Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Freaky, Funny, and Frustrating (In a Good Way)

Parasol Against the Axe by Helen Oyeyemi

by 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 […]

“Unfollow” taken to the extreme!

Peaces by Helen Oyeyemi

by 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 […]

Am I Too Dumb for this Book?

Mr. Fox by Helen Oyeyemi

by 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. […]

all ABOARD!

Peaces by Helen Oyeyemi

by 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 […]

A Peculiar Collection of Stories Both Surreal and Distinctly Human

What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi

by 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 […]

‘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

by 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 […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo