''Peaces'' is a 2021 novel by

Helen Oyeyemi Helen Oyeyemi FRSL (born 10 December 1984) is a British novelist and writer of short stories. Life Oyeyemi was born in Nigeria and was raised in Lewisham, South London from when she was four. Oyeyemi wrote her first novel, '' The Icarus Girl'' ...

. The novel takes place on a train with several passengers.

Writing and composition

Oyeyemi has said the novel "

ries Ries is the German word for a unit of paper ream, derived from the Arabic word ''rizma''. The term can refer to: Geography * Nördlinger Ries, a large circular depression in western Bavaria, Germany. * Ries (Graz), a district of the city of Graz ...

to have a bit of back and forth with" Can Xue's novels ''Love In The New Millennium'' and ''The Last Lover'' as well as the writings of

Carl Jung Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. Jung's work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, philo ...

. The work of British writer

Barbara Comyns Barbara Irene Veronica Comyns Carr (born Barbara Irene Veronica Bayley; 27 December 1907Celia Brayfield (2004)Carr, Barbara Irene Veronica Comyns (1907–1992) ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. – 14 ...

also influenced the novel. The novel takes place on a fictional train, called the "Lucky Day" and Oyeyemi was "keen" from the outset of writing the book that it would be a "train book". While researching trains to write the book, Oyeyemi visited several of Ludwig II of Bavaria's castles.

Critical reception

Sara Cutaia, in a review published by the ''

Chicago Review of Books The ''Chicago Review of Books'' is an online literary publication of StoryStudio Chicago which reviews recent books covering diverse genres, presses, voices, and media. The magazine was started in 2016 and Adam Morgan is the founding editor-in-c ...

'', referred to the novel as "delightfully weird and deliciously eccentric". Reviewers at other outlets, including NPR and '' Vox'', also positively referred to the novel as "weird".

References

2021 British novels English-language books Novels by Helen Oyeyemi Faber and Faber books Novels set on trains {{2020s-novel-stub