The Boston Globe writes, “The most chilling horror is the everyday one. The calm, slow suicide. The complacent murderer. The monster that believes in nothing so much as its own moral compass. In her third, profoundly chilling novel, Helen Oyeyemi gives readers all three for a slow-building neo-Gothic that will leave persevering readers breathless.”
At the center of the novel is Miranda Silver, a teenager suffering from pica, a rare eating disorder that causes its victims to consume nonedible substances. The death of her mother when Miranda is sixteen exacerbates her condition; nothing, however, satisfies a strange hunger passed down through the women in her family. And then there’s the family house in Dover, England, converted to a bed-and-breakfast by Miranda’s father. Dover has long been known for its hostility toward outsiders. But the Silver House manifests a more conscious malice toward strangers, dispatching those visitors it despises. Enraged by the constant stream of foreign staff and guests, the house finally unleashes its most destructive power.
With distinct originality and grace, and an extraordinary gift for making the fantastic believable, Helen Oyeyemi spins the politics of family and nation into a riveting and unforgettable mystery.
Already on sale in the UK, the novel has received tremendous praise. Also, check out the Guardian’s interview with the 24-year-old author.
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