My Amazon and Goodreads review of Gingerbread (Rating 2) – Tasteless. I finished Helen Oyeyemi’s Gingerbread only because I hate to waste food. Despite the fact that gingerbread is the book’s main entree, readers never get to relish its sensory delights. Oyeyemi does little to evoke the unique pungency of this savory-sweet confection, instead serving a tasteless meal that meanders among people, places, and times in a half-baked batter. Her themes may be the strength of inter-generational ties and the transcendent bonds of female friendship, but her characters lack heart. Not that they are cardboard; their stories are distinctive, if not downright weird. As a writer (see my Amazon author page and Goodreads author page), I appreciate Oyeyemi’s imaginative powers. But whether her creations are real people, changelings, dolls, or figments of the author’s mind, their oddity fails to warm readers’ hearts as much as the gingerbread fails to warm our bellies. If you’re hungry for a good read, search elsewhere.
