My Sister, the Serial Killer

The incredible physical beauty of Korede’s sister, and the effect it has both on their core relationship and on the people in their lives, is one of the central themes examined in My Sister, The Serial Killer. Commenting on her sister’s appearance, Korede says, “I can’t pinpoint the exact moment I realized that Ayoola was beautiful and I was … not” (54). Korede perceives Ayoola as gorgeous, and herself as not attractive, and she has felt this way her whole life. In Chapter 44, Korede recalls that the first time she saw her sister she thought Ayoola was a doll because she was so beautiful. As an adult, Ayoola “walks in, and every head turns her way and stays there […] She looks as though she has brought the sunshine in with her” (51). Ayoola has light skin, sitting “comfortably between cream and caramel” and atypical features for the region (64). In contrast, when the boys at school used to draw Korede’s likeness, “it was with lips that could belong to a gorilla and eyes that seemed to push every other feature out of the way” (55).

Because of a natural human reliance on the visual, those who are physically attractive are often ascribed characteristics that go beyond their arresting looks.