A review by hanrutous16
Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi

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

3.5

Reading this book is kind of like being in a fever dream. It drifts along, with stories of the past being told in the future, with a sense of unhurridness, never in a rush to get anywhere and with no set destination anyway.

The presence of fairytale ginger bread in the current world is one that remains intriguing even after the end of the novel.
The exploitation of the gingerbread and the children linked to it is quite shocking to read, and yet seems forgotten by the novel’s conclusion. Is is there to highlight the shocking misuse of workers, children and wealth? Was the gingerbread as magical as it seems or was it the advertising that made it so? It’s a stark comment on consumerism if nothing else.
But whilst the gingerbread is frequently cooked and eaten throughout the story, it didn’t have the role I wanted it to. Harriet was the harbinger of the gingerbread consistently and it felt that perhaps the gingerbread was only meaningful because of her presence rather than any reason of its own.

Love and relationships are explored very non-conventionally, and it’s hard to tell if any of the romantic relationships ever actually feel what we would deem to be love. The Kerchevals especially are very transactional in their relationships and neither blood nor marriage binds them tightly.

Gretal is an intriguing character. Aloof and entitled and yet Harriet’s friend
to the extent of rescuing her from the gingerbread girls. Her admission of being a changling is unsurprising as she always seemed other worldly, but the final chapter being narrated by her as she observes Harriet’s life seems to be very out of touch with the rest of the novel.
. With friendship a key element of the novel, her place within it is made more central than it perhaps deserves to be.

The rambling narrative of the novel will not be to everyone’s taste. This is a book without a purposeful destination. Rather, enjoy the language, the images and the journey.
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