Aimee Reviews~ Pieces by Helen Oyeyemi

It has not been since reading Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi that I have read such a strangely brilliant book, with such hunger to uncover the elusive truth.

I draw the comparison in part due to the wonderful sense of bewilderment this book causes. Much like Piranesi – and no spoilers if you haven’t read it yet. You really must! - this novel will leave you confused, at first. But you will turn that final page with a brilliant sense of awe.

Otto and Xavier Shin are about to depart on their ‘non-honeymoon honeymoon’ (they legally share the same surname, but are not married) aboard the old tea-smuggling train The Lucky Day to an unknown destination. The train is spectacular and strange, with images and icons instead of carriage numbers, a greenhouse carriage, and a sauna. The couple board – with their pet mongoose Arpad by their side – and are greeted by the mysterious and whimsical owner of the train, Ava Kapoor, holding up a sign. But, does it read HELLO or HELP?

The train quickly slips into a blurred state of realism and surrealism., of sleep and wake. There is a contested inheritance, a man who disappears from a burning building, a fiercely competitive Go board-game rivalry, and a man who everybody can see – except Ava. These are all, in their way, clues for a who-dunnit like nothing I have read before. Agatha Christie meets Wes Anderson by way of Salvador Dali.

Time is slippery on this journey, with the light – quite literally – escaping them for some time. While sharing experiences of their lives, old memories inform the present and the present sheds new insight on the past. Conversations skirt around meaning, and there are often bizarre consequences to even the smallest decision. As a reader, you are on the edge of your seat trying to pin down the truth, to trap the root cause of … well… everything under a glass like a tricky spider. But, like a spider, this is hard to do. The reader searches for answers, but we are often looking in the wrong direction. Reading this novel has a sense of a great magic trick about it – with misdirection, obscured facts, and the promise of a grand ‘ta-da!’ at the end.

One of the most memorable passages, for me, is when the narrator explains the different manners in which somebody may enjoy a puppet show. Some viewer’s ‘attention is reserved solely for the actions of the marionette;’ some look at or for the puppet master; some who watch the faces of the other audience members; and, finally, some ‘follow the strings and the strings alone.’

As I read this novel, I found myself wondering, which am I? Am I watching the puppet simply for the thrill of it? Am I searching for the great controlling hands above? Am I watching for other’s reactions? Or, am I peering for the strings and mechanisms? I think I was searching for the puppet master throughout this novel. Whilst reading this novel, I would often turn to my partner with some new theory. There must be a master-mind plot at play. These characters and strange instances must all be connected, somehow, to somebody.

Ultimately, this is a novel about the way we tell stories, what we choose to see and what we do not. Touching on the effects of the British Empire and the East India company, what it means to live unseen, and ghosting around themes of mental health – this is a book about existence. While it is tempting to pull the puppet strings, and try to untangle the mystery – the greatest pleasure of this book is letting it happen to you. It will seem like a strange fever-dream and may have you feeling like a disorientated passenger of The Lucky Day. But, I promise, you’re going to love this journey.

You can purchase your copy here.