What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours

Helen Oyeyemi

Mar 2016 · Recorded Books · Narrated by Ann Marie Gideon, Bahni Turpin, and Piter Marek

About this audiobook

From the award-winning author of Boy, Snow, Bird and Mr. Fox comes an enchanting collection of intertwined stories. Playful, ambitious, and exquisitely imagined, What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours is cleverly built around the idea of keys, literal and metaphorical. The key to a house, the key to a heart, the key to a secret-Oyeyemi's keys not only unlock elements of her characters' lives, they promise further labyrinths on the other side. In "Books and Roses" one special key opens a library, a garden, and clues to at least two lovers' fates. In "Is Your Blood as Red as This?" an unlikely key opens the heart of a student at a puppeteering school. "'Sorry' Doesn't Sweeten Her Tea" involves a "house of locks," where doors can be closed only with a key-with surprising, unobservable developments. And in "If a Book Is Locked There's Probably a Good Reason for That Don't You Think," a key keeps a mystical diary locked (for good reason). Oyeyemi's creative vision and storytelling are effervescent, wise, and insightful, and her tales span multiple times and landscapes as they tease boundaries between coexisting realities. Is a key a gate, a gift, or an invitation? What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours captivates as it explores the many possible answers.

Ratings and reviews

👍

About the author

Helen Oyeyemi was born on December 10, 1984 in Nigeria. She attended Corpus Christie College and later graduated form Cambridge University in 2006. She has authored seven books including: Boy, Snow, Bird, What is Not Yours in Not Yours, Mr. Fox and The Icarus Girl. She won the PEN/Open Book Award in 2017 for "What is Not Yours is Not Yours".