Literary Fiction by People of Color discussion
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What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours
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Sexuality and gender plays a role in this story as well and weirdly so. Honestly I couldn't tell what was going on half the time with multiple narration and even a visit from Tyche Shaw from the previous story. The puppet Gepetto I think narrates the second half of the story which culminates in a wild ending. If nothing else Oyeyemi has a wacky imagination and these stories are just absurd. My mind wandered at times throughout this story, in fact, on like every page.
One novel completed and now three short stories and nothing has changed for me . I don't like this author at all but I still intend to finish the book. Yea, this is a little worse than watching grass grow or paint dry. Maybe more like watching paint dry on grass?
Story 1.5 writing 3.6
Final Rating: 2.6
Columbus wrote: "Is your blood as red as this?..."
This review has convinced me that I have better things to read so I'm throwing in the towel and striking this author off my list for any future reading.
"Sorry doesn't sweeten her Tea"
I actually liked this story a lot more than the first one.
I am wondering though...who was the woman Ched was talking to on the phone...The one who does not want to be known.
I guess that will remain a mystery.
rating: 4
OK, they tell me the book is available today at my library...but you guys are scaring me..I suppose I'll tell them to re shelve it and just move on to next moths selection.
William wrote: "OK, they tell me the book is available today at my library...but you guys are scaring me..I suppose I'll tell them to re shelve it and just move on to next moths selection."Nah, you see this is what I love about reading together. So many opinions. This is my first Oyeyemi title so really I don't have anything to compare it to. I would just say, pick it up and go in with an open mind. You never know.
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No way, you've got to suffer like the rest of us, Bill. No way!
Seriously, I agree with Virginie you might have the contrary opinion on this and it wouldn't be the first time. Actually, we may need another brain and/or opinion on some of theses stories.
Columbus wrote: "William wrote: "OK, they tell me the book is available today at my library...but you guys are scaring me..I suppose I'll tell them to re shelve it and just move on to next moths selection."No way..."
Sounds to me like we're all in it to the last page :).
Mine finally came in the mail, but now I'm in the middle of some others. I'll start as soon as I can!
This book reminds me of a lot of fantasy books. There is a lot of world building going with the constant mentions and/or cameos by characters from previous stories, as well as the logic to the magic within the stories. Oyeyemi is obviously a very good writer but sometimes she is too clever for her own good. Many of the stories are not memorable beyond the moment of reading it. I'm fine wth ambiguity in literature but there is a point where you just want the author to come out and explain what's the point of the story.
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An interviewer recently asked Oyeyemi what we can expect next from her after this short story collection. Her response: "normalcy." Let's hope that comes sooner rather than later.
This story has a tyrant, a kidnapping, a murder of nine people by fire and then drownings by the tyrant and his henchmen . Not sure if any of it is real because prior to telling the story the protagonist, Arkady, goes into a deep sleep and starts dreaming. There doesn't appear to be a severing of this dream-like state so I'm not sure if it's real or imagined. I could go back and re-read it but I'm not. Why torture myself. Anyone else figure this out?
Story: 2.9 Writing 3.5
Final Rating: 3.2
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https://www.vice.com/read/a-brief-his...
I'd say reading the book feels a lot like dreaming. I have problems getting final explanations for my dreams as well. And all too often my dreams feel rather unfinished and don't end where I think they should, but some of my dreams are quite interesting and so are some of the stories.
A family tree detailing relationships would be a big help for this book.
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Strange, bizarre, weird, surreal, mysterious, unusual, yes those are are all adjectives for the previous stories but it especially applies to this one. What's funny is this one started out quite ordinary and I thought my review would begin with, "now if only all of Oyeyemi's stories were like this." And then it turned.....
Two married psychologists and their unusual experiment which stops time at 12:30. There are marital issues here and the invention or creation through scientific means of a child they never had. Oh goodness.
There's quite a few fans of magical realism and fantasy in this club so maybe this is for you. I've never been a fan of that genre so it doesn't interest me one bit.
Almost there, just 4 stories to go!
