Peaces Explained

Peaces is a 2021 novel by Helen Oyeyemi. The novel takes place on a train with several passengers.

Writing and composition

Oyeyemi has said the novel "[tries] to have a bit of back and forth with" Can Xue's novels Love In The New Millennium and The Last Lover as well as the writings of Carl Jung.^[2] The work of British writer Barbara Comyns also influenced the novel.^[3] The novel takes place on a fictional train,^[4] called the "Lucky Day" and Oyeyemi was "keen" from the outset of writing the book that it would be a "train book".^[5] While researching trains to write the book, Oyeyemi visited several of Ludwig II of Bavaria's castles.^[6]

Critical reception

Sara Cutaia, in a review published by the Chicago Review of Books, referred to the novel as "delightfully weird and deliciously eccentric".^[7] Reviewers at other outlets, including NPR and Vox, also positively referred to the novel as "weird".^{[8] [9]}

Notes and References

1. Manusos, Lyndsie. "Too Weird or Not Weird Enough: What is Slipstream?" Book Riot, 15 June 2021.
2. News: Ukiomogbe . Juliana . Helen Oyeyemi on Why Writing is Like "Inner Space Travel" . 12 April 2021 . Interview Magazine . 6 April 2021.
3. News: Doll . Jen . Helen Oyeyemi Writes the Ups and Downs of Love . 12 April 2021 . www.publishersweekly.com . 5 February 2021.
4. News: Kleeman . Alexandra . Helen Oyeyemi's New Novel Is Not a Fairy Tale . 19 April 2021 . The New York Times . 6 April 2021.
5. News: Iversen . Kristin . Helen Oyeyemi Finds the World of Her Novel on the Train . 19 April 2021 . Literary Hub . 7 April 2021.
6. News: Shaw . Helen . The Queen of Fractured Fairy Tales . 12 April 2021 . Vulture . 29 March 2021 . en-us.
7. Web site: Cutaia . Sara . A Wild Ride Through the Mind in "PEACES" . Chicago Review of Books . 12 April 2021 . 7 April 2021.
8. News: Grady . Constance . Helen Oyeyemi's unsettling new novel Peaces starts weird and gets weirder . 19 April 2021 . Vox . 8 April 2021 . en.
9. News: Iglesias . Gabino . Too Many 'Peaces' Overload An Otherwise Entertaining Story . 19 April 2021 . NPR.org . 7 April 2021 . en.