This collection of short stories is magical. It is unreal and beautifully written. I will be honest, this is not my genre. I don’t usually gravitate towards the magical realism realm but I kept going back for Oyeyemi’s words. She doesn’t mince words. She draws you to a comfortable yet precarious place with her words.

There are 9 stories in the book and the characters keep reappearing in other stories making the book take shape of a loosely put together novel. There is also the underlying theme of keys and locks binding the stories.

I would be lying if I said I fell in love with the book. Her works left me perplexed and yet enchanted (how is that even possibleI have heard about Helen Oyeyemi’s works. Who hasn’t? I am a little late to the party. I haven’t read any of her previous works. What is Not Yours Is Not Yours took me to a world I have never experienced before.?).  I feel in love with Oyeyemi’s prose and storytelling skill. The titles of the stories are perfect. My personal favorite is “Sorry” Doesn’t Sweeten her Tea. Some stories are more obviously more successful than others. The first story Books and Roses mixes takes you to medieval times and Is Your Blood as Red as This has ghosts and puppets and more.

A library at night is full of sounds: The unread books can’t stand it any longer and announce their contents, some boasting, some shy, some devious.

It is definitely not a book you read in a rush. This is a book that needs you completely present between the lines. It is a book that you read once, twice and many more times and still be unsure if you like it or not. If you are a magical realism lover, you have to read Oyeyemi NOW.

She wants to see good hearts and good brains put to proper use, but I’m not convinced that everybody ought to live like that, or even that everybody can.