give this book four out of five knife shaped chocolate bars.

I purchased my copy from the Ghana Must Read Book Club.