what is not yours is not yours by helen oyeyemi

In one story, the ghost who lives in a girl’s bedroom, and whose words sound like “a song played backward,” gives relationship advice (“the ghost breathed on the window pane and wrote FOR GO IT on the misted glass”).

And though the events of that story are only a bit less bizarre than the city of reanimated murder victims that forms in “Drownings,” it’s harder to discern what’s “real” and what’s not in the latter, which begins, “This happened and it didn’t happen.” “If a Book is Locked There’s Probably a Good Reason for That Don’t You Think” is written from a second-person point of view that lets you feel the awkwardness of its office politics for yourself. “Is Your Blood As Red As This?” begins letter-like, with one young woman addressing another to rehash their relationship, before the woman’s puppet (yes, literally) takes over to tell their story with a more objective and informed view. In “Books and Roses,” that means keeping the reader in the dark - despite the narrator’s omniscience - along with an orphan laundry maid as she pieces together muddled stories to find something like the truth.Īnd the point of view shifts between and within stories, requiring periodic recalibration of trust in the narrators.

And she can be coy, revealing the truth in scattered details or vague hints. She slips easily from concise, direct statements into flowery, vivid descriptions. Oyeyemi’s writing contributes to the surreal nature of “What is Not Yours” as much as any of its strange events. They can act as a symbol of commitment or a powerful sort of voodoo doll. In the Oyeyemi’s stories, keys unlock history and open doors that change relationships and preconceived notions. In this universe, too, keys are important, and not in the simple way that you need them to secure and access your apartment.

Major characters from earlier stories pop into later tales, providing extra glimpses into their lives, and minor characters return to have their personalities fleshed out. What’s more interesting is how the world’s inhabitants move through it, navigating everything from collegiate flirting to appeasing a hungry creature in the woods. In this world, it’s unclear whether there’s anything sinister about sentient puppets or a hotel from which you can never check out, and it’s almost beside the point. Many of them exist in the same universe - one mostly grounded in reality, but with moderate doses of the surreal. Oyeyemi, who at 31 already has five novels to her name, wrote these stories to go together. It’s an apt visualization for the short story collection - particularly if you imagine the author locking and unlocking doors on a whim. In Helen Oyeyemi’s “What is Not Yours is Not Yours,” there is a house in which none of the doors close unless you lock them. Digital Replica Edition Home Page Close Menu

What is not yours is not yours by helen oyeyemi