Helen Oyeyemi's debut novel, The Icarus Girl follows a young British girl of mixed race (her mother is Nigerian, her father is English) as she takes a trip to Nigeria and encounters some sort of ghost. With its feet firmly planted in Nigerian mythology, Oyeyemi's novel featrues many flashes of horrific brilliance. If you were a fan of the Oscar-winning movie Black Swan, you'll surely love the intensity Oyeyemi brings to this dark tale. With equal parts ghost story and coming-of-age tale, The Icarus Girl is a dark, compelling and memorable novel as well as a brilliant debut.
With protagonist Jess's biracial background, there is no doubt that race issues make up a strong, subtle part of this novel. With feet planted in both white and black culture, it seems that Jess doesn't fully belong to either. Later in the novel we discover that Jess was born a twin, her sister having died at birth. Nigerian mythology says twins belong to both the real world and the spirit world, and having this doubling of unbelonging is a great motif that runs throughout the novel, giving it much of its power.
The novel's antagonist TillyTilly is a horrific little monster of a girl. Part of this novel's strength is that though Jess is very young, she faces some very serious, adult problems through her tormentor. Though I'm not certain whether TillyTilly was supposed to be a very strong figment of Jess's imagination or an actual bad spirit (I'm tempted to lean toward the latter), she gives this novel all of its horror, intensity and much of its plot. She possesses a supernatural air from the time we first meet her, and her power only grows stronger throughout the novel. Whether or not she is "real" in the world of the book, TillyTilly is a force to be reckoned with.
Bottom Line: With an intense readability and a unique voice, The Icarus Girl is not just a profound, haunting novel, but one that you can't put down. It will claw itself into your mind and burrow in. You won't forget this book.
You can find a copy of Helen Oyeyemi's The Icarus Girl at your local chain bookstore, online, or at an independent bookstore near you (click here for a list).
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