Alexis: Happy World Book Day, everyone! Unfortunately, I think I jinxed myself, because I had to DNF Gingerbread.
The first couple of pages were wonderful. I loved the descriptions of the gingerbread, and Oyeyemi’s imagery and writing is fresh and lyrical.
Unfortunately, even though I love magical realism, Gingerbread is just too abstract. This book doesn’t have a clear plot, which I know is on purpose, but it’s just too atmospheric and all over the place for me. I wasn’t super invested in the characters, and talking dolls never fail to creep me out, even if they’re not supposed to be creepy! The real story begins around page 50, but by 10 pages into it, I didn’t have the energy to continue reading.
I hesitate to give this book too bad of a rating, though. Oyeyemi is clearly a talented writer, and this is a niche book that I can see certain people loving.
VERDICT:
Plot and style: 1 star
Characters: 2 stars
Writing and voice: 5 stars
takes two to book review 