Skip to product information
1 of 1

Goldsboro Books

9780747588849

The Opposite House

The Opposite House

by Helen Oyeyemi

Publisher Bloomsbury

Genre:

Publication date:

Available from:

  • Signed by the Author
  • UK First Edition
  • First Printing
  • Hardcover


Regular price £35.00
Regular price Sale price £35.00
Sale Sold out
Rendering loop-subscriptions
Rendering loop-subscriptions

Limited Edition 1 Copies

View full details
  • Professionally Packed

    All of our books that have a dust wrapper are covered in clear protective, removable film and are packed professionally in bubble wrap and a box for shipping so that they reach you in perfect condition.

  • Book Condition & Notes

    All of our books that a have dust wrapper are covered in clear protective, removable film and are packed professionally in bubble wrap and a box for shipping so that they reach you in perfect condition.

About the book

Maja Carmen Carrera was only five years old when her black Cuban family emigrated from the Caribbean to London, leaving her with one complete memory: a woman singing - in a voice both eerie and enthralling - at their farewell party, while little Maja peered out from beneath a table. Now, almost twenty years later, Maja herself is a singer, in love with Aaron, pregnant and haunted by what she calls 'her Cuba'. Growing up in London, she has struggled to negotiate her history and the sense that speaking the Spanish or the English of her people's conquistadors made her less of a black girl. But she is unable to find in herself the Ewe, Igbo, or Swahili of her roots. It seems all that's left is silence. Maja's mother finds solace and identity in her faith, burning paper flowers in front of her shrine and its Yoruba gods, while her father rails against his wife's superstitions and the lost dreams of the Castro revolution. And sweet, serious Tomas, the fifteen-year-old 'London Baby', runs away from the bullies at school on quicksilver feet. On the other side of the reality wall, Yemaya Saramagua, Yemaya of the ocean, lives in the Somewherehouse with two doors: one opening to London, the other to Lagos. Yemaya is troubled by the ease with which her fellow gods have disguised themselves as saints and reappeared under different names and faces. The Opposite House is about the disquiet that follows us across places and languages, a feeling passed down from mother and father to son and daughter. It is an unforgettable second novel from the author of The Icarus Girl.

Collapsible content

About the Author

Helen Oyeyemi

Helen Oyeyemi is the author of The Icarus Girl, The Opposite House, White is for Witching (which won the Somerset Maugham Award), Mr Fox, Boy, Snow, Bird, Gingerbread and the short story collection What is Not Yours is Not Yours. In 2013, Helen was included in Granta's Best of Young British Novelists.

Collapsible content

GPSR EU Safety Information

1. Manufacturer Contact Information

Goldsboro Books Ltd - 23-27 Cecil Court, London, WC2N4EZ, enquiries@goldsborobooks.com, 02074979230

2. EU Authorised Representative Information

Easy Access System Europe - Mustamäe tee 50, 10621 Tallinn, Estonia, gpsr.requests@easproject.com

3. Safety Warnings

Not applicable

  • Bookseller Picks: Must-Read Irish Writers & Stories From Ireland

    Bookseller Picks: Must-Read Irish Writers & Sto...

    David Headley

    To celebrate St Patrick’s Day we asked our booksellers from our London bookshop and our Brighton bookshop to share their favourite Irish writers and stories set in Ireland. From exciting...

    David Headley

    Bookseller Picks: Must-Read Irish Writers & Sto...

    To celebrate St Patrick’s Day we asked our booksellers from our London bookshop and our Brighton bookshop to share their favourite Irish writers and stories set in Ireland. From exciting...

  • Bookseller Recommends: 8 Must-Read March Releases We’re Excited For

    Bookseller Recommends: 8 Must-Read March Releas...

    David Headley

    Spring is (almost) in the air, and with it comes a fresh crop of books to fall in love with. Our booksellers at Goldsboro Books have hand-picked eight stunning new...

    David Headley

    Bookseller Recommends: 8 Must-Read March Releas...

    Spring is (almost) in the air, and with it comes a fresh crop of books to fall in love with. Our booksellers at Goldsboro Books have hand-picked eight stunning new...

  • Important Update Regarding Subscription Payment Dates

    Important Update Regarding Subscription Payment...

    Rebecca McDonnell

    We’re making an update to improve your subscription experience! Starting from April 1st 2025, all subscription payments will be processed on a fixed date each month, rather than on a flexible...

    Rebecca McDonnell

    Important Update Regarding Subscription Payment...

    We’re making an update to improve your subscription experience! Starting from April 1st 2025, all subscription payments will be processed on a fixed date each month, rather than on a flexible...

  • What makes a book ‘book club worthy? How we choose our special editions.

    What makes a book ‘book club worthy? How we cho...

    David Headley

    If you know Goldsboro, then you’ll likely know about our popular book clubs: Crime Collective for crime and thriller fans, GSFF for Sci-Fi and fantasy enthusiasts and PREM1ER - a...

    David Headley

    What makes a book ‘book club worthy? How we cho...

    If you know Goldsboro, then you’ll likely know about our popular book clubs: Crime Collective for crime and thriller fans, GSFF for Sci-Fi and fantasy enthusiasts and PREM1ER - a...

1 of 4