| I read this in a conscious effort to expand my horizon and step outside my literary comfort zone. A book by a young female author, a recent book, a diverse book. Unluckily, the result is that I feel better within my comfort zone. What were my issues?
First of all is the wild seemingly uncontrolled way of writing. Oyeyemi sparkles with ideas. Focus takes a back seat in the ride. Not everything makes sense, many details don’t have any role. People could be left out without any loss for the story. The settings can be obscure. Repeatedly, puppeteers play a central role. Why on earth? It could have been anything except for the one story focusing on the puppet. Which actually I couldn’t relate to at all. Thematically, the short stories are an odd mix between above mentioned oddities, modern world issues like social media and weird urban fantasy. Again, I would consider this rather a lack of control than creativity. But tastes differ. Finally, I understand the importance of diversity. But diversity here is so much in-your-face that it’s gone far overboard. If someone is in a relationship, expect it to be a lesbian or gay one. And at least one of the two will be Asian or Black. Different strokes, attribute it to my comfort zone. This ain’t for me. |