The Icarus Girl (38 page)
PRAISE OF THE LEOPARD (Yoruba)
Gentle hunter
his tail plays on the ground
while he crushes the skull.
Beautiful death
who puts on a spotted robe
when he goes to his victim.
Playful killer
whose loving embrace
splits the antelope’s heart.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
DAH (DAVlD GIBBONS) because this novel wouldn’t have happened, none of it, if it wasn’t for you.
FIFI (RAFIF AL-RUHAIMI), my first girlina-fan, partly because you missed your stop on the Tube whilst reading a story of mine (how cool!), and partly because you charmed/bullied me into writing more.
KITTY (CATHERINE UMEH), that Ibo girl, and LEE-LEE (LIDIA DE FREITAS) of the CVMS Paperclip Klan—you’ve both been amazingly encouraging, and because you put up with my bitter tirades against everyone who dared to be having a life whilst I wrote
The Icarus Girl
.
JON-O-FUN (JONATHAN JAMES) for the same, and also ’cause you’re, like, a total dude. Plus . . . you joined in my rants against peanut butter.
JENNY WILLIAMS because you’re kind to everyone, including me, when they need it most.
ROBIN WADE for your friendship, and also because you’re a wicked literary agent.
ALEXANDRA PRINGLE because I’m so glad my first novel was edited by someone who is sensitive to what I’m trying to say. Also, you are so much fun! (Hey, thanks for taking me to that educational reading, Alexandra . . . )
LORNA OWEN and ANTONIA TILL, that fierce Helen-critic (haha), who both engaged so startlingly with Jess’s world.
FIRST ANCHOR BOOKS EDITION, APRIL 2006
Copyright © 2005 by Helen Oyeyemi
Anchor Books and colophon are registered trademarks
of Random House, Inc.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations,
places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination
or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead,
events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
The Library of Congress has cataloged the
Nan A. Talese/Doubleday edition as follows:
Oyeyemi, Helen.
The Icarus girl / Helen Oyeyemi.—1st US ed.
p. cm.
1. Racially mixed children—Fiction. 2. Imaginary companions—Fiction.
3. Doppelgängers—Fiction. 4. Nigeria—Fiction. 5. England—Fiction.
6. Girls—Fiction. 7. Twins—Fiction. I. Title.
PR6115.Y49I22 2005
823’.92—dc22 2004055391
eISBN : 978-0-307-42873-8
v1.0
Table of Contents