Curandera

In the mountainous town of Gethsemane, 17th-century Cape Verde, a mysterious woman's arrival sparks a series of strange events that will leave the town's inhabitants changed: men sporadically blind in the afternoons, children disappearing and reappearing without warning and infertile women pregnant with the memories of past births.

In present-day London, a quartet are brought together by their fascination with ritual, miracles and a life beyond the mundane. Botanist Therese lives with Azacca, a soulful Haitian musician, Peruvian drifter Emilien, who is haunted by the past, and adventurous Finn, who is increasingly drawn to living life on the edge.

With the past and present beginning to blur into one, Curandera is a story of rebirth and redemption, a mythic tale of recalibrations across time.

About the Author

Irenosen Okojie is a Nigerian-born short story and novel writer. Her stories incorporate speculative elements and her West African heritage. Her first novel, Butterfly Fish, won a Betty Trask Award in 2016, and her story "Grace Jones" won the 2020 Caine Prize for African Writing. Her writing has been published in The New York Times, The Observer, The Guardian, the BBC and the Huffington Post. She has also judged various literary prizes including the Dylan Thomas Prize, the Gordon Burn Prize and the BBC National Short Story Award.

Reviews

"I loved it. Vivid, brutal, moving and tender. This is heartfelt and immersive." —Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat

"Curandera is the mesmerising by-product of Okojie's extraordinary imagination and writing that is mindbogglingly glorious." —Yvvette Edwards

"I was blown away by Curandera and by the epic scale of Okojie's imagination and creativity. Her original and lyrical use of language is hypnotic and visceral... I loved it." —Louise Minchin

"The power of this weird, haunting fiction is undeniable, largely due to a wonderfully inventive prose style that verges on the hallucinogenic while remaining bracingly grounded in the physical." —Lisa Tuttle, The Guardian

Dimensions: 15.2 x 3 x 23.2 cm