The Icarus Girl : A Novel - Hardcover

Helen Oyeyemi

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0670045349 ISBN 13: 9780670045341

Publisher: Penguin Books Canada, Limited, 2005

Synopsis

A sensation among readers around the world, The Icarus Girl is the beautifully written story of eight-year-old Jessamy “Jess” Harrison. Sensitive, whimsical, possessed of a powerful imagination, Jess spends hours writing, reading, or simply hiding in the dark warmth of the airing cupboard. As the child of an English father and a Nigerian mother, Jess just can't shake off the feeling of being alone wherever she goes, and other kids are wary of her terrified fits of screaming. When her parents take her to Nigeria to visit her mother's family, she encounters Titiola, or TillyTilly, a ragged little girl her own age. To Jess, it seems that, at last, she has found someone who will understand her. But gradually TillyTilly's visits become more disturbing, making Jess start to realize that she doesn't know who TillyTilly is at all. A story of twins and ghosts, of a little girl growing up between cultures and colors, this book heralds the arrival of a remarkable new talent.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

""The Icarus Girl is an astonishing achievement." --"Sunday Telegraph (London)

Jessamy "Jess" Harrison is eight years old. Sensitive, whimsical, possessed of an extraordinary and powerful imagination, she spends hours writing haiku, reading Shakespeare, or simply hiding in the dark warmth of the airing cupboard. As the child of an English father and a Nigerian mother, Jess just can't shake off the feeling of being alone wherever she goes, and the other kids in her class are wary of her tendency to succumb to terrified fits of screaming. Believing that a change from her English environment might be the perfect antidote to Jess's alarming mood swings, her parents whisk her off to Nigeria for the first time where she meets her mother's family--including her formidable grandfather.
Jess's adjustment to Nigeria is only beginning when she encounters Titiola, or TillyTilly, a ragged little girl her own age. To Jess, it seems that, at last, she has found someone who will understand her. But gradually, TillyTilly's visits become more disturbing, making Jess start to realize that she doesn't know who TillyTilly is at all.
Lyrical, haunting, and compelling, "The Icarus Girl draws on Nigerian mythology to present a strikingly original variation on a classic literary theme: the existence of "doubles," both real and spiritual, who play havoc with our perceptions and our lives. A story of twins and ghosts, of a little girl growing up between cultures and colors, this book heralds the arrival of a remarkable new talent.

About the Author

H elen Oyeyemi  is the author of five novels, most recently White Is for Witching, which won a 2010 Somerset Maugham Award, and Mr. Fox, which won a 2012 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award. In 2013, she was named one of Granta’s Best Young British Novelists. She lives in Prague.

 

Edition details

• Publisher: Penguin Books Canada, Limited
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0670045349
• ISBN 13: 9780670045341
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 512