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Boy, Snow, Bird: A Novel Hardcover – March 6, 2014

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Helen Oyeyemi (Author)
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Helen Oyeyemi (Author)
3.2 out of 5 stars 339 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Riverhead Books; First Edition/First Printing edition (March 6, 2014)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1594631395
  • ISBN-13: 978-1594631399
  • Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 1.1 x 8.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (339 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #113,455 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsBoy, Snow, Bird
By Brendan Moody VINE VOICE on January 28, 2014
Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )
[Spoiler warning: because of the way BOY, SNOW, BIRD is structured, it's difficult to discuss the novel without giving away plot points that emerge around the halfway point. This review won't reveal anything that isn't discussed in the cover copy or implicit in the mythic structure, but readers who want to come to the novel not knowing anything should stop here, with my strong recommendation for this novel about identity and the ambiguities of race, gender, and family life.]

The title of Helen Oyeyemi's excellent new novel derives from the names of its three female protagonists. Boy is Boy Novak, who escapes an abusive childhood in 1950s New York and comes to the Massachusetts town of Flax Hill, eventually marrying local widower Arturo Whitman. Snow is Arturo's daughter, a girl of uncommon beauty who makes Boy obscurely uncomfortable. And Bird is the daughter Boy and Arturo have together, whose dark skin reveals the family's secret: Arturo, his late wife, and their families were all African-Americans passing as white. Boy, worried about what the difference between Snow and Bird will mean for her own daughter and plagued by demons of her own, sends Snow away to live with relatives. But years later, when Bird is a teenager, Snow returns...

Some readers will already have identified the fairy tale of which this is a loose retelling; others will recognize it after learning that Boy, Snow, and Bird all have a strange fascination with mirrors. But the emphasis is on "loose" rather than "retelling:" those expecting a point-for-point recasting of Snow White will be disappointed.Read more ›
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2.0 out of 5 starsDid not appeal to me
By Steve VINE VOICE on February 22, 2014
Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )
After struggling with this book then reading the glowing reviews, I am stuck with the reality that this is a book I either completely missed, or one that is not in my interest area no matter how slowly I read it, or even re-read it.

The style of author Helen Oyeyemi was a tough nut for me to crack. The side steps into fantasy, the lack of smooth transitions, and what I perceived as heavy-handedness were obstacles to my enjoyment. I found myself unable to sustain interest and labored to get through it. In short, it seemed to never really go anywhere, nor was the main character Boy fascinating enough to make me care and lock me in.

Again, I’m in the minority thus far and it’s clear that others found plenty to cherish in this novel. I almost wish I did, too, but there are too many other books to discover for me to fret over this particular literary disconnect. I hope you enjoy it more than I did.
22 Comments 130 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
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4.0 out of 5 starsGood book that leaves me somewhat cold
By Liviania VINE VOICE on March 6, 2014
Format: Hardcover
I've heard quite a bit of praise for British novelist Helen Oyeyemi, who is known for combining mythology and other traditional stories with more commonplace matter. BOY, SNOW, BIRD is her fifth novel and the first one I've read. I'm having difficultly untangling my feelings about it.

BOY, SNOW, BIRD is inspired by Snow White and American history. (It's set in the fifties.) Boy, the narrator of the first and the last section, is a young woman who runs away from home when it becomes clear that her father might kill her one day. She makes a new life for herself in a small town, friendships, dates, a job, the works. But her new life has unexpected complications, including the other two eponymous characters. Bird narrates the second part, and Snow doesn't narrate at all. I want Snow's point of view, but it makes sense, given that so much of the book is about how people perceive Snow and whether their perception is right.

One thing I truly enjoyed is how my perception of BOY, SNOW, BIRD changed as I was reading it. It wasn't the story I - or Boy - expected. There are, for instance, little seeds of what will become major plot points in the first half, but it's easy to overlook them as just bits of set dressing. BOY, SNOW, BIRD is a novel that tackles complex subjects while keeping the focus on people and their actions. The Snow White theme provides structure, but BOY, SNOW, BIRD has no easily digestible moral.

My issue is that I felt adrift at the end of the novel. I was thoroughly engrossed, and then it ended. There's a small catharsis at the end, but very small. I felt like the characters' journeys weren't through. I don't think there was much story left, but there was something.Read more ›
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2.0 out of 5 starsConfusing and muddled book that can't decide what it wants to be
By Kenya Starflight on September 3, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition
WARNING: REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS.

The oddball title of this book was the first thing to intrigue me -- at first it just seemed to be three random words strong together, though I expected them to have some bearing on the story itself. The book description hooked me further, however -- "retold fairy tales" is a favorite genre of mine, and even if the author decides to transport the fairy tale to another era and/or country, it can often work regardless. And a retelling of "Snow White" set amid the racial strife of the fifties and sixties had a lot of potential in my opinion. And I must admit, having three main characters with such unique names was also something of a draw -- the title is actually the names of three of the principal characters, all women and all united by family ties of some sort. So though I knew nothing about the author of this work, I picked up the book.

Perhaps I picked this up expecting too much, but it fell incredibly flat for me. I expected a fractured fairy tale, and instead got a story about race and family relations that can't seem to decide what direction it ultimately wants to go.

Boy is a young woman who flees her abusive father, a rat catcher in New York City, for a small town in Massachusetts. She ends up befriending several townsfolk, including a history professor turned jeweler and his beautiful daughter Snow, whom everyone seems to adore. She ends up marrying the jeweler -- more for security than out of actual love -- and becomes stepmother to Snow, all the while wondering if she'll fall into the cliché of wicked stepmother.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsFairytale with a twist

This was a beautifully written story. I absolutely loved the narration, especially from Boy. When I was told that the book was a version of Cinderella, I did not realize what I was... Read more

Published 3 days ago by Dartricia Walker
3.0 out of 5 starsDisappointing

After reading a few reviews I was anticipating liking this book However, I found the characters fairly flat, with some significant characters (Boy's husband... Read more

Published 6 days ago by Love2Teach
1.0 out of 5 starsDid not like this book because the characters were one dimensional

Did not like this book because the characters were one dimensional. I kept waiting for them to deepen, but for naught.

Published 14 days ago by Carmen Martinez-Tittmann
2.0 out of 5 starsgot bored after a while

Tedius and hard to follow, got bored after a while.

Published 14 days ago by Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 starsOyeyemi's prose is extremely beautiful and poetic

Oyeyemi's prose is extremely beautiful and poetic, although I'm not entirely sure how accurate it is to the period. Some of the lingo and dialogue seems a little too modern. Read more

Published 21 days ago by Arianna
3.0 out of 5 starsAs much as I wanted to love Boy, Snow

As much as I wanted to love Boy, Snow, Bird, and as great as the writing was, I finished the book and wasn't quite certain what I'd read. Read more

Published 24 days ago by Oak
5.0 out of 5 starsEntertaining

Wonderful book!!!!

Published 1 month ago by Anthony Woods
3.0 out of 5 starsShocking Narrative of Passing and its Pitfalls

BOY, SNOW, BIRD, written by one of Granta's nominated Young British Novelists, is a passing narrative set in the United States in the early Fifties and mid-Sixties (although it is... Read more

Published 1 month ago by Dr. Laurence Raw
4.0 out of 5 starsFour Stars

I enjoyed this story line. Enjoyable non-fiction of times gone by.

Published 1 month ago by Wini H
2.0 out of 5 starsI was disappointed and that is saying something since I read a ...

I expected more from this book based on the reviews. I was disappointed and that is saying something since I read a lot and normally find something to like about each book that I... Read more

Published 1 month ago by Carlene Pearsall

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