A Nigerian gothic if there is such a thing, focused on childhood, knowledge, revelation and concealment.

Identity means a lot to those who are in-between cultures and navigating the vagaries of race, Oyeyemi navigates bridges between Nigeria and England and metaphorically between life and death. The context is the influence of imaginary friends we all have in our childhood. Layered on top of this are belief systems about twins, superstition, tradition and modernity. The resort to psychologists in the west and perhaps to other cultural touchstones in Africa.

She embues a certain precocity in the language of her child protagonists and a sensitivity to the close monitoring of emotions of the parents and their interaction. She captures the mindset of a child, the scenes with the other children and their repartee is spot on. And what of the parents? Can one throw the heavy charge of selfishness to an eight year old if they are simply dealing with things as best they can? The story has an aura of mystery if not dread at times.

There is always an unsettling element to the narrative and it is fitting for a novel about what lies beneath or in the wilderness of a child’s mind.

Jess Harrison is an eight-year old girl, an only child and nearly determined to be a loner. She seems nearly to be afraid of making friends, avoids going outside to play as much as possible and keeps her thoughts to herself. She also reads a great deal – “Little Women” is a great favourite and she is also very partial to Shakespeare. However, Jess often suffers from panic attacks and the occasional strange fever.

Jess’ parents, Daniel and Sarah, met at university. Daniel was born and raised in England, though Sarah is Nigerian and only came to England to study medicine. She promptly switched courses to study English Literature and is now a successful writer. Fifteen years after she left Nigeria, Sarah is now returning to Nigeria for the first time with her husband and daughter. Although there are some awkward moments for Sarah, meeting the Nigerian side of the family also proves difficult for Jess. While the relations she meet include aunts, uncles and cousins, her grandfather proves to be very much the dominant character : he ‘rules’ the compound in which the family live. It’s clear he disapproves of Sarah’s decision to switch from medicine to English Literature and her decision to remain in England. In fact, he doesn’t seem to entirely approve of Daniel either. However, there is a bond between grandfather and granddaughter – he clearly loves her and she seeks her approval. Although Jess knows she has a Yoruba name – Wuraola – her grandfather is the first person to call her by that name. Not being called Jess, however, is something that initially confuses and scares her a little.

The compound in which the family lives was built in the 1870s by Jess’ great-grandfather. Jess’ grandfather currently lives at the centre of the compound, with an old and deserted building called the Boys’ Quarters located at the back of it. It had once been home to the compound’s servants, though it has now been lying empty for many years and now isn’t fit for habitation. The trouble for Jess starts when she realises that someone is, in fact, living in the Boys’ Quarters – apparently without anyone else in the compound being aware of it. The cuckoo is a young Yoruba girl called Titiola who becomes Jess’ first ever friend. As Jess has trouble with the pronunciation, she calls her new companion Tilly-Tilly. While there are a few minor skirmishes in Nigeria, the trouble only really begins when Jess returns to England – and Tilly-Tilly miraculously arrives shortly afterwards. Her friend’s arrival brings a few changes in Jess, and she learns a bit more about her life.

This is a fantastic book, and one that I can’t recommend highly enough. I have a great deal of admiration for Helen Oyeyemi – who was born in Nigeria and moved to London when she was four. She wrote “The Icarus Girl” over a seven month period while at school, studying for her A-Levels. By the time she got her results, she’d signed a two-book deal worth an alleged £400,000 – oh, and she won at place at Cambridge University into the bargain.