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Loading... The Icarus girl (edition 2005)by Helen Oyeyemi
Work InformationThe Icarus Girl by Helen Oyeyemi
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Odd story. The writing was good but I didn't care for the characters. ( ) Truly creepy and definitely not something I’ve read before. I was very interested in the glimpses of Yoruban Nigerian culture and system of beliefs. Jessamy’s point of view was compelling, and my feelings toward her went from tender to traumatized to terrified and back again. Though I found the narrative oddly meandering and episodic and the ending abrupt and unsatisfying, I would still recommend this for its utterly believable child’s narrative voice and its utterly believable horror. I seem to have gone in reverse order, reading Oyeyemi’s latest book first, and reading her first novel second, but at least I was a bit more prepared for the oddness of her narratives this time around. Once again, her chosen protagonist is a young, troubled girl, but the supernatural elements of the story played a more central role in exploring the themes around psychology and childhood behaviour. It is unclear whether Jessamy is truly schizophrenic (I don’t think so), or whether her demons are a part of the outside world and have latched on to her since she is the only person who can see them. Her story starts out simply enough, with a trip to Nigeria to visit her mother’s extended family, but Jessamy develops a friendship with a girl who it seems pretty clear to readers is not of this world. I’m no expert on African mythology, but the idea of deceased family members (especially twins) coming back as ghostly beings of varying power is common to most mythos and it was immediately clear that Titiola was some sort of familiar spirit who had latched on to Jessamy. At the beginning of the story she seems friendly enough, but Jess is an isolated child at this point, and once she begins to stand up for herself against the schoolyard bully, get counselling for her behavioural problems, and makes a real friend the behavior of Titiola becomes increasingly unpredictable and selfish. The climax of the story comes in waves of sorts, as Jessamy realizes that Titiola is not looking out for her best interests and is uncontrollable, but Oyeyemi leaves readers on the edge of their seats as the story ends with Jess gathering her psychological strength to face her rival in the midst of a coma but not revealing the outcome. In some ways I’m annoyed by this ending, but it leaves me in mind of the often unrealized finales of most fairytales whose conclusions have been lost to time, so ultimately I’m left rather enjoying this tale.
''The Icarus Girl'' explores the melding of cultures and the dream time of childhood, as well as the power of ancient lore to tint the everyday experiences of a susceptible little girl's seemingly protected life. Deserving of all its praise, this is a masterly first novel -- and a nightmarish story that will haunt Oyeyemi's readers for months to come. As Tilly's visits become more insinuating and her pranks more threatening, the mystery and suspense of the story grow. But as Oyeyemi toys with our perceptions, she also strains credulity and ''The Icarus Girl" gets a bit far-fetched and tedious after a while. It's a beautifully written and hauntingly memorable debut novel that gets mired in mysticism. When older writers create child narrators, they often either romanticize childhood as a time when everything seemed possible, or cast it in an obscuring shadow -- "kids can be so cruel to each other" -- from the safety of middle age. But Oyemi writes about childhood as if she were not inventing but truly remembering it, not through the distancing lens of time, but as scary and magical as it really was. How does Oyeyemi the wunderkind measure up to Oyeyemi the novelist? The answer is fitfully and somewhat frustratingly, in a book where potential is more in evidence than execution and where interesting themes never quite overcome rough, awkward prose. It turns out that she herself is the heroine of an unalterable hurt narrative, her tale of herself and her imaginary friend, which twists into a new version of the doppelgänger myth, the myth of the fetch, the fateful twin. It's a story with an eye for the baroque state that childhood can be and on the damage that cultural fracture inflicts on everybody, no matter how young or old. AwardsNotable Lists
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Literature.
HTML: Jessamy Harrison is eight years old. Sensitive, whimsical, possessed of a powerful imagination, she spends hours writing, reading or simply hiding in the dark warmth of the airing cupboard. As the half-and-half child of an English father and a Nigerian mother, Jess just can't shake off the feeling of being alone wherever she goes, and other kids are wary of her terrified fits of screaming. When she is taken to her mother's family compound in Nigeria, she encounters Titiola, a ragged little girl her own age. It seems that at last Jess has found someone who will understand her. TillyTilly knows secrets both big and small. But as she shows Jess just how easy it is to hurt those around her, Jess begins to realise that she doesn't know who TillyTilly is at all. .No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.92Literature English English fiction Modern Period 2000-LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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