The Icarus Girl - Softcover

Oyeyemi, Helen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 140007875X ISBN 13: 9781400078752

Publisher: Anchor Books, 2006

Synopsis

The audacious first novel from the award-winning and highly acclaimed Helen Oyeyemi.

Jessamy "Jess" Harrison, age eight, is the child of an English father and a Nigerian mother. Possessed of an extraordinary imagination, she has a hard time fitting in at school. It is only when she visits Nigeria for the first time that she makes a friend who understands her: a ragged little girl named TillyTilly. But soon TillyTilly's visits become more disturbing, until Jess realizes she doesn't actually know who her friend is at all. Drawing on Nigerian mythology, Helen Oyeyemi presents a striking variation on the classic literary theme of doubles -- both real and spiritual -- in this lyrical and bold debut.

About this title

Review:

In the The Icarus Girl, eight-year-old Jessamy Harrison is the only child of a Nigerian mother and English father--sensitive, intelligent, imaginative and prone to sudden and inexplicable screaming tantrums. She has unusual obsessions for a child--Hamlet and haiku to name two--and finds it hard to make friends. Then, on her first visit to her mother’s family home in Nigeria, Jess meets TillyTilly, a strange child with extraordinary abilities who leads her into forbidden places and uncomfortable situations. Some time after returning to the UK, TillyTilly turns up at the Harrison's London home and, at once, life for everyone is turned upside down.

This complex, multi-layered novel is compelling because of its unusual subject matter but also because of its lyrical prose. Written while studying for her A-levels, Helen Oyeyemi’s debut shows an immense maturity and understanding which belies her age. There are a number of dream-like scenes of intense emotion--a mystical visit to a funfair, an insight into a fellow pupil’s shameful secret and a sleepover that ends badly--that cleverly blend magic realism with horror story. But there’s also an innocence--intermittent reminders of Oyeyemi’s youthfulness which sneak up unexpectedly. Some of the dialogue is confusing and the structure is less than smooth in parts.

The Icarus Girl looks deep into Jess’s soul and asks questions about the true reasons for her troubled state of mind and her place in her family, her community and in society at large. It looks at the issues of self and the alter ego, at the relationships of twins and doubles and from there, deeper still, into complex psychological issues of identity and belonging. As a child of mixed-race herself, Oyeyemi has much to say on the wider and most important issue of cultural identity, integration and tolerance. This is a promising first novel by a talented young writer. Would be particularly appreciated by precocious and literary teenagers.--Carey Green

Review:

"Oyeyemi brilliantly conjures up the raw emotions and playground banter of childhood. . . . A masterly first novel."-The New York Times Book Review"Oyeyemi 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." -San Francisco Chronicle"Remarkable. . . . As original as it is unsettling, The Icarus Girl runs straight at the heart of what it means to belong.- O, The Oprah Magazine"[The Icarus Girl] provides evidence of a vivid imagination capable of moving freely between cultures and continents. . . .Haunting and suspense-filled."-The Washington Post Book World

About this edition

• Publisher: Anchor Books
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 140007875X
• ISBN 13: 9781400078752
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352