"A tasty amuse-bouche" - review of THE BABY IS MINE

THE BABY IS MINE by Oyinkan Braithwaite (Atlantic Press, 2021)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

When his girlfriend throws him out during the pandemic, Bambi has to go to his Uncle's house in lock-down Lagos. He arrives during a blackout, and is surprised to find his Aunty Bidemi sitting in a candlelit room with another woman. They both claim to be the mother of the baby boy, fast asleep in his crib.

At night Bambi is kept awake by the baby's cries, and during the days he is disturbed by a cockerel that stalks the garden. There is sand in the rice. A blood stain appears on the wall. Someone scores tribal markings into the baby's cheeks. Who is lying and who is telling the truth?

Readers around the world have been looking forward to another novel from Nigerian star Oyinkan Braithwaite since her superb My Sister, the Serial Killer debuted to global acclaim pre-pandemic. That darkly funny slice of Lagos domestic noir was shortlisted for the 2019 Women’s Prize and longlisted for the Booker Prize, among other accolades.

The wait is nearly over, as next month Braithwaite’s second novel, Cursed Daughters, will be released. In the meantime however, readers can enjoy this fascinating novella. Set during the pandemic, it sees our protagonist Bambi kicked out of his girlfriend’s house. With Lagos in a blackout as well as lockdown, and with nowhere to go, he drives across the city to his late uncle’s house, only to be surprised by his Aunty Bidemi, and his uncle’s mistress, Esohe. And a baby.

Already under pressure, longtime playboy Bambi finds himself in a surreal world of bottle feeding, dirty nappies, and two women who both claim to be the baby’s mother. A stray cockerel stalks the garden. Someone puts sand in the rice. His aunty has to scrub blood stains off a wall. The baby’s cheeks are scratched with tribal markings. Who can Bambi believe – his grieving aunty, or Esohe, who had once shared Bambi’s bed too?

Braithwaite crafts a fast-flowing read full of darkness and humour. Aptly touted as a ‘blackly funny piece of Lagos gothic’, The Baby Is Mine is a lovely wee gift from a talented storyteller; a tasty amuse-bouche between the fuller courses of her novels..

[This review was first published in the August 2025 issue of Good Reading magazine in Australia]

Craig Sisterson is a lawyer turned writer, editor, podcast host, awards judge, and event chair. He's the founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards, co-founder of Rotorua Noir, author of Macavity and HRF Keating Award-shortlisted non-fiction work SOUTHERN CROSS CRIME, editor of the DARK DEEDS DOWN UNDER anthology series, and writes about books for magazines and newspapers in several countries.