Unlock the Surreal

Take a trip into avant-guarde with this luminous collection of stories tenuously connected by keys. Sometimes it is best things are left locked, but in these stories, you will hope that the characters turn the lock, so you can see what might be. Modern fairy tales that read as stories and pieces of art come alive, echoes of surrealist painting, nightmares, and unknown worlds firmly grounded in the real will keep you spellbound. So much to discuss and so much to try to decipher, a literary fiction book club pick that mustn’t be missed. -BCA

“Transcendent.” “The New York Times Book Review”
“Flawless. . .another masterpiece from an author who seems incapable of writing anything that’s less than brilliant.” “NPR”
From the award-winning author of “Boy, Snow, Bird” and “Mr. Fox” comes an enchanting collection of intertwined stories.
Playful, ambitious, and exquisitely imagined, “What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours” is cleverly built around the idea of keys, literal and metaphorical. The key to a house, the key to a heart, the key to a secret Oyeyemi’s keys not only unlock elements of her characters lives, they promise further labyrinths on the other side. In Books and Roses one special key opens a library, a garden, and clues to at least two lovers fates. In Is Your Blood as Red as This? an unlikely key opens the heart of a student at a puppeteering school. Sorry Doesn’t Sweeten Her Tea involves a house of locks, where doors can be closed only with a key with surprising, unobservable developments. And in If a Book Is Locked There’s Probably a Good Reason for That Don’t You Think, a key keeps a mystical diary locked (for good reason).
Oyeyemi’s tales span multiple times and landscapes as they tease boundaries between coexisting realities. Is a key a gate, a gift, or an invitation? “What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours” captivates as it explores the many possible answers.

From Brazos Bookstore