Title: Boy, Snow, Bird Author: Helen Oyeyemi
Published: March 6, 2014
Genre(s): Literary Fiction
Page Count: 308
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads:BOY Novak turns twenty and decides to try for a brand-new life. Flax Hill, Massachusetts, isn’t exactly a welcoming town, but it does have the virtue of being the last stop on the bus route she took from New York. Flax Hill is also the hometown of Arturo Whitman—craftsman, widower, and father of Snow. SNOW is mild-mannered, radiant and deeply cherished—exactly the sort of little girl Boy never was, and Boy is utterly beguiled by her. If Snow displays a certain inscrutability at times, that’s simply a characteristic she shares with her father, harmless until Boy gives birth to Snow’s sister, Bird. When BIRD is born Boy is forced to re-evaluate the image Arturo’s family have presented to her, and Boy, Snow and Bird are broken apart. Sparkling with wit and vibrancy, Boy, Snow, Bird is a deeply moving novel about three women and the strange connection between them. It confirms Helen Oyeyemi’s place as one of the most original and dynamic literary voices of her generation.
Sometimes, when an author you love writes a truly fabulous book, it makes you wonder if they can ever write something worthwhile again. For a while, I wondered that about Helen Oyeyemi—could she possibly top Mr. Fox? And I think with Boy, Snow, Bird, that might have almost happened.
This book, Oyeyemi’s fifth novel, is a clever reworking of the traditional Snow White fairytale, though of course with a wholly unique twist in the third act. It follows the intricate story of for women, Boy, Snow, and Bird, and how their relationships affect one another and themselves. In a move that’s a little bit different from the author’s norm, this book is not magical realism (but maybe containts a slight hint of something otherworldly at times), and is instead literary historical fiction, taking place in Massachusetts in the 50s and 60s.
Boy, Snow, Bird opens with the narration of Boy Novak, a young woman from New York who’s just escaped her abusive father’s clutches. She eventually marries and inherits a stepdaughter, Snow, who is obscenely gorgeous. Everyone in the family, especially Snow’s paternal grandmother, seem to be obsessed with Snow, and for a while, Boy shares that obsession. But then Boy has her own daughter, Bird, who has dark skin and African features, and then the family secret is out: Boy’s husband and his parents are actually black, and they’ve been pretending to be white. Now everyone’s obsession with Snow’s beauty takes on a new tone.
Like any of Oyeyemi’s novels, this book focuses on race and ethnicity, but in a subtle, masterful way. Though Boy, Snow, Bird features Black characters and takes place during the United States’ Civil Rights movement, the text is never ever preachy or cloying. The discussions of race are kept mostly in subtext, left for readers to pick apart for themselves. And Oyeyemi can get away with treating such a serious topic with such a light hand because she’s so good at what she does.
Truly, Helen Oyeyemi is one of the best writers I’ve experienced overall. Her prose has a magical quality to it that just oozes refinement and precision, even as it’s memorable and gorgeous and exactly the kind of words you’d want to tattoo on your body. Boy, Snow, Bird is no exception to that. This book is written so well that I almost feel that it’s worth reading just to experience the author’s prose.
Overall, Oyeyemi’s novels seem to be getting better and stronger as she matures. Boy, Snow, Bird is a cunning tale of race and family that pays homage to the Snow White fairytale. Everything in this book works very well together, and the conclusion is satisfying and thought-provoking. I’m very pleased with this.
