Friday, July 4, 2014


Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi

A step-daughter who is coddled so much that she may end up never knowing or be allowed to develop into herself.  A woman who ran away from home and abuse.  A daughter who shatters a secret.  A grandmother who isn't biological but acts like a grandma, another who is biological and doesn't acknowledge her grand-daughter.  Girlfriends who have your best interests at heart.  Fathers who aren't what they seem and husbands who love their wives. 

All this and more is beautifully intertwined in Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi.  Set in the 1950s to 1960s this is the story of three women. Boy who runs away from home and becomes mother to Bird.  Snow, Boy's step-daughter, whose own mother is dead and her relationship to the women in her life.  And finally, Bird, Boy's daughter, and how her birth shatters a secret and sets everyone free from lies and secrets that they have kept.

This book presented such an interesting premises and was so beautifully written I read it fairly quickly.  I wanted to know what was going to happen. This is the first book I've read written by Helen Oyeyemi and I plan on reading her other books based on how much I enjoyed reading Boy, Snow, Bird.  A beautifully written deep story about love, kept secrets and truth.