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The Icarus Girl

By Helen Oyeyemi

(9)

| Paperback | 9781400078752

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Book Description

Jessamy “Jess” Harrison, age eight, is the child of an English father and a Nigerian mother. Possessed of an extraordinary imagination, she has a hard time fitting in at school. It is only when she visits Nigeria for the first time that she makes a friend who understands her: a ragged liContinue

Critics

Double trouble

The Icarus Girl by Helen Oyeyemi 280pp, Bloomsbury, £16.99 The Icarus Girl, a debut novel completed when its author was still at school, begins innocently, with a childish debate about identity. An eight-year-old girl is hiding in a cupboard "saying ... (read full critics)

guardian.co.uk published on Sat, 25 Sep 2010

The Icarus Girl By Helen Oyeyemi

Written when she was 18 years old, Helen Oyeyemi's sophisticated debut novel, The Icarus Girl, tells the story of eight-year-old Jessamy Jess Harrison, a girl caught between many different realms. She is on one hand unnaturally precocious and on the ... (read full critics)

bookpage published on Tue, 14 Sep 2010

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2 Reviews

A chilling,complicated and fascinating story! At times I found it quite difficult to follow in regard to the Nigerian culture, but it was that same culture that made the novel interesting. I did find it rather unbelievable that the main character Jess was so mature, even for a clever only child. Con ... (continue)

A chilling,complicated and fascinating story! At times I found it quite difficult to follow in regard to the Nigerian culture, but it was that same culture that made the novel interesting. I did find it rather unbelievable that the main character Jess was so mature, even for a clever only child. Considering she was also very disturbed! This is a first novel written when the author was studying for 'A'Levels, an impressive fact.

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Lindyloumac said on Nov 6, 2009 | Add your feedback

Great book. I loved it, also for the description of how it must be, for a girl grown up in Europe, going to the country one of her parents is from, thinking it will be home, and then finding herself in a place that almost feels like another planet.
I'll probably read it again!

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natalia said on Sep 27, 2007 | Add your feedback