Harriet Lee, who lives in London, makes gingerbread from a family recipe, and her daughter Perdita is a teenager. The book follows the story of Harriet's origins in the tiny, possibly invented country of Druhástrana, where gingerbread is a national treasure, and the effect of the recipe on her relationships. Helen Oyeyemi's novel is a fairy-tale-inflected tale of mothers and daughters, secrets and friendships, with a playful narrative and strange digressions. The question of what is real remains uncertain.
It suits readers who like fabulist fiction in a literary register. Fans of Oyeyemi will find her usual inventiveness.
Open-ended; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Wisdom Collector. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2019
- Language
- EN