Story 2.3 writing 2.9
Final Rating: 2.6
I started the book and am trying to catch up. I actually liked the first story. Very weird and dream like, but with enough substance to satisfy me. I cared enough about the characters that when the painter said she moved her subjects hair around for a better profile I thought it rather strange. After all she was described as being as dark as the Black Madonna and unless they were wearing weaves back in the (??) century, shoulder length tresses seemed unlikely. And the whole books and libraries and roses and ghosts I found entertaining. The second story of the singer and the dress of needles I found an excruciating waste of time. When the third story switched to the voice of the puppet it was time to move on to the fourth. "Drownings", has so far held my attention. It has classic fairy tale tropes of tyrants, beautiful princesses, forbidden lovers, etc. I hope it continues and pays off till the end.
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I'll let Slate.com describe this:
In “A Brief History of the Homely Wench Society,” Dayang (Anton’s boyfriend’s daughter), joins the eponymous Cambridge University social club. The Homely Wench Society forms in 1949 to prank and chasten the all-male Bettencourt Society, which holds an annual party in its London townhouse to which only extremely pretty girls are invited. (The pretty girls end up siding with the Wenches, which in itself is a bit of a fairy tale.) The 21st-century incarnation of the Wenches has found its own raison d’être in a literary magazine featuring an interview with Myrna Semyonova, who, under a unisex pseudonym, has written a “long, whisky-soaked” Charles Bukowski parody, a joke rendered even funnier by the fact that critics take it seriously. The Wenches summarize their new ethos as “laughs, snacks and cotching [hanging out],” but they still regard the Bettencourters as their natural enemies, which makes it all the more troubling that two of the Wenches find two of the Bettencourters so attractive.
Story 3.1 Writing 3.1
Rating 3.1
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"What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours" by Helen Oyeyemi
At 31, Oyeymi is something of a literary prodigy: She wrote her first novel while still in high school in England. She's published five more books since then. Her latest, a short story collection, was hailed by NPR as "flawless."
"It's another masterpiece from an author who seems incapable of writing anything that's less than brilliant," the review said. The stories in the collection all center on keys, and toy with fairy tale tropes in inventively twisted ways.
There is a secret library, an abandoned baby and unsettling, possibly possessed puppets, but Oyeyemi treats even the most fantastical elements with grounded emotion.
This book is firmly planted on the other side of the cultural divide for me. Much like most of Hollywoods' oscar winners; I just don't get it. Clearly Oyeyemi has absorbed and regurgitated aspects of Western culture still out of reach and too obscure for me to appreciate. Only 5 of the 9 stories held my interest (Books and Roses, Drownings, A brief history of, Freddy Barrandov, and If a book is locked ), and these only mildly. I had a chuckle when Oyeyemi, as a woman of Nigerian extraction seemingly more immersed in English culture than most Londoners, mentions Dany Laferrière's book "I am a Japanese Writer", a semi autobiographical tale of a Haitian author immersed and lost in Japanese culture. But no matter the future accolades accorded this writer, I believe I'll give her future efforts a pass.
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http://www.powells.com/the-short-list
Unbelievable!
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Oh my goodness, I thought it was just me who felt this way. Not to mention the interviews I've read where she talks about books and authors she's been influenced by only adds credence to that. Yes, think I will pass on future books as well. I didn't vote on this one and come to think of it didn't vote for that other effort selected, Boy, Snow, Bird.
Is your blood as red as this (no) Running late on my reading, but eventually finished this short story. I have now a splitting headache. I know my first language is not English and I am sure I wasn't reading Shakespeare but this made absolutely no sense.
I don't know how to rate this story...
Is your blood as red as this (yes) This one was a little easier, but I do found that the writing so far overly complicated and I am not sure to what end.
I rate this one 3*
Well, I finished it off over a week ago, and I've yet to figure out what it was all about. I also gave it three. Interesting style and imagination though, but clarity of purpose, hmmm....
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Ok, this was the worse one yet if you can believe that....
an old woman makes a promise to a “wolf” and as a reminder of her oath receives a wart-like bruise, which she chops off and keeps locked in a chest—to the danger of her goddaughter’s child, who finds its scent alluring (the Crimson)
Story 1.8 Writing 2.5
Final rating: 2.2
Well, I never did catch up with this one, but I did buy The Book of Harlan so I'm ready to go for June and looking forward to it! I hope I like these stories more than it looks like many of you did when I get to it! I haven't read any of the posts closely, but I will be interested in going back through them as I read through the book.
