The prize-winning, bestselling author of Boy, Snow, Bird and What is Not Yours is Not Yours returns with a bewitching and inventive novel. Influenced by the mysterious place gingerbread holds in classic children's stories--equal parts wholesome and uncanny; from the tantalizing witch's house in "Hansel and Gretel" to the man-shaped confection who one day decides to run as fast as he can--beloved novelist Helen Oyeyemi invites readers into a delightful tale of a surprising family legacy, in which the inheritance is a recipe. Perdita Lee may appear your average British schoolgirl; Harriet Lee may seem just a working mother trying to penetrate the school social hierarchy; but there are signs that they might not be as normal as they think they are. For one thing, they share a gold-painted, seventh-floor walk-up apartment with some surprisingly verbal vegetation. And then there's the gingerbread they make. Londoners may find themselves able to take or leave it, but it's very popular in Druhástrana, the far away (or, according to many sources, non-existent) land of Harriet Lee's early youth. The world's truest lover of the Lee family gingerbread, however, is Harriet's charismatic childhood friend Gretel--a figure who seems to have had a hand in everything (good or bad) that has happened to Harriet since they met. Decades later, when teenaged Perdita sets out to find her mother's long lost friend, it prompts a new telling of Harriet's story. As the book follows the Lees through encounters with jealousy, ambition, family grudges, work, wealth, and real estate, gingerbread seems to be the one thing that reliably holds a constant value. Endlessly surprising and satisfying, written with Helen Oyeyemi's inimitable style and imagination, it is a true feast for the reader.

Gingerbread

Literature & Fiction

Helen Oyeyemi

Literary

Hamish Hamilton

White is for Witching

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Fantasy

Picador

Mr Fox Oyeyemi reveals a twinkling sense of humour . . . A delight

MR Fox

Romance

Picador USA

Peaces

Faber&Faber

Parasol Against the Axe

Collected Stories: Ben Rivers

MARINA WARNER

Lynne Tillman

Xiaolu Guo

Kevin Barry

Chloe Aridjis

Iain-Sinclair

M.John Harrison

Irene Solà

Gina Apostol

Daisy Hildyard

Vanessa Onwuemezi

Golan Haji

Nathalie Léger

Fireflies Press

A sensation among readers around the world, The Icarus Girl is the beautifully written story of eight-year-old Jessamy “Jess” Harrison. Sensitive, whimsical, possessed of a powerful imagination, Jess spends hours writing, reading, or simply hiding in the dark warmth of the airing cupboard. As the 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 her parents take her to Nigeria to visit her mother's family, she encounters Titiola, or TillyTilly, a ragged little girl her own age. To Jess, it seems that, at last, she has found someone who will understand her. But gradually TillyTilly's visits become more disturbing, making Jess start to realize that she doesn't know who TillyTilly is at all. A story of twins and ghosts, of a little girl growing up between cultures and colors, this book heralds the arrival of a remarkable new talent.

The Icarus Girl : A Novel

Penguin Books Canada, Limited

PEACES: A NOVEL

The Icarus Girl

Contemporary

Nan A. Talese/Doubleday

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Helen Oyeyemi. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Helen Oyeyemi