Gingerbread: A Novel

I was taken in by the clever language in this book. I say clever rather than pretty because I was more impressed by Oyeyemi's sharp, clean insights into human nature than by beautiful descriptive prose. In the true spirit of magical realism, many of the stranger elements in the book (like Perdita's talking half-plant dolls) aren't exactly explained. They are just accepted.Many reviews state that the plot of the story is difficult to follow. I did not necessarily find this to be true, especially after the first two chapters. However you should be prepared for quick, sometimes improbable plot twists. And don't expect to have all your questions neatly tied up with a bow on top by the end of the book.Other than that, enjoy the treat!

I was really looking forward to reading this book, but I found it very disjointed and hard to follow.The writing would pull me in briefly, for example when Perdita was in the hospital, and I would think I was understanding the characters and starting to get to know them, and then the story would go off on a wild, weird tangent. I kept pushing through until page 102, and then I finally decided that was enough, life was too short to be forcing myself to continue when it was so frustrating and I wasn't enjoying the book.

I loved the NYTimes review of this book; I even loved the writing for about two-thirds of the book because it forces a reader to pay attention rather than skim -- something the Times' reviewer indicated was the case. After a while, the writing -- especially the stream-of-consciousness style seemed contrived -- and I just grew tired and bored by it all. I stopped caring about the human characters and only wanted to read what the dolls had to say. I only have about 40 pages left and I can't bring myself to finish it. Maybe one day, I'll look at a doll and get inspried to finish it, but until then...Perdita, Margot, Gretel etal will stay closed away in my copy as I move on to other things.

I like to think I'm at least average in skills of interpreting literature, but I have no clue what I just read. I know, I know. I was forewarned there were magical elements. I get that gingerbread is metaphorical, a staple of fairy tales, a twist on bread of life. Or death, as the case may be. Fabulous (As in "related to fables") houses abound (Gingerbread houses, anyone?) Dolls talk. The allegory spins out of control and murder lurks. I'm sure book clubs everywhere are serving gingerbread and those wonderful paper thin Moravian gingerbread cookies. But I recommend having some Malbec available for when they--rapidly--get into "what the actual hey" territory.

This was a book club selection for my group. We all got the millions of ads on instagram and other social media to READ it. I am happy to say, that if I am not smart enough to understand this book...neither was anyone in my book club. We all read it and thought, WTH did I just read and can I have my time back? We all googled "what was Gingerbread about" just so that we could have a discussion...I can also say it was one of our more livelier discussions as everyone was railing on the book, the characters, the pointlessness of the book...etc...I am an avid reader, I read about 4-6 books a month. I like all genres and will really read just about everything. I love reading so much, it is hard for me to ever give a book a 1 star rating. This book is the exception.

Bought because recommended. Disappointed. Boring nonsense.One star for cute cover.

Oyeyemi's prose is a thing to behold. This book is a fun and entertaining read as well as a work of art.

I finished Helen Oyeyemi’s Gingerbread only because I hate to waste food. Despite the fact that gingerbread is the book’s main entree, readers never get to relish its sensory delights. Oyeyemi does little to evoke the unique pungency of this savory-sweet confection, instead serving a tasteless meal that meanders among people, places, and times in a half-baked batter. Her themes may be the strength of inter-generational ties and the transcendent bonds of female friendship, but her characters lack heart. Not that they are cardboard; their stories are distinctive, if not downright weird. As a writer (see my Amazon author page www.amazon.com/author/asewovenwords), I appreciate Oyeyemi’s imaginative powers. But whether her creations are real people, changelings, dolls, or figments of the author’s mind, their oddity fails to warm readers’ hearts as much as the gingerbread fails to warm our bellies. If you’re hungry for a good read, search elsewhere.

I’m about half way through and finding this book patchy and meandering. Some sections are intriguing but it’s very hard to follow and some parts just seem pointless (and never ending). It isn’t the kind of book that’s a pleasure to pick up each evening and then is hard to put down - it’s a bit of a chore. I can’t really decide whether to plough on or not - not really a good sign - so I certainly wouldn’t recommend it.

Thought I'd love this book but was disappointed. If you like zany unconventional writing you may love it but the writing style and narrative left me unimpressed. Yes it is original - which is where the 3 stars come from- but if you like a more traditional read I wouldn't bother.

I realise I do not like this type of book. Hence my 2stars

A complete waste of money. So many descriptive words used that the story drowned.

Didn’t like this at all