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Boy, Snow, Bird - Helen Oyeyemi
Boy, Snow, Bird
by: (author)
3.67 135
From the prizewinning author of Mr. Fox, the Snow White fairy tale brilliantly recast as a story of family secrets, race, beauty, and vanity. In the winter of 1953, Boy Novak arrives by chance in a small town in Massachusetts, looking, she believes, for beauty—the opposite of the life she’s left... show more
From the prizewinning author of Mr. Fox, the Snow White fairy tale brilliantly recast as a story of family secrets, race, beauty, and vanity. In the winter of 1953, Boy Novak arrives by chance in a small town in Massachusetts, looking, she believes, for beauty—the opposite of the life she’s left behind in New York. She marries a local widower and becomes stepmother to his winsome daughter, Snow Whitman. A wicked stepmother is a creature Boy never imagined she’d become, but elements of the familiar tale of aesthetic obsession begin to play themselves out when the birth of Boy’s daughter, Bird, who is dark-skinned, exposes the Whitmans as light-skinned African Americans passing for white. Among them, Boy, Snow, and Bird confront the tyranny of the mirror to ask how much power surfaces really hold. Dazzlingly inventive and powerfully moving, Boy, Snow, Bird is an astonishing and enchanting novel. With breathtaking feats of imagination, Helen Oyeyemi confirms her place as one of the most original and dynamic literary voices of our time.
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Format: hardcover
ISBN: 9781594631399 (1594631395)
ASIN: 1594631395
Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover
Pages no: 320
Edition language: English
Bookstores:
Community Reviews
Libromancer's Apprentice
Libromancer's Apprentice rated it
5.0 [Book Review] Boy, Snow, Bird
I tore through this book and then took quite some time to attempt to process it. In the end I think the best that I can do is to recommend reading this book. The story could be historical fiction, it could be fantasy, but I think classifying it as one thing is limiting. It starts in 1953 and with...
Libromancer's Apprentice
Libromancer's Apprentice rated it
5.0 processing
there will be a review. right now i'm processing this book.
The English Student
The English Student rated it
4.0 Boy, Snow, Bird - Helen Oyeyemi
I honestly wasn't expecting to enjoy this as much as I did - I tend to find that mainstream literary fiction leaves me cold, but Boy, Snow, Bird was lovely and haunting and lyrical and terrible. It's difficult to talk about without spoilers - Boy, Snow, Bird is definitely one of those novels that ...
bookwookiee
bookwookiee rated it
3.0 Boy, Snow, Bird
I wavered for a long time between giving this book 3 and 4 stars. Oyeyemi draws on just the right amount of fairy tale tropes, but the abrupt and out of the blue ending and the lack of perspective from Snow's life living with Clara tipped the scale towards 3. After I've had a few more days to chew o...
The Primroses Were Over
The Primroses Were Over rated it
2.0 Boy, Snow, Bird
I am guessing this was probably the most twisted retelling of Snow White I have ever read. My feelings are a bit conflicted on this, though they always seem to be on Helen Oyeyemi novels. They are weird. Lyrical and often intriguing, but I'm never sure I really feel like I get the payoff at the en...
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