White is for Witching

Helen Oyeyemi's novel White is for Witching is one of those books that get better the more I think about it. This could be because I struggled a bit while reading it. The book is a mystery, and I didn't have a firm grasp of the plot until 150 pages in to this 200 page book. But once I figured out what was going on, a lot of other stuff fell into place.

Given that, it's really hard to talk about this book without spoiling anything, except to say that it's beautiful and different. It deals with a wealth of issues, from eating disorders to immigration, racism to sexual identity, family legacies to obsession. These themes are mostly subtle, but once the truth of the mystery is revealed, they become a lot more powerful. Like I said, the more I think about this book, the more layers I see.

One of the most interesting things about this book is that I cannot tell you, with any confidence, how many narrators there are. Miranda is the central character. Both her brother, Eliot, and her girlfriend, Ore, are given first-person point of view sections throughout the book. The house Miranda lives in also has a story to tell. And the bulk of Miranda's own story is told from a detached third-person viewpoint. But an argument could be made that the house is narrating Miranda's story. I'd have to read it again to tell you which side I'd agree with.

This is definitely one of those books that warrants a re-read. If I can ever find the time.

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