Reviewed by Suzi FeayMACMILLAN, 288pp, £12.99Tablet bookshop price £11.70 Tel 01420 592974Helen Oyeyemi is still a young writer but this, impressively, is her fifth novel (her first, The Icarus Girl, was written when she was still at school). Fascinated by myth and legend, whether Western or African, she crafts intricate, riddling tales of transformation and illusion, focusing especially on the richness of women’s experiences. Set in America in the 1950s, this story of a mother, daughter and stepdaughter is perhaps her most conventional novel yet, but there are still plenty of tricks in her bag. The oddly named Boy Novak is an awkward and rebarbative young woman who determinedly repulses the on
10 April 2014, The Tablet
Boy, Snow, Bird
Mirrors of the past
Get Instant Access
Continue Reading
Register for free to read this article in full
Subscribe for unlimited access
From just £30 quarterly
Complete access to all Tablet website content including all premium content.
The full weekly edition in print and digital including our 179 years archive.
PDF version to view on iPad, iPhone or computer.
Already a subscriber? Login