Juno Reads THURSDAY 22nd MAY: Our Sister Killjoy by Ama Ata Aidoo
'Ver do you come from?' she asked Sissie. 'Ghana.' 'Is that near Canada?'
Sissie is leaving Ghana for the first time. Arriving in Europe on a scholarship to experience the glories of a Western education, she plunges into this new continent's heart of whiteness, observing the strange customs of the natives.
Drinking cocktails at the German Embassy, she cringes at her countrymen.
In a Bavarian castle, she is seduced by the lonely mother of Little Adolf.
In freezing London, she witnesses 'been-tos' sharing myths of an overseas idyll.
In between continents, she writes a letter on the plane to her exiled former lover.
But it is not sent. She will tell these tales back at home.
Ama Ata Aidoo's landmark debut Our Sister Killjoy exploded into the world in 1977. With its blistering feminist satire of the West African diaspora, colonial legacies and toxic racism, expressed in a radical literary form - prose poetry, letter, manifesto - its provocative impact remains unmatched half a century on.
'Ver do you come from?' she asked Sissie. 'Ghana.' 'Is that near Canada?'
Sissie is leaving Ghana for the first time. Arriving in Europe on a scholarship to experience the glories of a Western education, she plunges into this new continent's heart of whiteness, observing the strange customs of the natives.
Drinking cocktails at the German Embassy, she cringes at her countrymen.
In a Bavarian castle, she is seduced by the lonely mother of Little Adolf.
In freezing London, she witnesses 'been-tos' sharing myths of an overseas idyll.
In between continents, she writes a letter on the plane to her exiled former lover.
But it is not sent. She will tell these tales back at home.
Ama Ata Aidoo's landmark debut Our Sister Killjoy exploded into the world in 1977. With its blistering feminist satire of the West African diaspora, colonial legacies and toxic racism, expressed in a radical literary form - prose poetry, letter, manifesto - its provocative impact remains unmatched half a century on.
'Ver do you come from?' she asked Sissie. 'Ghana.' 'Is that near Canada?'
Sissie is leaving Ghana for the first time. Arriving in Europe on a scholarship to experience the glories of a Western education, she plunges into this new continent's heart of whiteness, observing the strange customs of the natives.
Drinking cocktails at the German Embassy, she cringes at her countrymen.
In a Bavarian castle, she is seduced by the lonely mother of Little Adolf.
In freezing London, she witnesses 'been-tos' sharing myths of an overseas idyll.
In between continents, she writes a letter on the plane to her exiled former lover.
But it is not sent. She will tell these tales back at home.
Ama Ata Aidoo's landmark debut Our Sister Killjoy exploded into the world in 1977. With its blistering feminist satire of the West African diaspora, colonial legacies and toxic racism, expressed in a radical literary form - prose poetry, letter, manifesto - its provocative impact remains unmatched half a century on.
JUNO READS is IRL on Thursday 22nd May from 7:30 to 9pm, at HAGGLERS CORNER CAFE. Feel free to arrive from 7:15 to order drinks before we begin.
Your ticket includes:
A copy of Our Sister Killjoy by Ama Ata Aidoo
Access to the IRL group on Thursday 22nd May
A little treat from us to say thank you
Your ticket does NOT include:
Postage. You need to collect the book from Juno Books, 24 Chapel Walk, Sheffield S1 2PD. You can also pay extra for postage. Multiple book orders will be posted at the same time so you only need to pay postage once.
