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bluebirdsongs's review
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
octavarium's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
imaima's review
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
wangz's review
dark
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
blessing_aj's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
It’s pretty hard to fully articulate how I really feel I about this book though because it falls within the category of books that takes its time to fully reveal itself, but when I say this has got to be one of the saddest books I have ever read, I mean that there’s literally no sweetness anywhere.
Because I’d already read Night Dancer, I know without a doubt that Chika Unigwe knows how to tell difficult stories with a lot of nuance, but because I have been avoiding reading reviews of this book on purpose, I had no idea this was big on suffering and grief.
I thought the book had more potential than it lived up to. I also thought the book was much better put together in the first half than the second. Also the character development left much to be desired because I felt like we didn’t really know them despite having followed their journey all through the book.
That said, I really loved that she spotlights a lot of social issues concerning women’s bodies and poverty without interfering with the reader’s freedom to pass judgment how they deem fit.
Because I’d already read Night Dancer, I know without a doubt that Chika Unigwe knows how to tell difficult stories with a lot of nuance, but because I have been avoiding reading reviews of this book on purpose, I had no idea this was big on suffering and grief.
I thought the book had more potential than it lived up to. I also thought the book was much better put together in the first half than the second. Also the character development left much to be desired because I felt like we didn’t really know them despite having followed their journey all through the book.
That said, I really loved that she spotlights a lot of social issues concerning women’s bodies and poverty without interfering with the reader’s freedom to pass judgment how they deem fit.
andrew61's review against another edition
5.0
I am going to find it very hard to review this book as a man ,I found it a very distressing read in parts but also very moving. It is the story of 4 women who for various reasons end going from Lagos to Nigeria as prostitutes, unable to escape from their lives there because a debt they then owe to the gang leader and fear of violence. After the death of one of them (revealed in blurb at back) the three remaining women tell their individual stories interspersed with chapters telling the story of the victim. At the end the three are no longer the anonymous sex objects in an Antwerp brothel windows but human beings whose stories are heartbreaking, and the appalling acts inflicted on them individually are very hard to read but giving an important voice to their anonymity. A brilliant book but a tough read.
anetq's review against another edition
4.0
The story of 4 women and how they came to end up as sex workers in Antwerpen, for most of them because it sadly seemed like the least bad option. A way out of poverty and powerlessness. It is very well told and it is also a book about life, love and the choices we make, and those others make on behalf of women.
I don't know if the joy and dreamy optimism of these women are actually worse, when you read this, than the harsh realities of their pasts and their present? I'll start with 4 stars but may upgrade to 5...
I don't know if the joy and dreamy optimism of these women are actually worse, when you read this, than the harsh realities of their pasts and their present? I'll start with 4 stars but may upgrade to 5...
sumayyah_t's review against another edition
4.0
"On Black Sisters Street" is the story of 4 African female sex workers living and working together in Antwerp. When one of the women is murdered, the others finally open up about themselves and their pasts as their attempt to solve the mystery of the slain woman's last day. Slightly hard to follow as it moves back and forth through time and jumps from woman to woman, "On Black Sisters Street" is a window into the lives that most of us will never experience or understand.
souheila's review against another edition
4.0
"You might not have asked for this, but this is what you got. That’s life. We don’t always get what we bloody order."
reading this book wasn't easy at all , in fact we shouldn't even be looking for easy reads when things are really messed up in this world.
____________________
althought this wasn't the first time i read about prostitution and unlike the other books i read, this book left me with confusion and many unanswered questions, is prostitution really that easy to get into? is there an escape from it? or are they bound to do it their whole life?.
Sisi, Joyce, Ama and Efe, 4 Nigerian girls, were forced to leave their homeland desperately looking for a better life in Belgium , each of the girls had her own story and dreams which lead them to meet Dele the one who got them into prostitution and who's not intending on letting them get out of it.
as one of the girls gets killed the remaining 3 start revealing their real stories and past and how life threw them into the red light district of Antwerp, their stories really touched me especially Joyce's since it is a depiction of what is happening in Sudan rn. what added to my sadness is the fact that the story is based upon real Nigerian women living through this hell.
the end of the book however, wasn't satisfactory for me it was so sudden that i got real angry , i couldn't find any justification for that cliffhanger,like why was Sisi's death so fast and at that exact moment! didn't she deserve to live? was it prostitution or death? or wasn't there any other choice or alternate life for her?
4/5⭐
reading this book wasn't easy at all , in fact we shouldn't even be looking for easy reads when things are really messed up in this world.
____________________
althought this wasn't the first time i read about prostitution and unlike the other books i read, this book left me with confusion and many unanswered questions, is prostitution really that easy to get into? is there an escape from it? or are they bound to do it their whole life?.
Sisi, Joyce, Ama and Efe, 4 Nigerian girls, were forced to leave their homeland desperately looking for a better life in Belgium , each of the girls had her own story and dreams which lead them to meet Dele the one who got them into prostitution and who's not intending on letting them get out of it.
as one of the girls gets killed the remaining 3 start revealing their real stories and past and how life threw them into the red light district of Antwerp, their stories really touched me especially Joyce's since it is a depiction of what is happening in Sudan rn. what added to my sadness is the fact that the story is based upon real Nigerian women living through this hell.
the end of the book however, wasn't satisfactory for me it was so sudden that i got real angry , i couldn't find any justification for that cliffhanger,like why was Sisi's death so fast and at that exact moment! didn't she deserve to live? was it prostitution or death? or wasn't there any other choice or alternate life for her?
4/5⭐