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Laughing @ this.....Karen, if there's any consolation at all I did find the words Realness, interesting, substance, imagination used by members here in support of these stories. Also, most, if not everyone mentioned the strong writing from Oyeyemi. Who knows, you might just be the one who agrees with the book critics and simply think the book is a classic!
it's been something of a slog. two stories to go - I like reading her, but also get lost or annoyed. she's good at tone, at mood, at setting a feeling. it's difficult if you want a story to have a beginning, middle and an end. or even a bit of plot. I don't see this as a criticism, necessarily, just a challenge and a difference to the sorts of reading many of us are more used to, comfortable with? glad for the exposure, though - not sure I'd have found it on my own.
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You are so right on about this, Janet. It's funny, I noticed several of us have read her other books and have given poor or lackluster reviews of the books. I think we recognize the incredible talent of this young writer and want to like her but these stories....
Janet wrote: "it's been something of a slog. two stories to go - I like reading her, but also get lost or annoyed. she's good at tone, at mood, at setting a feeling. it's difficult if you want a story to have a ..."Some of your thoughts are how I feel about Oyeyemi's writing. While I am not a fan of her writing style, I do find myself marking sentences that are just so beautiful in tone that I lose myself in the language but then find that the stories are just not for me.
Glad that you appreciate the exposure to Oyeyemi. I love reading/being exposed to authors that are new to me and my library certainly indulges me.
I'm fine with the exposure. I doubt I'll risk being over-exposed in the future though.
Janet wrote: "it's been something of a slog. two stories to go - I like reading her, but also get lost or annoyed. she's good at tone, at mood, at setting a feeling. it's difficult if you want a story to have a ..."I feel the same. I had to put my book down for a while. The quality of the storytelling is too hit and miss for my liking so everytime I finished one of them, I don't really feel like starting a new one as I don't know what to expect.
Karen Michele wrote: "Well, I never did catch up with this one, but I did buy The Book of Harlan so I'm ready to go for June and looking forward to it! I hope I like these stories more than it looks like..."I also managed to get a copy in, although it is not out in the UK until 2017. I am quite looking forward to this one.
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About a young man being pressured to work in the hotel that employs his parents. Freddy is resistant to the idea: "She wants to see good hearts and good brains put to proper use, but I'm not convinced that everybody ought to live like that, or even that everybody can."
Story 3.0 writing 3.0
Final Rating: 3.0
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This was my absolute favorite story in this collection. Actually it was the only story that I thoroughly enjoyed and it came at the very end. Strange.
The New Yorker's Morgan Jerkins' published a wonderful essay about this piece, solely, and it's a testament to how wonderful this story is. It almost feels out of place in this collection. Also, for those who are following this discussion but are not reading along. The entire story is available to be read and provided by buzzfeed. Read it you'll love it!
What are your final thoughts on this book?
Story 4.4 writing 4.5
Final rating: 4.5
Wonderful essay from The New Yorker mag:
http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-t...
Entire story available from Buzzfeed
https://www.buzzfeed.com/helenoyeyemi...
agree - this last story - and the last few - felt more accessible to me. I wondered if we have struggled with this collection of stories in ways similar to struggling with poetry. I know I don't make the effort I could to appreciate poems much of the time and was wondering if these stories are part of that 'work' that readers need to do. not a judgement one way or the other, but it was heartening to read to the end to see the arc of all the pieces. grateful for having finished - might be interesting to reread in some months' time. thanks to you all for helping us make sense of, think about it all.
It was an unusual read for me, and however much I enjoyed Oyeyemi's beautiful writing, many of the short stories seemed cut off. I like mysterious, open ending but I think I actually discovered my own limit to them reading this collection. As Janet says, I am grateful that I finished it because there were some gems among there. It is also a great source of help to read others' take on the stories - not being a native English speaker, I did struggle at times. I wasn't discouraged of reading more by Oyeyemi, given that this is my first read of her but I will say she is unusual..
