Book Review: Sister Snake by Amanda Lee Koe

Imagine you’re a snake. Life is pretty great. You eat when you’re hungry, sleep when you’re tired, and when winter comes around, your bruminate in a cozy hole until things warm back up. But then your beloved sworn sister is like “Wouldn’t it be great if we were humans? We could have opposable thumbs and epic love affairs.” Eight hundred years of meditation later, and now you have to worry about paying the rent and putting up with your sister’s terrible taste in men.

That’s the basic story of Sister Snake by Amanda Lee Koe, but there’s a lot more to it than that.

Emerald and Su got along great when they were snakes. But once they became humans, things fell apart. Su wanted to be a proper and respected lady; Emerald wanted to have a good time. Across several hundred years and a few failed attempts to cohabitate, they’ve drifted apart. Su has amassed a fortune and married a rising star in Singapore’s political scene; Emerald is living in New York and trying to decide if she can make it as a sugar baby.

Major events in each of their lives draw the sisters back into each other’s orbit, and Su invites Emerald to come join her in Singapore. Will this be the time that things finally work out? Will either woman be able to compromise who she is to be able to meet her sister in the middle? Would it be an interesting book if everything went off flawlessly?

Sister Snake is a book about family and what it means to be human, but it’s also a super queer book. Not only is Emerald comfortably bisexual, but many of the side characters are also queer. But not only that, the whole book reads like a metaphor for the trans experience, with Su and Emerald illustrating two different approaches to transition. Su wants to “pass” as human and will do whatever it takes to be the most perfect example of human femininity. Emerald cares more about being herself and finding the people who will accept her for who she is, even if occasionally she’s a little weird.

While the sisters are figuring out their dynamic, Su’s husband Paul, Minister of Education, is dealing with a situation involving a trans girl fighting to be able to wear her school uniform and a feminine hairstyle at school, and this storyline as well as the storyline of Su’s lesbian bodyguard Tik, serves to explore the attitudes towards queer people in Singapore.

I’m glad I didn’t look too much into this book before I read it, because there are some content warnings that would generally put me off of a book. But I genuinely enjoyed reading it, despite my discomfort at the content I try to avoid. It’s messy, complicated, and thought-provoking.

CWs and TWs: Sexual assault. Animal injury and death. Homophobia. Transphobia. Racism. Violence, including gun violence. Abortion.

Source and Format: I borrowed the ebook from Pierce County Library System.

Reading Challenge Prompts

Nook & Cranny (Card 2): Dealing with Family. “Found family” is usually treated like a magical, cozy thing. There is power in choosing who you surround yourself with, after all. But this book is a reminder that even the family we find can find ways to hurt us. Also, I really like using this prompt to explore unusual family configurations. Last year it was two gay men, their fungal Frankensteined daughter, and her cross-dressing governess. This year, it’s sworn snake sisters.

Book Riot: Literary fiction by a BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and/or disabled author. Amanda Lee Koe is a queer Singapore-American author, and this book is categorized as literary fiction.

Reading Challenge Progress

Nook & Cranny (Card 1): 6 of 25, no bingos.

Nook & Cranny (Card 2): 7 of 25, no bingos.

Book Riot: 9 of 25.

Physical TBR: 1 of 12.

Brick & Mortar: 17 of 25, 2 bingos*.
*I’ve completed several of the non-reading prompts, hence the mismatch with the number of reviews!

World of Whimm: 9 of 24, no bingos.