The Icarus Girl
Jessamy "Jess" Harrison, age eight, is the child of an English father and a Nigerian mother. Possessed of an extraordinary imagination, she has a hard time fitting in at school. It is only when she visits Nigeria for the first time that she makes a friend who understands her: a ragged little girl named TillyTilly. But soon TillyTilly’s visits become more disturbing, until Jess realizes she doesn’t actually know who her friend is at all.
Drawing on Nigerian mythology, Helen Oyeyemi presents a striking variation on the classic literary theme of doubles – both real and spiritual – in this lyrical and bold debut.
Readers also enjoyed
Helen Oyeyemi
Helen Olajumoke Oyeyemi (born 1984) is a British novelist and writer of short stories. Since 2014 her home has been in Prague.
Oyeyemi wrote her first novel, The Icarus Girl, while studying for her A-levels at Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School. While studying social and political sciences at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University, Oyeyemi saw two of her plays, Juniper's Whitening and Victimese, performed by fellow students to critical acclaim, and subsequently published by Methuen.
More books by Helen Oyeyemi
