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diamondsandtoads · 5 months

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I finished Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi last night

Oyeyemi is known for books that are flagged as "fairy tale retellings" but are really loose explorations of fairy tale archetypes and motifs in a contemporary world (or contemporary-ish. This book is set in the 1950s).

In Boy, Snow, Bird, Oyeyemi explores the ways that race relations might play into the Snow White story, in particular, the dynamic between the evil step-mother and Snow White. It also introduces the character Bird, the natural daughter of the step-mother (named Boy). I think Bird is supposed to represent the huntsman, based on a sort of throw-away line that Bird is becoming a bit of a hunter.

There's a motif with mirrors in this book, where Boy can't stop looking at herself in mirrors, but neither Bird nor Snow can see themselves in mirrors. This sort of magic is taken at face value; it just exists within the world of the narrative, and you as the reader are never really sure how true or real this magic is.

I really liked this book up until section 3 which is basically universally viewed as a flop. The ending comes out of nowhere and really has nothing to do with anything that the text had been building towards. I can sort of see where the author was coming from, and what they were trying to do (especially with the motif of mirrors and the theme of identity), but they failed, unfortunately.

I'll admit, there's some random and questionable transgendering happening here, with a character being revealed to have "once been a woman" and now a man. I can see that Oyeyemi is trying to pull in the magical transformations between gender that happen in fairy tales all the time but this is a bit... yikes. Especially because this transition happens after a sexual assault and after the birth of a child.

It's so frustrating because I can see what Oyeyemi is going for, I can see her trying to make sense of the mirrors here but.... that's a yikes from me, dog.

Anyway, this book was really good until the last section, which is an utter flop, so when I reread it, I probably will just end it at the end of section 2.

(also.... where's Snow's section?! Doesn't not giving her her own voice sort of reinforce the way that the other characters in the book treat her, the way she despises?!? Give me Snow!!!!)

#boy snow bird #snow white #booklr #book review #helen oyeyemi #fairy tale retelling

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gennsoup · 15 days

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"People underestimate the freckled."

Helen Oyeyemi, Boy, Snow, Bird

#Helen Oyeyemi #Boy Snow Bird #freckles #freckled #underestimated #British literature #Nigerian literature #quotes #quotes blog #literary quotes #literature quotes #literature #book quotes #books #words #text

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slightlyrebelliouswriter23 · 1 year

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#em reads #do we colour code our monthly reads? yes yes we do #tess of the road #rachel hartman #modern faerie tales #holly black #emma #jane austen #a wizard of earthsea #ursula k. le guin #boy snow bird #helen oyeyemi #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #suzanne collins #the modern faerie tales

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chanelslibrary · 9 months

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🌙𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰🌙

boy, snow, bird

by helen oyeyemi

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

This book is a retelling of Snow White set in the 1950’s against the backdrop of racial segregation. It is told from multiple POVs switching from Boy, a beautiful white woman, (Snow’s stepmother) and Bird, the biracial daughter she has. The beautiful problem standing between them? Snow. And her ability to pass as white in a world where being Black is deadly.

I really liked the themes in this book! Oyeyemi was able to subtly make comparisons between a fairy tale and segregation. It may have just been the setting…but I didn’t like the characters (who likes the Evil Queen?!) but even the “likeable” ones I did not take to. This book also took me a l o n g time to finish and I believe it was the stream of consciousness/rambling style writing. It made it hard to get into the story. Overall, I liked the book, did not love it.

•dual POV

•Snow White reimagined

•racial segregation/white passing

𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 (+): good themes, great plot twist, Black representation

𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 (-): stream of consciousness writing style, unlikeable characters

𝐂𝐖/𝐓𝐖: brief mention of torture

#source: @literaturelove #book aesthetic #bookworm #book blog #bookstagram #book review #review #book recap #book reccs #book recommendations #book #bookblr #books #boy snow bird #snow white #helen oyeyemi #black authors #book edit

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judgingbooksbycovers · 2 years

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Boy, Snow, Bird

By Helen Oyeyemi.

Design by Helen Yentus.

#Boy Snow Bird #Helen Oyeyemi #Helen Yentus #animals #books #book covers #snakes

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friendly-neighbourhood-librarian · 2 years

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Boy, Snow, Bird - Helen Oyeyemi

A Snow White story that explores racial divides in 1950s America.

Boy Novak escapes her abusive home and finds her way to the town of Flax Hill, Massachusetts. There, she meets and marries Arturo Whitman and becomes stepmother to his daughter, Snow. When Boy's own daughter, Bird, is born, she reveals their true colours: the Whitmans are a black family that has been passing as white for generations. As Bird grows up, she, Snow, and Boy experience the prejudices of the world in different ways.

I could not put this book down! Not in a I-have-to-know-what-happens-next way, because there isn't a lot that actually happens plot-wise. But the writing and the character voices are so compelling that you don't even realize you're turning pages until suddenly the sky is dark outside your window and you're halfway through the book already!

More fairy tales

#boy snow bird #helen oyeyemi #fiction #historical fiction #fairytales #snow white #bookrecs

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leeryder · 5 months

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Snow

#a quiet snowy morning #where not even the birds sing #two little boys catch the snow on their tongues #ragbros #kaeya #diluc #genshin impact

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thelien-art · 1 year

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We all love some old folklore kinslayers @cuarthol (I apologize for not using Disneys version of Snow White it just never touched me the same way the brother Grimms did)

the Celegorm in question

#the brown dots are birds btw #and in this version hes probably the one who gives the apple to the evil queen #or king but then it should be thingol #yeah that sounds good #silmarillion #tolkien #celegorm #tyelkormo #snow white #snow white brother grimm #brother grimm #folklore #silm art #folklore art #digital art #my art #also look at my boy who for once brushed his hair

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photozoi · 1 year

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Would you look at him!?

My little Valentine. So handsome!

the Imp (Silken Windhound)

#the Imp #Silken Windhound #sighthound #snow day #handsome boy #photozoi #original photos #Valentine #2-14-23 #he's watching birds

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yashley · 2 years

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avatar the last airbender au for vox machina going to see a bad play of themselves and vax’ildan’s actor leaps out and says I’m an INCURABLE PRANKSTER and vex laughs at her brother that a woman plays him and keyleth sits there being tooooo attracted to this actress vax’ildan and then blinks at vex sitting right next to her.

#critical role #vex is laughing at vax because HE tried to sneak audition for the vax role and lost to a byroden powerhouse #you love a raven boy but ONLY cos literally the pranks never stopped #he would be that bird that clings to a branch and falls to roll down a snow drift roof top #keyleth goings BEETred and proceeds to leave and vex is like it’s okay darling we know you’re better #and keyleth is just nodding nodding sure please i have to not have you hold my hand right now

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illputdownmyrootswhenimdead · 1 year

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