2016/06/27

BOOK REVIEW:
BOY, SNOW, BIRD BY HELEN OYEYEMI

Title: Boy, Snow, Bird
Author: Helen Oyeyemi
Published: 2013
Language: English
Pages: 308
Rating: 3/5


Summary:
Set in 1953 in Massachusetts, a woman from a troubled past and an obsession with beauty marries a widower and ends up having a daughter who exposes them for being light-skinned African Americans passing for whites, much to the despair of her family.


Review:
This was quite an interesting read, but one I also have ambivalent feelings about. To me, the first half of this book was quite good, and then after that it took a bit of a nosedive.

I quite enjoyed the themes of race, family and beauty, but I wasn't really moved by it. I didn't feel like it dug that deep, even though I can see that it's trying. For some strange reason, it doesn't strike an emotional chord with me, which I found rather surprising.

I did love the influences from fairytales though. This is not an exact retelling of anything, at least as far as I could tell, but it brings in elements of wicked stepmothers, mirrors and other mythical elements that I really enjoyed.

If you've read the book, you will also know that there is this big thing that happens in the end which touches on a very important theme, but honestly, I didn't find that part very well done at all and to me it came out of nowhere. I didn't feel like the "big reveal" had any proper build up, so the ending fell a bit flat for me.

I think this is an interesting read for people who enjoy storylines that jump to and fro and has elements of fairytales in it.

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