Oyeyemi's (Gingerbread) newest title features the author's signature literary fiction with a fantastical twist, similar to Lev Grossman's The Magicians. Otto and Xavier Shin, along with their pet mongoose, are given a remarkably honeymoon-like vacation by their aunt, aboard an unusual train. They soon discover that this former tea-smuggling locomotive is unlike other trains they have encountered in England. For one, it is the home of a secretive woman and her companions, whose pasts are about to ensnare them all in a fantastical story that will forever change who they are--to themselves and to others. In this work, setting is not as important as the characters and their motivations, which are sprinkled throughout as clues for the reader to discover. VERDICT Fans of Oyeyemi will enjoy another romp, though her work's not for everyone--her quirky takes on existential questions and the world of perception are suited to particular tastes.-- Laura Hiatt, Fort Collins, CO

Curious characters, strange events, and mysteries abound in Oyeyemi's delightfully bonkers latest (after Gingerbread). After hypnotist Otto Shin takes the surname of his boyfriend, Xavier, the couple, both 38, celebrate their "non-honeymoon honeymoon" with a train trip arranged for them by Xavier's aunt and with help from a young man named Yuri who inexplicably claims to know them. Accompanied by their pet mongoose, Árpád XXX, Otto and Xavier begin their journey to a destination unknown to them and soon meet the train's operators and its enigmatic owner, Ava Kapoor, who is about to come into a grand inheritance. But Ava's bequest is threatened by the appearance of a mysterious passenger, one they will all soon recognize as part of their respective pasts, and the trip becomes stressful for the couple as Yuri's interventions in their lives grow suspicious. Though capped by a somewhat disjointed and confusing finale, the narrative is bolstered by its underlying blend of humor and suspense, as well as Oyeyemi's ability to skillfully thread together the lives of her characters and show how they've been shaped into the people they are today. Despite its problems, this exciting and inventive novel brims with unusual insights. Agent: Jin Auh, the Wylie Agency (Apr.)

Two lovers embark on a train journey that forces them to confront who they are to one another--and who they were before ever meeting. Otto and Xavier Shin board the sleeper train The Lucky Day and set off on "the Lakes and Mountains Route" for their "non-honeymoon honeymoon." As they explore The Lucky Day's magnificently arrayed carriages, Xavier notices their host, the mysterious Ava Kapoor, brandishing a sign that says "Hello"--or is it "Help?"--from the adjoining car. One mystery leads to another, and Otto and Xavier must unravel Ava Kapoor's story if they are to understand their relationship to the past they've hidden from one another. At the heart of the novel is a dispute over an inheritance--which turns out to be a dispute over reality. Is Ava Kapoor the rightful heir to Karel Stojaspal's fortune, or does his son Přemysl actually exist to dispute the estate? Oyeyemi imbues Otto and Xavier's journey with her familiar flair for the fantastic, from wily pet mongooses to trainwide bazaars to men with hazy faces. Yet, as Oyeyemi once again pushes the boundaries of the novel, each of the spaces, times, and characters here are as loose, fragmentary, and un-pin-down-able as the man Otto is unable to see. Like interlinking train carriages, Otto's past leads to Ava Kapoor's, and Xavier's leads to yet another passenger's. Combined, the stories confirm the existence of Přem but raise questions about what it means to be understood by the people who love and know you best. "You run the romantic gauntlet for decades without knowing who exactly it is you're giving and taking such a battering in order to reach," Otto writes early in the novel. "And then, by some stroke of fortune, the gauntlet concludes, the person does exist after all." A surrealist tale of love, heartbreak, and being haunted by the past. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

After deciding to share a surname but not wed, hypnotist Otto Shin and his lover, Xavier, are gifted with a honeymoon trip on The Lucky Day, a train that was once used to smuggle tea, by Xavier's imposing Aunt Do Yeon, who is perhaps looking for a way to get the lovebirds and their pet mongoose out of her house. The train proves to be a feast of wonders, complete with elaborate cars boasting numerous delights, from a full library to a bountiful kitchen to an overflowing mail room. As Otto and Xavier explore the train, they come across a mysterious trio of women: Ava Kapoor, the train's aloof owner, who is on the cusp of receiving a massive inheritance; her stylish, artistic girlfriend, Allegra Yu; and Laura De Souza, who shares a surprising link to Xavier. Little do they know they're all hurtling towards a shocking confrontation with someone who has a bone to pick with each of them. Oyeyemi (Gingerbread, 2019) has once again crafted a layered modern-day fairy tale replete with interlinked stories and unexpected connections among its vibrant characters.