On Black Sisters' Street
‘On Black Sisters Street’ tells the haunting story of four very different women who have left their African homeland for the riches of Europe - and who are thrown together by bad luck and big dreams into a sisterhood that will change their lives.
Each night, Sisi, Ama, Efe, and Joyce stand in the windows of Antwerp’s red-light district, promising to make men’s desires come true - if only for half an hour. They offer their bodies to strangers but their hearts to no one, each focused on earning enough to get herself free, to send money home, or to save up for her own future. Drawn together by Sisi’s murder, the women must choose between their secrets and their safety.
A pleasure to read: lively and engaging, fast-paced, lucidly structured and colourful.Times Literary Supplement
Chika Unigwe delves into the psychology of each woman, exploring the many factors that lead African women into prostitution in Europe. With a lot of detail and a sly, generous humor, the author conveys both what is miraculous about the West to foreign eyes and what is awful.
Chika Unigwe is a standout voice among contemporary African authors. For ‘On Black Sisters Street’ she received Africa’s largest literary prize: the Nigeria Prize for Literature.
The small pleasures the women indulge in to steel themselves against the indignity of their lives are exquisitely observed and heartbreaking.The Guardian
This powerful book will leave you hauntedAli Smith
