Synopses & Reviews
“
The Icarus Girl is an astonishing achievement.”
Sunday Telegraph (London)
Jessamy “Jess” Harrison is eight years old. Sensitive, whimsical, possessed of an extraordinary and powerful imagination, she spends hours writing haiku, reading Shakespeare, or simply hiding in the dark warmth of the airing cupboard. As the child of an English father and a Nigerian mother, Jess just cant shake off the feeling of being alone wherever she goes, and the other kids in her class are wary of her tendency to succumb to terrified fits of screaming. Believing that a change from her English environment might be the perfect antidote to Jesss alarming mood swings, her parents whisk her off to Nigeria for the first time where she meets her mothers familyincluding her formidable grandfather.
Jesss adjustment to Nigeria is only beginning when 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, TillyTillys visits become more disturbing, making Jess start to realize that she doesnt know who TillyTilly is at all.
Helen Oyeyemi draws on Nigerian mythology to present a strikingly original variation on a classic literary theme: the existence of "doubles," both real and spiritual, who play havoc with our perceptions and our lives. Lyrical, haunting, and compelling, The Icarus Girl is a story of twins and ghosts, of a little girl growing up between cultures and colors. It heralds the arrival of a remarkable new talent.
Synopsis
Jessamy “Jess” Harrison is an eight-year-old caught between two different worlds. The daughter of a British father and a Nigerian mother, she has always felt like a misfit. She is smart and precocious, but can’t seem to get along in school; she throws tantrums at random, making life a challenge for her parents. Believing that a change from her English environment might be the perfect antidote to Jess’s alarming mood swings, her parents whisk her off to visit relatives in Nigeria.
Jess’s adjustment to Nigeria is only beginning when she meets Titiola, or TillyTilly, who seems to be invisible to everyone else. Tilly quickly insinuates herself into Jess’s life, appearing out of nowhere even after Jess returns to England. At first Tilly is Jess's comfort and delight, but gradually her visits become more disturbing until, eventually, she reveals that Jess had a stillborn twin, and that she intends to be the sister Jess never had.–
THE ICARUS GIRL is a strikingly original variation on a classic literary theme: the existence of “doubles,” both real and spiritual, who play havoc with our perceptions and our lives. With grace and confidence, Helen Oyeyemi skillfully blends the motifs of Nigerian folklore with the complexities of cultural displacement to capture the mysterious power of myth to transform reality.
Synopsis
The Icarus Girl is an astonishing achievement. --Sunday Telegraph (London)
Jessamy Jess Harrison is eight years old. Sensitive, whimsical, possessed of an extraordinary and powerful imagination, she spends hours writing haiku, reading Shakespeare, 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 the other kids in her class are wary of her tendency to succumb to terrified fits of screaming. Believing that a change from her English environment might be the perfect antidote to Jess's alarming mood swings, her parents whisk her off to Nigeria for the first time where she meets her mother's family--including her formidable grandfather.
Jess's adjustment to Nigeria is only beginning when 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.
Helen Oyeyemi draws on Nigerian mythology to present a strikingly original variation on a classic literary theme: the existence of doubles, both real and spiritual, who play havoc with our perceptions and our lives. Lyrical, haunting, and compelling, The Icarus Girl is a story of twins and ghosts, of a little girl growing up between cultures and colors. It heralds the arrival of a remarkable new talent.
About the Author
Helen Oyeyemi was born in Nigeria in 1984 and has lived in London from the age of four. She completed The Icarus Girl just before her nineteenth birthday, while studying for her A-levels. She is now a student of social and political sciences at Cambridge University. She has written two plays, Juniper's Whitening and Victimese. The Icarus Girl is her first novel, and she is at work on her second.