Icarus Girl (Paperback)

by Helen Oyeyemi (Author)

5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)

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Product Details

Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Penguin Canada (APB) (May 5 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0143017764
ISBN-13: 978-0143017769

Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)

Amazon.ca Sales Rank: #145,420 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

The story of a troubled eight-year-old haunted and ultimately possessed by family secrets, this spooky debut novel from a 20-year-old Nigerian-born Cambridge student is sure to garner attention for its precocity and literary self-consciousness. The sensitive protagonist, Jessamy Harrison, born to a British father and Nigerian mother, writes haikus and reads Shakespeare, but regularly throws tantrums and avoids social interaction both at school and at home. As an intervention, her parents take her to stay with family in Nigeria for the summer. At her grandfather's compound, she encounters TillyTilly, a mysterious girl who seems to know everything about Jess and who, Jess realizes, is not visible to anyone else. In Nigeria with TillyTilly, Jess finds a sense of belonging and intimacy for the first time, but when Jess returns to England, TillyTilly becomes less comforting and more troublesome. In confident, heavily stylized prose, Oyeyemi illustrates Jess's cultural dislocation, using both Nigerian and Christian imagery to evoke a sense of her unreality. As sophisticated as she is, Jess's eight-year-old observations provide a limited lens, and at times, the novel's fantasy element veers into young adult suspense territory. Agent, Robin Wade. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School–This first novel, completed before its author turned 20, uses elements of Yoruba and Western myths to create a tale of psychological horror with echoes of both Henry James and Stephen King. When British academic star Jessamy Harrison is skipped ahead a year in school (to the pride of her English father and Nigerian mother), the nervous eight-year-old finds the change difficult. Unable to make friends or to cope with teasing about her mixed-race status, she breaks down in screaming tantrums and is prey to odd, feverish illnesses. During a family trip to Nigeria, Jess is elated to make her first friend, a fey girl nicknamed TillyTilly who is devoted to her–and who may be invisible. Delight turns to anxiety when Tilly reveals a shocking secret, and then to horror as she demonstrates her capacity for cruel magic. Is Tilly real? A spirit? An extension of Jess's personality? The creepy ambiguity persists until and beyond the disturbing denouement. Related entirely from Jess's perspective, the book perfectly captures the fear and confusion of a child confronted by inexplicable circumstances, although thinly drawn other characters and a somewhat repetitive structure make it less than a total success. Still, Oyeyemi is a talent to watch.–Starr E. Smith, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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5.0 out of 5 stars The Three Worlds of Jessamy Harrison, Jan 23 2007

By	Craobh Rua "Craobh Rua" (N. Ireland) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Helen Oyeyemi was born in Nigeria and moved to London when she was four. She wrote "The Icarus Girl" over a seven month period while at school, studying for her A-Levels. By the time she got her results, she'd signed a two-book deal worth an alleged �400,000.

Jess Harrison is an eight-year old girl, an only child and nearly determined to be a loner. She seems nearly to be afraid of making friends, avoids going outside to play as much as possible and keeps her thoughts to herself. She also reads a great deal - "Little Women" is a great favourite and she is also very partial to Shakespeare. However, Jess often suffers from panic attacks and the occasional strange fever.

Jess' parents, Daniel and Sarah, met at university. Daniel was born and raised in England, though Sarah is Nigerian and only came to England to study medicine. She promptly switched courses to study English Literature and is now a successful writer. Fifteen years after she left Nigeria, Sarah is now returning to Nigeria for the first time with her husband and daughter. Although there are some awkward moments for Sarah, meeting the Nigerian side of the family also proves difficult for Jess. While the relations she meet include aunts, uncles and cousins, her grandfather proves to be very much the dominant character : he 'rules' the compound in which the family live. It's clear he disapproves of Sarah's decision to switch from medicine to English Literature and her decision to remain in England. In fact, he doesn't seem to entirely approve of Daniel either. However, there is a bond between grandfather and granddaughter - he clearly loves her and she seeks her approval. Although Jess knows she has a Yoruba name - Wuraola - her grandfather is the first person to call her by that name. Not being called Jess, however, is something that initially confuses and scares her a little.

The compound in which the family lives was built in the 1870s by Jess' great-grandfather. Jess' grandfather currently lives at the centre of the compound, with an old and deserted building called the Boys' Quarters located at the back of it. It had once been home to the compound's servants, though it has now been lying empty for many years and now isn't fit for habitation. The trouble for Jess starts when she realises that someone is, in fact, living in the Boys' Quarters - apparently without anyone else in the compound being aware of it. The cuckoo is a young Yoruba girl called Titiola who becomes Jess' first ever friend. As Jess has trouble with the pronunciation, she calls her new companion Tilly-Tilly. While there are a few minor skirmishes in Nigeria, the trouble only really begins when Jess returns to England - and Tilly-Tilly miraculously arrives shortly afterwards. Her friend's arrival brings a few changes in Jess, and she learns a bit more about her life.

This is a fantastic book, and one that I can't recommend highly enough. I have a great deal of admiration for Helen Oyeyemi, completing a book like this in her most difficult school year - and still achieving the grades to gain a place at Cambridge. I'm very much looking forward to her second novel.

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