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Just wonder how many of those (like myself) who disliked this book and any of the earlier ones will continue to read her again? I initially said this would be it for me but the last story in this book may have changed my mind. Her talent is without question that's for sure but I'm a little on the fence. What say you?
well, I wouldn't pre-order anything. I'd want to wait a bit to see professional and personal reviews. Maybe.
wow I'm definitely lonely in this crowd - this was my first Oyeyemi after sort of avoiding her - and I loved almost all the stories. The first (|books and roses|) was certainly my favorite but I enjoyed the later interwoven stories as well. She reminded me a lot of Carlos Ruiz Zafon but I prefer the feel of hers (less ominous, more magical). Other favorite stories: |sorry doesn't sweeten her tea| and |a brief history of the homely wench society| I very much appreciated the feminist themes throughout the stories (like violence or the threat of violence against women or others as mentioned in another comment).
Columbus wrote: "Thanks to all who participated in the discussion of this unusual book. Feel free to add any comments or questions you have about the book for the thread will remain open. Just wonder how many of ..."
My thoughts/actions are similar to yours - keeping that's it not reading any more books by author. But since I do recognize her talent and when reading her novels - there are parts that soar for me but the parts that don't just distract/bore me too much.
Yes, will probably request her next book from the library hoping that will be the book that speaks to me.
Amy wrote: "wow I'm definitely lonely in this crowd - this was my first Oyeyemi after sort of avoiding her - and I loved almost all the stories. The first (|books and roses|) was certainly my favorite but I en..."Yes, there is the thread of feminist themes in the books that I read - sometimes very subtle.
I really enjoyed this collection. Beautiful writing and I was comfortable with the surrealism."Books and Roses": Loved this one at first, then reached the end and was baffled. It finally started to make sense to me after I read a review stating that (view spoiler). I don't know if I was an idiot for missing this or what, but there were so many different locations in the story that I hadn't realized Safiye's garden and Montse's employment were both in Barcelona. So Lucy's appearance at the end baffled me.
"'Sorry' Doesn't Sweeten Her Tea": I appreciate the commentary on reactions to violence against women, though this one was a bit heavy-handed. Tangentially, I was a little creeped out by the stepfather's having felt the need to give his stepdaughter a "coupon for a rage-free hearing" as a gift, and her apparently keeping it on her at all times - just how often does the guy fly into a rage? I think it was supposed to be an afterthought but it was a red flag to me.
"Is Your Blood as Red as This?": I enjoyed the characters and their story, though the end again left me baffled. From glimpses in later stories of where the characters ended up, I'm guessing that (view spoiler)?
"Drownings": Enjoyably surreal fairy tale.
"Presence": I think something more interesting than that weird experiment could have been done with these characters. Probably my least favorite of the collection.
"A Brief History of the Homely Wench Society": This one is fun and the most grounded of the bunch. And what a sweet ending!
"Dornicka and the St. Martin's Day Goose": I enjoyed this fairy tale retelling also. Confused about whether Klaudie is blind or not - she's introduced as such but then goes around, forex, lighting candles.
"Freddy Barrandov Checks . . . In?": Again I like the surrealism in this collection, as well as the reappearance of prior characters. I was frustrated with Freddy's choices, though, so didn't enjoy this one as much. He loses his job and devotes himself to breaking up a couple for no reason.
"If a Book Is Locked": This is a good one. The second person didn't bother me as it usually does - now that's a sign of a skillful writer.
Here is a link to an interview with Helen Oyeyemi which explains some of her reasons for writing her stories the way she does.http://www.bookforum.com/interview/16190
Literary Fiction by People of Color
Books mentioned in this topic
The Book of Harlan (other topics)The Book of Harlan (other topics)
The Book of Harlan (other topics)
Island: The Collected Stories of Alistair MacLeod (other topics)
Daydreams of Angels (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Heather O'Neill (other topics)Angela Carter (other topics)
Helen Oyeyemi (other topics)
Helen Oyeyemi (other topics)
Helen Oyeyemi (other topics)
Sometimes you just cannot get into a book, even if it is considered a "classic." I have started reading Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man at least three times in my life and I just cannot get through that book. Yes, it is considered one of the books you "must read" in your life but I just cannot get into it. Maybe it is the same for you with some of Toni Morrison's writing.