On Black Sisters' Street by Chika Unigwe - Revision history

Sue at 11:59, 30 August 2020

2020-08-30T11:59:12Z

Sue at 12:35, 18 March 2018

2018-03-18T12:35:05Z

Sue at 15:56, 2 January 2015

2015-01-02T15:56:26Z

Keith: 1 revision

2009-10-24T17:43:19Z

1 revision

Sue at 12:29, 15 July 2009

2009-07-15T12:29:46Z

New review

{{infobox
|title= On Black Sisters' Street
|author= Chika Unigwe
|reviewer= Ruth Price
|genre=General Fiction
|summary= In Antwerp, three African sex workers mourn the death of sister prostitute, Sisi. Through intertwined stories, we learn how each woman's choices and circumstances led her to Belgium. This is an intriguing page-turner of a debut novel by a vivid storyteller – an easy read on a difficult subject.
|rating=4.5
|buy= Yes
|borrow= Yes
|format= Paperback
|pages=304
|publisher= Jonathan Cape
|date= July 2009
|isbn=978-0224085304
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0224085301</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>0224085301</amazonus>
}}

Sisi, Ama, Efe and Joyce are prostitutes, working in Antwerp's red-light district. They arrived in Belgium through the auspices of Dele, a grasping, ''talent-spotting'' Lagos pimp, who arranges illegal entry into Europe for young women in return for a large percentage of their earnings for many years.

Chika Unigwe's debut novel opens with three of the women preparing for a night touting their wares in the display windows of Antwerp. Their roommate and sister prostitute, Sisi, is missing, and we shortly learn that she has been found murdered. The rest of the novel comprises Sisi's history and experiences immediately prior to her death, interspersed with Ama, Efe and Joyce's stories of the lives that led them to their current situation. On Black Sisters' Street reads like a collection of short stories, with Unigwe giving each woman a living, breathing, believable character and a page-turning tale.

While researching her novel, Unigwe interviewed Antwerp's sex workers and her diligence has paid off in all the details she is able to provide. For example, many of Belgium's African prostitutes are university graduates – Sisi's frustration at finding a decent job after graduation is what eventually leads her to sell her body in Europe. While the women in this novel are undoubtedly exploited, for the most part, they have made a willing choice to continue with this life, as a means to a better future. Efe is a single mother, and her earnings support her child back home; Ama was abused as a child and will do what she must to gain financial independence; Joyce dreams of setting up a school back home in Nigeria.

Sisi's death reminds us of the risks they take in their twilight world with its pimps, madams and bribery, yet this is not a novel without hope. Instead, the reader is left with the impression of capable, intelligent, ambitious women. Their humanity shines through as they tap their windows, squashed into tacky outfits, vying for custom that will give them their chance for a better life.

Thanks to the nice people at Jonathan Cape for sending On Black Sisters' Street to Bookbag. Unigwe has considerable talent at bringing characters to life and has given us a glimpse into a hidden world. It was a pleasure to read Unigwe's fresh and distinctive voice.

For further reading, [[The Blue Notebook by James A Levine]] is the harrowing story of a 15-year-old prostitute on Mumbai's notorious Street of Cages and makes a fascinating contrast to On Black Sisters' Street.

{{amazontext|amazon=0224085301}} {{waterstonestext|waterstones=6502021}}

{{commenthead}}
[[Category:Women's Fiction]]

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 Thanks to the nice people at Jonathan Cape for sending On Black Sisters' Street to Bookbag. Unigwe has considerable talent at bringing characters to life and has given us a glimpse into a hidden world. It was a pleasure to read Unigwe's fresh and distinctive voice.
-For further reading, [[The Blue Notebook by James A Levine]] is the harrowing story of a 15-year-old prostitute on Mumbai's notorious Street of Cages and makes a fascinating contrast to On Black Sisters' Street.
+For further reading, [[The Blue Notebook by James A Levine]] is the harrowing story of a 15-year-old prostitute on Mumbai's notorious Street of Cages and makes a fascinating contrast to On Black Sisters' Street.  You might appreciate [[Thirty Days by Annelies Verbeke]] but we had our reservations.
 {{amazontext|amazon=0224085301}}

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{infobox
+{{infobox1
 |title= On Black Sisters' Street
 |author= Chika Unigwe
@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 |date= July 2009
 |isbn=978-0224085304
-|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0224085301</amazonuk>
+|cover=0224085301
-|amazonus=<amazonus>0224085301</amazonus>
+|aznuk=0224085301
 }}

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 |buy= Yes
 |borrow= Yes
 |pages=304
 |publisher= Jonathan Cape
@@ Line 29: / Line 28: @@
 For further reading, [[The Blue Notebook by James A Levine]] is the harrowing story of a 15-year-old prostitute on Mumbai's notorious Street of Cages and makes a fascinating contrast to On Black Sisters' Street.
 {{amazontext|amazon=0224085301}}
-{{amazontext|amazon=0224085301}} {{waterstonestext|waterstones=6502021}}
+{{amazonUStext|amazon=0224085301}}
 {{commenthead}}
 [[Category:Women's Fiction]]

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