Our Sister Killjoy

Our Sister Killjoy is not autobiographical, but Sissie’s and Ata Ama Aidoo’s lives do have some overlap (See: Background). How do Sissie’s life and experiences reflect those of many young post-colonial women—like Aidoo at the time of writing—more generally?

Compare and contrast Our Sister Killjoy with another text that has similar themes. Some options include Beyond the Horizon by Amma Darko, “The Thing Around Your Neck” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, or The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born by Ayi Kwei Armah. What key themes or ideas do the two texts share? In what ways are they different or similar in their approach?

A lot of elements of Our Sister Killjoy are ambiguous—the length of time she spends in Europe, the order of events, the details of her relationship with the man in the love letter, and so on. How does this ambiguity tie into the novel’s themes?