Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #200973 in Books
• Published on: 2006-02-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
In the The Icarus Girl, eight-year-old Jessamy Harrison is the only child of a Nigerian mother and English father--sensitive, intelligent, imaginative and prone to sudden and inexplicable screaming tantrums. She has unusual obsessions for a child--Hamlet and haiku to name two--and finds it hard to make friends. Then, on her first visit to her mother’s family home in Nigeria, Jess meets TillyTilly, a strange child with extraordinary abilities who leads her into forbidden places and uncomfortable situations. Some time after returning to the UK, TillyTilly turns up at the Harrison's London home and, at once, life for everyone is turned upside down.

This complex, multi-layered novel is compelling because of its unusual subject matter but also because of its lyrical prose. Written while studying for her A-levels, Helen Oyeyemi’s debut shows an immense maturity and understanding which belies her age. There are a number of dream-like scenes of intense emotion--a mystical visit to a funfair, an insight into a fellow pupil’s shameful secret and a sleepover that ends badly--that cleverly blend magic realism with horror story. But there’s also an innocence--intermittent reminders of Oyeyemi’s youthfulness which sneak up unexpectedly. Some of the dialogue is confusing and the structure is less than smooth in parts.

The Icarus Girl looks deep into Jess’s soul and asks questions about the true reasons for her troubled state of mind and her place in her family, her community and in society at large. It looks at the issues of self and the alter ego, at the relationships of twins and doubles and from there, deeper still, into complex psychological issues of identity and belonging. As a child of mixed-race herself, Oyeyemi has much to say on the wider and most important issue of cultural identity, integration and tolerance. This is a promising first novel by a talented young writer. Would be particularly appreciated by precocious and literary teenagers.--Carey Green

Daily Mail
‘A beautiful, haunting story …This compelling tale of folklore and cultural differences is sure to top the bestseller lists’

Helen Brown, Daily Telegraph
‘Flickering between viciousness and vulnerability, The Icarus Girl is a compulsive, disrupting read’

Customer Reviews

Original and a good starter for ten.
One has to admire the author for having the inclination (and time) to write a book at her tender age. Whilst other teenagers were out having a good time, and generally acting like teenagers, Ms Oyeyemi was dedicating her time to writing this debut novel. Was it worth the sacrifice?
Oh yes, as the Icarus Girl is a book full of rich prose and flowing narrative, that has one thinking Ms Oyeyemi is a fully fledged adult. One can only hope that her promise blossoms fully as her years progress. One thing I enjoyed this book for was how it tackled the mixed relationship angle from the Nigerian woman/Englishman angle - a subject not normally touched upon. So, if you like this I do recommend the book: One Love Two Colours: The unlikely marriage of a Punk Rocker & his African Queen, by Margaret Oshindele-Smith - a book that shows the masses how a Nigerian woman can marry an Englishman and make a success of a marriage - despite cultural clashes and prejudice.

Mixed feelings
I thought this started off with great promise, and don't get me wrong it did hold me as a reader. But i seemed to lose it after a while, some of it just didn't make sense. I was really dissappointed with the ending, which i didn't really get.It left me confused.

disturbing
This is a story of a little girl which starts out almost like a ghost story, but builds quite freakily into an alarming story of a child with mental health issues. Taking all the interesting subplots out around different cultures, when you get down to the bones of this story and look purely at the central character and how her mind is working this paints a very alarming picture. Gave this to two of my colleagues to read and we all came to same conclusion - we were all extremely concerned that a 17 year old had enough insight and experience to write this. Guess what field we all work in? A very insightful but disturbing read.