HELEN OYEYEMI is the author of "The Icarus Girl" and "The Opposite House," which "The Times "(London) named as one of best novels of the year and which was recently short-listed for the 2008 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for fiction. She is currently at work on her fourth novel."
Winner of the Somerset Maugham Award!
"[Oyeyemi] knows that ghost stories aren't just for kids. And
"White Is for Witching" turns out to be a delightfully
unconventional coming-of-age story.... As in Toni Morrison's
"Beloved" or Chris Abani's "Song for Night," the supernatural
elements of "White Is for Witching" serve to remind the characters
- and Oyeyemi's readers - of horrifying historical
circumstances.... Oyeyemi clearly appreciates that some crimes
(like slavery or genocide or, in this case, institutional racism)
are so heinous that the conventions of realist fiction seem
woefully inadequate to describe them. She makes us glad to suspend
disbelief."
"TheNew York Times Book Review"
"Profoundly chilling a slow-building neo-Gothic that will leave
persevering readers breathless."
"The Boston Globe"
"Appealing from page one.... Unconventional, intoxicating and
deeply disquieting."
"Publishers Weekly," starred review
"Chilling lyrical . If you've been missing Shirley Jackson all
these many years, missing the creepy character-driven goodness of
"We Have Always Lived in the Castle" and "Hangsaman," here's a
writer who seems to be a direct heir to that lamented one's gothic
throne."
"The Austin Chronicle"
"Spooky and thought provoking . The Poe-like elements of "White Is
for Witching" are so spookily vivid, from foreboding descriptions
of landscape ('The sun was setting into storm clouds; there was
smoky brightness outside, as if the world was being inspected by
candlelight') to the eeriness of an enchanted apple (half 'coma
white' and a red that 'glowed like false fire'), that they tend
steal the show. But Oyeyemi also has a convincing touch when
dealing with ordinary reality. She's particularly sharp at
portraying the inner life of a troubled adolescent and the
alienation of immigrants . As adept as she is at the Gothic,
Oyeyemi also subverts its conventions. Here white is the colour of
bewitchment and evil spells, not black. Yet the palpable aura of
claustrophobic dread and menace urges the reader to conclude that
the author casts the most powerful spell."
"The Toronto Star"
"Oyeyemi's third mystical novel weaves a tale of four generations
of women and the house in Dover, England, they've inhabited-a
vengeful, Gothic edifice that has always rejected strangers .
Oyeyemi's style is as enigmatic as her plot . In all, a challenging
read laced with thought-provoking story lines that end, like
Miranda's fate, mysteriously."
"Booklist"
"[A] remarkable, shape-shifting tale . The narrative oscillates
between the mundane and the supernatural, and it is this skilful
blend of the fantastic and the everyday that makes it resonate so
chillingly. While ghosts may skulk inside the house, the horrors
lurking outside are equally alarming . Yet, for all this trickery,
Oyeyemi's writing is vividly emotional . In the end, this isn't a
fantasy about ghosts and witches. It is really about memory and
belonging, love and loss."
"New Statesman"
"Superbly atmospheric . [a] mesmeric exploration of alienation and
loss . This eloquent narrative delivers grandly on the promise of
Oyeyemi's startling debut . Oyeyemi's languid cadences are more
burnished, her sinuous ideas more firmly embedded in the fabric of
this disturbing and intricate novel. The dark tones of Poe in her
haunting have also the elasticity of Haruki Murakami's surreal
mental landscapes. "White is for Witching" has the subtle
occlusions of her previous two works with a tenacious undertow,
drawing the reader into its deeper currents."
"The Independent"
"Oyeyemi is a writer who moves easily between the literary, the
demotic and the supernatural . She is sharply amusing on the
strangeness of the ordinary world . Already her technical skill as
a novelist is remarkable, her range of reference formidable and her
use of language virtuosic."
"The Daily Telegraph"
"A weirdly compelling mix of modern gothic, matriarchal magic and
coming-of-age tale that weaves the supernatural and mother-daughter
relations deep into its fabric."
"Financial Times"
"To say that Helen Oyeyemi is one smart cookie is a bit like saying
the Honey Monster is rather fond of Sugar Puffs. At an age when
most teenagers are content to cultivate love bites and scribble
initials on pencil cases she burst on to the literary scene with
her dazzling debut novel "The Icarus Girl." Jaws dropped once more
when the Nigerian-born wunderkind followed it up with the equally
acclaimed "The Opposite House." Now, at the age of just 24, the
prolific and precocious Cambridge graduate has published a third
work, ["The Opposite House"] . There are spine-chilling moments in
"White Is For Witching" . There is no doubt that Oyeyemi is a
formidable talent."
"The Scotsman"
"Cleverly, Oyeyemi engineers the narrative so that the novel
reflects not only a teenager's solipsism but also her furious
energy and capacity to attract harm . The language is rich; ideas
proliferate; myth and story tangle together luxuriantly."
"The Times" (UK)
Praise for Helen Oyeyemi's previous works:
"Helen Oyeyemi is a startling literary prodigy."
"The Washington Post Book World"
"There's an intellectual sharpness about the author's writing which
is a pleasure to read."
"Financial Times"
"Oyeyemi displays the young writer's amazing sure-handedness that
is far beyond her years."
"Seattle Post-Intelligencer"
"Helen Oyeyemi leaves you obsessed with her characters and in awe
of her talent."
"Glamour"
"
"Oyeyemi delivers her third passionate and unusual book, a
neo-gothic tale revolving around Miranda and Eliot Silver,
fraternal twins raised in a British house haunted by generations of
afflicted, displaced family members, including their mother.
Miranda suffers from pica, an affliction that causes her to eat
nonedible items, which is passed down to her via the specters from
her childhood that now punctuate her nightmares. As the novel
progresses, the increasingly violent nature of this bizarre,
insatiable hunger reveals itself to be the ironclad grip of the
dead over the living or of mother over daughter. The book is
structured around multiple voices-including that of the house
itself-that bleed into one another. Appealing from page one, the
story, like the house, becomes extremely foreboding, as the house
is 'storing its collapse' and 'can only be as good as' those who
inhabit it. The house's protective, selfish voice carries a child's
vision of loss: in the absence of a mother, feelings of anger,
betrayal and bodily desire replace the sensation of connection.
Unconventional, intoxicating and deeply disquieting." -"Publishers
Weekly," starred review
"Helen Oyeyemi is a startling literary prodigy." --"The Washington
Post Book World"
"There's an intellectual sharpness about the author's writing which
is a pleasure to read." --"Financial Times"
"Oyeyemi displays the young writer's amazing sure-handedness that
is far beyond her years." --S"eattle Post-Intelligencer"
"Helen Oyeyemi leaves you obsessed with her characters and in awe
of her talent." --"Glamour"
"Helen Oyeyemi is a startling literary prodigy." --"The Washington
Post Book World"
"There's an intellectual sharpness about the author's writing which
is a pleasure to read." --"Financial Times"
"Oyeyemi displays the young writer's amazing sure-handedness that
is far beyond her years." --S"eattle Post-Intelligencer"
"Helen Oyeyemi leaves you obsessed with her characters and in awe
of her talent." --"Glamour"
Ask a Question About this Product More... |