3.0
Parasol Against the Axe
ByPublisher Description
ONE OF BIBLIOLIFESTYLE’S “BEST LITERARY FICTION OF 2024”
"A shape-shifting novel about the power of stories…Helen Oyeyemi is a literary pied piper — her voice is the kind that readers gamely follow into the most bewildering and unnerving of situations." – The New York Times
“A metatextual masterpiece.” —Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“Oyeyemi writes here as an heir to Calvino or Borges…A dizzying, dazzling romp.” —Kirkus Reviews
The prize-winning, bestselling author of Peaces and Gingerbread returns with a novel about competitive friendship, the elastic boundaries of storytelling, and the meddling influence of a city called Prague
In Helen Oyeyemi’s joyous new novel, the Czech capital is a living thing—one that can let you in or spit you out.
For reasons of her own, Hero Tojosoa accepts an invitation she was half expected to decline, and finds herself in Prague on a bachelorette weekend hosted by her estranged friend Sofie. Little does she know she’s arrived in a city with a penchant for playing tricks on the unsuspecting. A book Hero has brought with her seems to be warping her mind: the text changes depending on when it’s being read and who’s doing the reading, revealing startling new stories of fictional Praguers past and present. Uninvited companions appear at bachelorette activities and at city landmarks, offering opinions, humor, and even a taste of treachery. When a third woman from Hero and Sofie’s past appears unexpectedly, the tensions between the friends’ different accounts of the past reach a new level.
An adventurous, kaleidoscopic novel, Parasol Against the Axe considers the lines between illusion and delusion, fact and interpretation, and weighs the risks of attaching too firmly to the stories of a place, or a person, or a shared history. How much is a tale influenced by its reader, or vice versa? And finally, in a battle between friends, is it better to be the parasol or the axe?
"A shape-shifting novel about the power of stories…Helen Oyeyemi is a literary pied piper — her voice is the kind that readers gamely follow into the most bewildering and unnerving of situations." – The New York Times
“A metatextual masterpiece.” —Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“Oyeyemi writes here as an heir to Calvino or Borges…A dizzying, dazzling romp.” —Kirkus Reviews
The prize-winning, bestselling author of Peaces and Gingerbread returns with a novel about competitive friendship, the elastic boundaries of storytelling, and the meddling influence of a city called Prague
In Helen Oyeyemi’s joyous new novel, the Czech capital is a living thing—one that can let you in or spit you out.
For reasons of her own, Hero Tojosoa accepts an invitation she was half expected to decline, and finds herself in Prague on a bachelorette weekend hosted by her estranged friend Sofie. Little does she know she’s arrived in a city with a penchant for playing tricks on the unsuspecting. A book Hero has brought with her seems to be warping her mind: the text changes depending on when it’s being read and who’s doing the reading, revealing startling new stories of fictional Praguers past and present. Uninvited companions appear at bachelorette activities and at city landmarks, offering opinions, humor, and even a taste of treachery. When a third woman from Hero and Sofie’s past appears unexpectedly, the tensions between the friends’ different accounts of the past reach a new level.
An adventurous, kaleidoscopic novel, Parasol Against the Axe considers the lines between illusion and delusion, fact and interpretation, and weighs the risks of attaching too firmly to the stories of a place, or a person, or a shared history. How much is a tale influenced by its reader, or vice versa? And finally, in a battle between friends, is it better to be the parasol or the axe?
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesParasol Against the Axe Reviews
3.0
“this might be one of the most abstract books i've read! it had so many quotable, slice of life lines that i just wanted to write down and remember forever. it was definitely a no plot, just vibes kind of literary fiction novel. i enjoyed the atmosphere, and it was fun to see prague throughout history. the city really becomes a character, and there were some great laugh out loud random moments! the characters didn't have too much in depth about them in terms of personality, but i think they're meant to be more just vessels for the atmosphere and weird shenanigans, which wasn't a problem for me!
while i enjoyed the book for the most part, it was brought down by some sections being a little too abstract and difficult to follow. for such a short book, it took me a while to read because you really have to slow down and pay attention to what you're reading for it to make sense. i'm not sure i understood what the book was trying to say at a lot of points, but i was just along for the ride really!
overall, this was a very unique, abstract and fun literary fiction which i think will stay with me for a while. anyone who lives in prague or has visited there before will definitely especially enjoy it.”“This is my second read by Oyeyemi, and I am already hooked on her incredibly unique writing style. She has mastered the art of the story within a story within a story. I will admit it took me a bit to become fully absorbed with there being so much going on. This novel's writing may have you questioning whether you're smart enough to understand it. However, once I felt like I had grasped onto the thread running through the story, I was completely immersed. I love the absurd unreality of the worlds Oyeyemi creates--what is possible within them would not be anywhere else, yet the characters exist completely within the strangeness. It always feels like the world goes on and on beyond the page. This all contributes to the theme of Prague being a singular and magical place, as does the use of Paradoxical Undressing as a magical guiding object. I was curious about this fictional novel throughout, and I quite liked the final explanation for the varied readings. Overall, this was such an interesting read. Even the smallest characters are fascinating and whole. I am quickly becoming a huge fan of this author and eager to read more of her work!”
“Absolutely stunning writing style & set in my home town!
As someone who just started reading fiction I wish I had read this later in my fiction journey rather than now. I enjoyed the layering of story, but in all honestly I struggled to stay engaged, which is more to do with me than the author !”
“For most of this book I had no clue what was going on and I guess that was kind of the point?? The point of stories being told by people in different ways only really came to light during the last couple of pages. If you’re into waiting until the last chapter to know what’s going on in a mish mash this one’s for you!”
About Helen Oyeyemi
Helen Oyeyemi is the author of the story collection What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours, which won the PEN Open Book Award, along with seven novels, including Peaces, Gingerbread, and Boy, Snow, Bird, which was a finalist for the 2014 Los Angeles Times Book Prize.
Other books by Helen Oyeyemi
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