Reviews

Peaces by Helen Oyeyemi

solarpunkwitch's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

michaelwinstonclark's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

stubbornbones's review against another edition

5.0

Another delight from Oyeyemi—I love her style and I love her whimsical yet deep understanding of her settings and characters.

cemoses's review against another edition

4.0

This is the first book I have read by this author.  I would have given this book a five but the ending was strange and I could not understand it.   I would read other books by this author.   
This is just a note-most couples in this book are gay couples

katmshaw's review against another edition

funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

Very much enjoyed reading this, but not my favourite Oyeyemi. It took me 3 attempts to finally finish this book, and while there are many concepts I loved I would unfortunately have to agree with other reviews saying the magical realism feels a bit forced. 

lunaseline's review against another edition

1.0

Jamen, jag får ju skylla mig själv.
Jag tvingade mig igenom Oyeyemis "Gingerbread", ständigt tänkande att min tekopp inte ens fanns i samma värld som den här författarens. Och det är väl fine - det verkar till och med vara lite Oyeyemis grej. I intervjuer med henne nämns bland annat om hur hon upplever sig själv vara en räv, typ. Samtidigt är intervjuerna alltid så... inspirerade (eller: ängsliga, sett så här i efterhand). Hon hyllas för sina egenheter, och bokredaktörer snubblar över sina egna fötter i sina försök att beskriva hennes böcker.
Varningssignaler, allting.
Ändå klickade jag hem Peaces. Kan vi skylla på "snyggt omslag"...?
Jaja. Skylla mig själv, som sagt. Fantasin är det verkligen inget fel på, men inte heller på den totala konstigheten, som helt alienerar mig som läsare. Den var mer lättläst, och något mer givande (på några få ställen) än Gingerbread, men annars... Nä.
(Förväntade du dig en recension av själva innehållet? Det går inte att beskriva särskilt lätt, så då får du läsa boken själv. Och då även skylla dig själv.)

very_nice_frogs's review against another edition

3.0

Took a while to get going, the middle 100 pages were interesting and I wanted to know more about the characters and the mystery but the ending was so rushed and didn’t feel like a thematic resolution. I don’t feel like this book leveraged the magical realism elements that well either—again the setup and premise was very fun, but things just didn’t come together in a meaningful way for me at the end. :/ did really like premise though and specifically the  concept of blank paintings.

vukosgrin's review against another edition

hopeful mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

glambert's review

1.5

i sincerely had no idea what was going on the entire time. i thought things would start to click as the book progressed but ultimately, i didn’t understand the story, the characters, or the point. it felt like the characters and their relationships were all in Oyeyemi’s mind and she failed to let us in. Very disappointing.

rachelalittle's review against another edition

Meh. Magical realism is hard to get into.