Boy, Snow, Bird

New
Paperback
2015
$11.52

The fifth novel from award-winning author Helen Oyeyemi, who was named in 2013 as one of Granta's best of young British novelists. A retelling of the Snow White myth, Boy, Snow, Bird is a deeply moving novel about an unbreakable bond . . . 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. Sparkling with wit and vibrancy, Boy, Snow, Bird is a novel about three women and the strange connection between them. It confirms Helen Oyeyemi's place as one of the most original and dynamic literary voices of her generation.

Synopsis

The fifth novel from award-winning author Helen Oyeyemi, who was named in 2013 as one of Granta's best of young British novelists. A retelling of the Snow White myth, Boy, Snow, Bird is a deeply moving novel about an unbreakable bond . . . 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. Sparkling with wit and vibrancy, Boy, Snow, Bird is a novel about three women and the strange connection between them. It confirms Helen Oyeyemi's place as one of the most original and dynamic literary voices of her generation.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 288
Edition: Main Market
Publisher: Picador
Published: 10 Sep 2015
ISBN 10: 1447237145
ISBN 13: 9781447237143
Book Overview: Boy, Snow, Bird is a haunting and beautiful retelling of the Snow White myth, from author of the award-winning White is for Witching

Media Reviews

A spellbinding, wholly original look at families and the secrets they keep . . . An absolutely amazing and absorbing read * Marie Claire *
Gloriously unsettling . . . it's clearly the book she's been waiting for . . . the greatest joy of reading Oyeyemi will always be style: jagged and capricious at moments, lush and rippled at others, always singular, like the voice-over of a fever dream. * New York Times *
Boy, Snow, Bird is a haunting, tender portrait of three women from one of our generation's most talented literary writers * Stylist *
Boy, Snow, Bird is among my favorite new releases for this year already. A retelling of the Snow White fairy-tale that focuses on race, it's a sensitive, intelligent treatment of a subject most fiction still sidesteps. Fans of Adichie's Americanah who also like a little fantasy in their coffee will be enchanted, I think. * Flavorwire *
You don't want to leave Boy, Snow, Bird . . . a joy; the kind of fiction where you can wallow in the language and thrill at her inventiveness. * Emerald Street *
One of my favourite books this year is Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi. It is a modern version of the Snow White fairy tale and challenges the origins of meaning. -- Jenni Fagan * The Herald *
Vibrant, funny and poignant * Big Issue *
Striking, shimmering fiction . . . Boy, Snow, Bird is an intoxicatingly immersive riff on the myth of the evil stepmother * Metro *
Oyeyemi writes beautiful prose, can adopt a sassy American idiom with assurance and produces sentences that no one else would think of . . . Boy's is a unique narrative voice * The Times *
An extraordinary modern fairy tale, with huge international buzz * Red magazine *
A powerful intertwining of fairytale and reality . . . Boy, Snow and Bird are brilliant creation, and through these three appealing and mysterious characters Oyeyemi examines female identity in all its delightful and terrifying complexity . . . Oyeyemi is a master of language; her writing is beautiful and precise, and her ability to hide deep meaning in unassuming words is breathtaking. This is a bewitching book, in every way. * The List *
Oyeyemi is the cleverest in the land * Washington Post *
'Riveting, brilliant and emotionally rich . . . Dense with fully realized characters, startling images, original observations and revelatory truths, this masterpiece engages the reader's heart and mind as it captures both the complexities of racial and gender identity in the 20th century and the more intimate complexities of love in all its guises. * Kirkus *
Helen Oyeyemi consolidates her position as one of Granta's Best of Young British Novelists 2013 with the publication of her fifth novel, a story about the perception and power of appearances and race, and their potential destructiveness . . . An enchanting and captivating book. * Independent *

Author Bio

Helen Oyeyemi is the author of The Icarus Girl, The Opposite House, White is for Witching (which won the Somerset Maugham Award), Mr Fox and the short story collection What is Not Yours is Not Yours. In 2013, Helen was included in Granta's Best of Young British Novelists.