Boy Snow Bird by Helen Oyeyemi

Boy, Snow, Bird

By Helen Oyeyemi

SYNOPSIS:

You know the story of Snow White, or you think that you do. This retelling imagines quite a different tale in which family secrets are revealed as they deal with the meaning and implications of race and beauty in the United States during the turbulent 1950’s and 1960’s.

Boy is a girl, a quirky, strong, independent girl. After growing up under the thumb of her abusive and distant father she emancipates herself and high tails it to a small, charming, artistic town in Massachusetts. It is here that Boy finds herself, and meats Arturo, a man who ignites her passion and challenges her, even if she isn’t completely in love with him. After Boy and Arturo marry they develop little family together, with Arturo’s daughter Snow, whom Boy is enchanted by. However, the family dynamic changes when Boy gives birth to a daughter Bird, and a deeply hidden family secret comes to light, challenging all of their lives, and changing the relationship that Boy has with Snow.

CHARACTERISTICS/APPEAL:

Mood- The mood in this book is turbulent. Boy’s life is one of constant difficulty and as such she has been hardened. She is defensive, closed off, quick to anger and hurt, which bleeds through into the mood of the book. However, the mood also includes moments of great hope, beautifully described beauty, and resilience. The result is a constant pull between feeling defeated and knowing that there is still hope for the future.

Violence- The violence in this book is more emotional than physical. The emotional trauma that results from lies, sabotage and cruelty inflicted upon us by those that we love the most.

Relationships- This book is not built on action or excitement, but rather the relationships that Boy develops with friends and later Arturo, Arturo’s family, Snow, and her own daughter, Bird. These relationships are difficult and sometimes the source of great pain, but they are also beautifully full of love and depth.

Pacing- This books is a slow burn. The story draws you in slowly but thoroughly, entwining the reader in the tale, like any good fairy tale, even if this fairy tale is set in real life.

Setting- A small, artistic town composed of artisans and craftsman in the 1950’s and 1960’s is the setting for this tale. Much of the tale takes place in Boy and Arturo’s home, the world created by their marriage and their relationship with their children, however, the outside source, the racial tension which existed in the United States in this time, is equally important.

READ-A-LIKES:

Picking bones from Ash by Marie Mutsuki Mockett

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Child of My Heart by Alice McDermott

The Girls at The Kingfisher Club by Genevieve Valentine

Gretel and the Dark by Eliza Granville