A New New Me by Helen Oyeyemi: REVIEW

Synopsis

Kinga’s just a girl trying to make it through the week, but it just so happens that a different Kinga alter wakes up every morning. As each Kinga leaves a diary entry of her day for the other Kingas to read, it becomes apparent that at least one of the Kingas is keeping something to herself.

My Review

I, um… hmm. I’m not entirely sure what I just read. I mean, I am… but I’m also not. This book definitely won’t be for everyone.

First of all, this is not an accurate representation of dissociative identity disorder. But IS it dissociative identity disorder, or is it magical realism? This is where I’m confused. Certain things happen throughout the story that lean into magical realism, in which case I’d give Oyeyemi a pass on the weird multiple-personalities setup. But in that case, is the implication that DID isn’t a real thing? I don’t know what to make of it.

Second of all, the whole perfume thing was… weird.

Third of all, whaaaat was the ending? I can’t say much without spoiling, but the resolution I thought we were heading for with OG-Kinga vanished, and the whole thing took a random turn and then just… ended. Questions were answered, yes, but the answers were so WEIRD.

Conclusion

This one is going to divide readers, that’s for sure. For some it’ll be genius, for others nonsensical slop, and probably for most just utter confusion. I don’t know whether to recommend it or not. You know your own reading taste best, so I’ll let you judge for yourself.

You can buy A New New Me here on Bookshop.org* or look for it wherever you get books.
*As an affiliate, I’ll receive a small commission from any purchase made through this link.