Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi
Jun. 18th, 2014 11:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
BOY Novak turns twenty and decides to try for a brand new life. Flax Hill, Massachusetts isn’t exactly a welcoming town, but it does have the virtue of being the last stop on the bus route she took from New York. Flax Hill is also the hometown of Arturo Whitman – craftsman, widower, and father of Snow.
SNOW is mild-mannered, radiant and deeply cherished – exactly the sort of little girl Boy never was, and Boy is utterly beguiled by her. If Snow displays a certain inscrutability at times, that’s simply a characteristic she shares with her father, harmless until Boy gives birth to Snow’s sister, Bird.
When BIRD is born Boy is forced to re-evaluate the image Arturo’s family have presented to her, and Boy, Snow and Bird are broken apart.
It’s 1952. 20-year-old Boy Novak lives with her abusive rat-catcher father in New York, but when his abuse finally goes too far, she steals some of his money and decides to run away. She ends up in Flax Hill, Massachusetts, an arts and crafts town where everyone makes something and where Boy sticks out by not having any real skills. She becomes friends with Mia, an aspiring journalist and meets Arturo Whitman, a former history professor who became a jeweller after his wife died, shortly after the birth of his daughter, Snow.
At first Boy and Snow get along fine – if anything, Boy is beguiled by her step-daughter and is amazed at how Arturo’s family cherish her. But everything changes when Boy gives birth to Bird, and discovers that Arturo and his parents have been keeping secrets that will tear their family apart …
Helen Oyeyemi’s fifth novel riffs on the traditional fairy tale subject of evil stepmothers in a story of deception, appearances and racism that comes with a hint of magical realism. It’s a beautifully written book spanning two time periods (1952 and 1965) with the narration split between Snow and Bird, who are each given pitch perfect voices that set out their views on the complicated relationships within their family and slowly unveil the secrets kept within it. The problem is that no real drama comes out of these revelations either because characters fail/refuse to directly address it or because it’s dealt with off-page. This is particularly disappointing in the case of the last big reveal, which should have huge ramifications and really deserves a big finale but which instead leads to a low-key resolution with the real action happening after the book ends. It’s a shame because I loved the way Oyeyemi plays with the theme of appearances in this book and the magical realist elements (involving mirrors) really feed into it, as does the subtle way she incorporates the well-worn path of racism at this time in US history. Ultimately, had there been more of a pay-off to the book’s events then, I’d have found this a more satisfying read than I did. That said, the quality of the writing and the way Oyeyemi composes her images means that I can see why she was selected as a Granta Best British novelist and I will definitely check out her other novels.
The Verdict:
Helen Oyeyemi’s fifth novel riffs on the traditional fairy tale subject of evil stepmothers in a story of deception, appearances and racism that comes with a hint of magical realism. It’s a beautifully written book spanning two time periods (1952 and 1965) with the narration split between Snow and Bird, who are each given pitch perfect voices that set out their views on the complicated relationships within their family and slowly unveil the secrets kept within it. The problem is that no real drama comes out of these revelations either because characters fail/refuse to directly address it or because it’s dealt with off-page. This is particularly disappointing in the case of the last big reveal, which should have huge ramifications and really deserves a big finale but which instead leads to a low-key resolution with the real action happening after the book ends. It’s a shame because I loved the way Oyeyemi plays with the theme of appearances in this book and the magical realist elements (involving mirrors) really feed into it, as does the subtle way she incorporates the well-worn path of racism at this time in US history. Ultimately, had there been more of a pay-off to the book’s events then, I’d have found this a more satisfying read than I did. That said, the quality of the writing and the way Oyeyemi composes her images means that I can see why she was selected as a Granta Best British novelist and I will definitely check out her other novels.
BOY, SNOW, BIRD was released in the United Kingdom on 27th February 2014. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC of this book.
BOY Novak turns twenty and decides to try for a brand new life. Flax Hill, Massachusetts isn’t exactly a welcoming town, but it does have the virtue of being the last stop on the bus route she took from New York. Flax Hill is also the hometown of Arturo Whitman – craftsman, widower, and father of Snow.
SNOW is mild-mannered, radiant and deeply cherished – exactly the sort of little girl Boy never was, and Boy is utterly beguiled by her. If Snow displays a certain inscrutability at times, that’s simply a characteristic she shares with her father, harmless until Boy gives birth to Snow’s sister, Bird.
When BIRD is born Boy is forced to re-evaluate the image Arturo’s family have presented to her, and Boy, Snow and Bird are broken apart.
It’s 1952. 20-year-old Boy Novak lives with her abusive rat-catcher father in New York, but when his abuse finally goes too far, she steals some of his money and decides to run away. She ends up in Flax Hill, Massachusetts, an arts and crafts town where everyone makes something and where Boy sticks out by not having any real skills. She becomes friends with Mia, an aspiring journalist and meets Arturo Whitman, a former history professor who became a jeweller after his wife died, shortly after the birth of his daughter, Snow.
At first Boy and Snow get along fine – if anything, Boy is beguiled by her step-daughter and is amazed at how Arturo’s family cherish her. But everything changes when Boy gives birth to Bird, and discovers that Arturo and his parents have been keeping secrets that will tear their family apart …
Helen Oyeyemi’s fifth novel riffs on the traditional fairy tale subject of evil stepmothers in a story of deception, appearances and racism that comes with a hint of magical realism. It’s a beautifully written book spanning two time periods (1952 and 1965) with the narration split between Snow and Bird, who are each given pitch perfect voices that set out their views on the complicated relationships within their family and slowly unveil the secrets kept within it. The problem is that no real drama comes out of these revelations either because characters fail/refuse to directly address it or because it’s dealt with off-page. This is particularly disappointing in the case of the last big reveal, which should have huge ramifications and really deserves a big finale but which instead leads to a low-key resolution with the real action happening after the book ends. It’s a shame because I loved the way Oyeyemi plays with the theme of appearances in this book and the magical realist elements (involving mirrors) really feed into it, as does the subtle way she incorporates the well-worn path of racism at this time in US history. Ultimately, had there been more of a pay-off to the book’s events then, I’d have found this a more satisfying read than I did. That said, the quality of the writing and the way Oyeyemi composes her images means that I can see why she was selected as a Granta Best British novelist and I will definitely check out her other novels.
The Verdict:
Helen Oyeyemi’s fifth novel riffs on the traditional fairy tale subject of evil stepmothers in a story of deception, appearances and racism that comes with a hint of magical realism. It’s a beautifully written book spanning two time periods (1952 and 1965) with the narration split between Snow and Bird, who are each given pitch perfect voices that set out their views on the complicated relationships within their family and slowly unveil the secrets kept within it. The problem is that no real drama comes out of these revelations either because characters fail/refuse to directly address it or because it’s dealt with off-page. This is particularly disappointing in the case of the last big reveal, which should have huge ramifications and really deserves a big finale but which instead leads to a low-key resolution with the real action happening after the book ends. It’s a shame because I loved the way Oyeyemi plays with the theme of appearances in this book and the magical realist elements (involving mirrors) really feed into it, as does the subtle way she incorporates the well-worn path of racism at this time in US history. Ultimately, had there been more of a pay-off to the book’s events then, I’d have found this a more satisfying read than I did. That said, the quality of the writing and the way Oyeyemi composes her images means that I can see why she was selected as a Granta Best British novelist and I will definitely check out her other novels.
BOY, SNOW, BIRD was released in the United Kingdom on 27th February 2014. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC of this book.
