Helen Oyeyemi

"The prize-winning, bestselling author of Boy, Snow, Bird and What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours returns with a bewitching and inventive novel."--

Gingerbread

Molly M

you have to give in to the twisting convoluted nature and then it’s a darling fairy tale

what the fudge! this book didn’t make sense to me I wish it did

Ruby Emmeline Fisher

azliana aziz

Beatrice

I was very disappointed with this book: I really, really wanted to like it, but it turned out it just wasn't for me at all. I have a difficult relationship with magical realism overall, as it tends to be a little hit-and-miss for me, and Gingerbread sadly was a definite miss. 

I was very confused throughout the whole book, and really struggled to understand what was going on. Navigating the shifting timelines and keeping track of the multitude of characters was also difficult and definitely did not help my confusion. I was left extremely frustrated by it all, and really struggled to get through this.

That being said, I loved the book's concept. The storyline was very original, and integrated traditional fairytale elements seamlessly to construct a brand new world. I also liked how the original fairytale was the starting point to explore contemporary issues, touching on everything from family and relationships to belonging, tradition, feeling "other" and so much more. The cast was also wonderfully diverse without it feeling obnoxious, which was refreshing. 

Overall, this was a definite case of "it's not you, it's me". There was plenty here that I would have loved to love, but it just didn't work out for me. 

For this and more reviews, visit  Book For Thought.

I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.

Rachel Kanyid

Honestly could not follow this story very well at all. The story idea was interesting, but I just kept getting lost along the way with the story.

Like most of the author’s works, you need to go along for the ride. Fun and satisfying, a fairy tale. My only complaint is I’m not sure it sticks the landing as well as I would have wanted.

Becky Carpenter

Mahogany Skillings

Magical gingerbread, living dolls, chance meetings and a country that exists on no maps are just the icing on this book. Magical realism weaves its way through the story and catapults you into a version of our world, just this side of weird. Gingerbread is a circle with a questioning future at the end. Harriet Lee, Perdita Lee, and Margot Lee make up the main characters for a time, but every other character has a part to play in this tale even when it isn’t clear up front. As good, bad, and unsure things happen with Harriet and her family – the gingerbread is a constant. You’ll end this tale satisfied, but wondering what else could and/or will happen and when.

Arden Kowalski

This description sounded exactly up my alley, but the book description was stunningly familiar. Then I remembered: I've read this before. I can remember vague shards of the plot, but not how much I liked it. Tempted to go back and read again.

'A writer of sentences so elegant that they gleam' - Ali Smith Influenced by the mysterious place gingerbread holds in classic children's stories - equal parts wholesome and uncanny; from the tantalizing witch's house in Hansel and Gretel to the man-shaped confection who one day decides to run as fast as he can - beloved novelist Helen Oyeyemi invites readers into a delightful tale of a surprising family legacy, in which the inheritance is a recipe. Perdita Lee may appear your average British schoolgirl; Harriet Lee may seem just a working mother trying to penetrate the school social hierarchy; but there are signs that they might not be as normal as they think they are. For one thing, they share a gold-painted, seventh-floor flat with some surprisingly verbal vegetation. And then there's the gingerbread they make. Londoners may find themselves able to take or leave it, but it's very popular in Druhástrana, the far-away (and, according to Wikipedia, non-existent) land of Harriet Lee's early youth. In fact, the world's truest lover of the Lee family gingerbread is Harriet's charismatic childhood friend, Gretel Kercheval - a figure who seems to have had a hand in everything (good or bad) that has happened to Harriet since they met. Years later, when teenaged Perdita sets out to find her mother's long-lost friend, it prompts a new telling of Harriet's story, as well as a reunion or two. As the book follows the Lees through encounters with jealousy, ambition, family grudges, work, wealth, and real estate, gingerbread seems to be the one thing that reliably holds a constant value. Endlessly surprising and satisfying, written with Helen Oyeyemi's inimitable style and imagination, Gingerbread is a true feast for the reader.

Jade Flynn

The first one hundred pages were amazing and then it nose dived into confusing rambling with no real end. I wanted the whimsy to intensify as the novel went on but sadly it petered out.

Ruby Huber

This was a lovely bit of magical realism to get lost in. And I do mean get lost! I was confused for a lot of it! I have read another of Oyeyemi’s books and I think that had a similarly twisty narrative, not in a bad way though unless you’re a stickler for rules about plot speed or like, geography? Really beautiful characters and also just some details that almost made me mad because HOW did she THINK OF THAT??!!! (specifically the dolls?! where did that come from?!) Gorgeous and made me wanna perfect a gingerbread recipe that is so heavy handed it hurts your tongue to eat it but you gobble up every crumb anyway.

Renee Blankenship

Ohhhhh Helen Oyeyemi, what is not to love? I had been eagerly anticipating Gingerbread since the Fall and was so excited to get a copy from Riverhead Books! Thank you!

When I start reading a book by Oyeyemi, I know it will be unexpected and I anticipate a weird and slightly strange story. Gingerbread did not disappoint! It is truly a unique book with nods to classic fairytales abounding. Oyeyemi has the ability to turn a phrase or write a description that will make you go back and reread because you swear you read it wrong. Are the vines on the curtains really growing at nightfall? Do the dolls actually have living plants growing in their chest? And they are talking, yes? This is what I love most about any story Oyeyemi writes, nothing is as it seems and a simple sentence can turn the scene you had pictured in your head upside down. 

Parts of this story, about half way through, I had trouble keeping up with. Mostly when a lot of new characters were introduced. I had a hard time keeping everyone and their relationships to each other straight at first. I feel like this section of the story was a bit too slow for me and then all of a sudden it picked up again towards the end. I actually reread the last few chapters to make sure I grasped what was happening with the three houses and Gretel. 

Am I sure I know who Gretel is, now that I've finished the story? No. Do I understand her purpose? No. Were the two girls in the photos actually Gretel and Harriet in some future or past time? I do not know. AND I LOVE THAT I HAVE THESE QUESTIONS. I really do. I could reread this book and probably pick up answers and also have ten more questions. 

Helen Oyeyemi writes the kind of stories we don't see often and it is always such a joy reading them.

A Novel

Ana Couto

Thank you to Riverhead Books for the free copy in exchange for an honest review!

GINGERBREAD by Helen Oyeyemi turned out to be completely different than I thought it would be, though in general I enjoyed it! I’m not even going to try to explain the plot, but what I can say is that I found it to be both whimsical and mysterious. I want to apply the term “magical realism” to this book, but I’m not sure if that’s correct 🤔. On another note, the prose is beautiful and the story is enchanting, even though I didn’t always understand what was going on. This book really just took on a life of its own, and I tried to appreciate it for what it is. I would definitely say it was out of my comfort zone, but I’m glad I read it.

‘A writer of sentences so elegant that they gleam’ - Ali Smith Perdita Lee and her mother Harriet may appear your average schoolgirl and working mother but they are anything but. For one thing, their home is a gold-painted seventh-floor flat with some surprisingly verbal vegetation. And then there's the gingerbread. As we follow the Lees through encounters with jealousy, ambition, family grudges, work and wealth, gingerbread seems to be the one thing that holds a constant value . . . Influenced by the mysterious place gingerbread holds in classic children's stories - equal parts wholesome and uncanny - beloved novelist Helen Oyeyemi invites readers into a delightful tale of a surprising family legacy, in which the inheritance is a recipe. Endlessly surprising and satisfying, written with Helen Oyeyemi's inimitable style and imagination, Gingerbread is a true feast for the reader.

Gingerbread

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