Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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Freaky, Funny, and Frustrating (In a Good Way)

Parasol Against the Axe by Helen Oyeyemi

May 9, 2024 by andtheIToldYouSos 2 Comments

Every time I think that I may have Helen Oyeyemi figured out she hits me with another blast of wild magic. She often deals in the inner workings of fairy tales, but this time she has taken on a fairy tale of a city: Prague. We’ve all heard of the (super played out trope) of “New York City IS a character!”, but Prague is in charge here. Prague may be driving the theoretical bus, but Thea, Hero, and a cast of bizarre folks including a […]

Filed Under: Featured, Fiction Tagged With: Helen Oyeyemi, magical realism, mistaken identity, Prague, regret, revenge, unreliable narrators

andtheIToldYouSos's CBR16 Review No:7 · Genres: Featured, Fiction · Tags: Helen Oyeyemi, magical realism, mistaken identity, Prague, regret, revenge, unreliable narrators ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments

“Unfollow” taken to the extreme!

Peaces by Helen Oyeyemi

August 23, 2023 by ElCicco Leave a Comment

Cbr15bingo Take the Skies/Take Flight — entire story is set on a train trip This might turn out to be the weirdest book I read all year. I’m not sure I even understand exactly what happened, and the meaning(s) of this tale are probably deeper and more complex than my poor brain can fathom, but I did find it very interesting and hard to put down. I’ve read a couple of Helen Oyeyemi’s other books and thought they were excellent. She has a talent for […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: CBR15, cbr15bingo, ElCicco, Fiction, Helen Oyeyemi, Peaces

ElCicco's CBR15 Review No:38 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: CBR15, cbr15bingo, ElCicco, Fiction, Helen Oyeyemi, Peaces ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Am I Too Dumb for this Book?

Mr. Fox by Helen Oyeyemi

July 21, 2022 by Ale Leave a Comment

Crystalclear listened to the audio version of Mr. Fox and wasn’t sure how she felt about it, but it’s speculative-leaning and maybe reading the actual book would be a different experience, so she suggested it to me. While I do think it was better to read it than to listen to it (Oyeyemi does a lot with fonts, blank space, and paragraph structures that make way more sense looking at it than listening to it), I also am not totally sure how I felt about Mr. […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Speculative Fiction Tagged With: cbr14bingo, desire, Helen Oyeyemi, mindgames, Minds, non linear stories, Writers, writing about writing

Ale's CBR14 Review No:11 · Genres: Fiction, Speculative Fiction · Tags: cbr14bingo, desire, Helen Oyeyemi, mindgames, Minds, non linear stories, Writers, writing about writing ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

all ABOARD!

Peaces by Helen Oyeyemi

April 30, 2021 by andtheIToldYouSos Leave a Comment

Mysterious and melancholy adventure awaits! Otto and Xavier, legally paired but not traditionally wed, receive a lavish not-honeymoon gift from a fabulously wealthy aunt: a trip on a strange and fabulous train. They don’t know where they are going, why they have been invited, or who is truly pulling the strings behind this event. They don’t know if the reclusive woman who lives full-time on the train (what a dream!) held up a sign that said “HELP” or “HELLO”, and they don’t know if they […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Mystery, Speculative Fiction Tagged With: #fantasy, Helen Oyeyemi, lgtbqia, magical realism, queer love, train travel, Urban Fantasy, whimsy

andtheIToldYouSos's CBR13 Review No:39 · Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Speculative Fiction · Tags: #fantasy, Helen Oyeyemi, lgtbqia, magical realism, queer love, train travel, Urban Fantasy, whimsy ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

A Peculiar Collection of Stories Both Surreal and Distinctly Human

What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi

November 2, 2020 by Lisa Bee 1 Comment

It’s been a minute since I’ve read a collection of short stories (or really, short stories in general), so I figured it might be worth a little revisit with Oyeyemi’s collection in What is Not Yours is Not Yours. Once again, I find my personal experience with short stories to be a bit of a mixed bag, not to mention how with any collection put together there are going to be those that are favored and those that are not. For the most part, these […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Short Stories Tagged With: Helen Oyeyemi, What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours

Lisa Bee's CBR12 Review No:30 · Genres: Fiction, Short Stories · Tags: Helen Oyeyemi, What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours ·
Rating:
· 1 Comment

‘Geoffrey’s mum told us “If you take a hen’s egg from under her and she just looks at you and doesn’t do anything, put that egg back.” Peace and quiet is a sign that something’s wrong. Peace and quiet is like a broken response, a sign of people in pieces.’

The Opposite House by Helen Oyeyemi

July 28, 2020 by andtheIToldYouSos Leave a Comment

Helen Oyeyemi is a story teller. Her work is steeped in religion, folklore, and mythology. Her characters breathe prayer and power. She will grab your attention quick, and send your spiraling through your own identity. Her stories whip in and out of the fantastic; one moment a character is studying for an exam, and the next they are overcome by the power of an ancient healer. She is one of my favorite authors. She’s absolute magic. I picked up What is Not Yours is Not Yours when […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Fiction, Religion Tagged With: african diaspora, black voices, catholocism, cuban revolution, family, folklore, Helen Oyeyemi, identity, immigrant experience, magical realism, Motherhood, santeria, yoruba

andtheIToldYouSos's CBR12 Review No:81 · Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Religion · Tags: african diaspora, black voices, catholocism, cuban revolution, family, folklore, Helen Oyeyemi, identity, immigrant experience, magical realism, Motherhood, santeria, yoruba ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
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Recent Comments

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  • finnyfinfinn on The Blanks by Grady HendrixI try to keep that whole book locked in a closet in the back of my mind.
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