Interview: Oyinkan Braithwaite

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Following the huge success of her 2018 debut novel, My Sister the Serial Killer, which went on to win multiple literary prizes including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, author Oyinkan Braithwaite has released her sophomore title, Cursed Daughters. The novel officially published on 25^th September, and Oyinkan will be celebrating in south west London at Clapham Book Festival on 11^th October.

The release of one’s novel is always a little nerve-wracking, Oyinkan tells me when we meet on the day before publication. “I’m a little bit scared, but mostly excited. As the days approach I start to think something really bad is going to happen, but we are here now!”

My Sister the Serial Killer fascinated readers, as part crime thriller, part family drama, focusing on the co-dependent and dysfunctional relationship between two sisters living in Lagos – one of whom may have the odd habit of murdering her own boyfriends. Cursed Daughters takes a turn into magical realism, with a plot filled with family curses and reincarnation, yet Oyinkan’s fascination with prickly female characters remains true.

“It’s a story about a family of women living under a curse,” Oyinkan explains. “The curse originated because their ancestor, a woman named Monife, slept with a married man, and his wife was not too pleased. So she probably cursed her and all her daughters and granddaughters and everybody who would come through that line. In the story we’re following three individuals in the family: one of whom is dead at the start of the story, and we know how but not why. Her cousin is doing her best to guarantee a different future for her own daughter, who everybody in the family believes is the reincarnation of Monife.”

“If I was to market it, I would say it’s a bit of a mystery, but it’s also about love, and family, and it’s got some really strong women who are flawed.”

Flawed women populate Oyinkan’s stories in great multitude. “I’m drawn to women who are prickly but also lovely; who love hard and love passionately but don’t necessarily always love correctly.”

“I think we can all engage with, and empathise with, the way that our mothers have given love, for example, and the way we’ve received love, and how we then go on to give love to our daughters – it all gets a bit tangled up.”

The story first came to her a few years ago when she was playing around with the idea of reincarnation and intergenerational trauma. “I think reincarnation can be a metaphor for the expectations people have of you. I was fascinated by the idea of what it would be like to be born, but to already have your life mapped out because everybody thinks you’ve come before and you’re going to repeat all the mistakes you made in your previous life.”

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Like many writers, Oyinkan’s dream of becoming an author began from a young age – and she has the proof to back it up. She recalls a time when she was attending primary school in Southgate and the teachers asked each child what they wanted to be when they grew up, compiling the answers in a little book. Oyinkan still has the book now, and sure enough, she wrote even then that she wanted to be an author.

She made good on the active pursuit of these dreams, studying Creative Writing and Law at Kingston University. “I liked Kingston University, because I had switched universities and found Kingston to be very approachable. I actually once saw a flash mob in the town centre!”

Despite her long-held dreams, the breakout success of My Sister the Serial Killer still came as a shock. “I was feeling very fortunate from the moment I got my agent and deal. I was already dancing on the clouds, but the subsequent success was not something I expected.”

“I almost feel as if a part of me is corrupted now because I don’t have anything to compare it to. It’s an interesting feeling, because you can’t help thinking that, if this the book everybody seems to love, should you just continue in that direction? Or can you do something completely different?”

The nerves are understandable; releasing a story into the world is a deeply personal act. Still, Oyinkan is looking forward to speaking at Clapham Book Festival, and meeting like-minded book lovers to discuss her new novel with.

“I generally like going to book festivals. It’s always great to be surrounded by people who share the same love and passion that I do. It’s a good time; book people are usually very warm and chill. So I’m definitely looking forward to it.”

Clapham Book Festival takes place at Omnibus Theatre on 11 October