Lead Review (Our Sister Killjoy)

3.75*

This novel was first published in the 1970s and tells the story of Sissie, who was enabled by the German Embassy in Ghana to travel and explore the wonders of Europe.

The story is set against Ghana of the 1960s/70s, a politically difficult country when many dissenters, students and intellectuals left.

The novel is written in a very mixed style, the four sections are set out like a play, with elements of poetry and fiction included. Sissie arrives in Germany, moves to Bavaria and is confronted with the fact white people see her differently, which, in turn, then leads her to examine her feelings about them. She hears herself being referred to as the black girl – das schwartze Mädchen (there shouldn’t be a ‘t’ in schwarz, but there you go). There is an awareness of colonial history in the mix, moving through new lands, as she examines her responses to various experiences.

This has been a very popular read in Ghana and is an interesting and unusual construct, written in an engaging style.