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Curandera

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About this listen

 'The power of this weird, haunting fiction is undeniable.' Guardian
'Vivid, brutal, moving and tender. This is heartfelt and immersive.' Joanne Harris
'Mindbogglingly glorious.' Yvvette Edwards

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.

'I was blown away by Curandera and by the epic scale of Okojie's imagination and creativity . . . I loved it.' Louise Minchin
'An exhilarating experience of a novel that will take you on a hallucinatory trip into the soul and the phantasmagorical unknown.' Bernardine Evaristo
'Chimeric and delirious.' Scotland on Sunday

Praise for Irenosen Okojie's previous books:

'Dazzling . . . a feast for the senses.' Diana Evans

'One of the finest literary imaginations working today.' Max Porter

'A liberatingly odd, seductive and fearless talent.' Laline Paull

'Okojie has a sharp eye . . . and a turn of phrase that switches from elegance to brutality in a single line.' Stella Duffy Black Creators Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Magical Realism Psychological Emotionally Gripping Heartfelt

Critic reviews

I loved it. Vivid, brutal, moving and tender. This is heartfelt and immersive.
Okojie has served up a delightful gourmet of magical, creative prose and masterful storytelling. A rare talent.
I'm in awe of Irenosen Okojie's burden of talent. Leave your rational mind behind with your phone and enter Curandera's spell. (Laline Paull, author of THE BEES and POD)
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)
Curandera is the mesmerising by-product of Okojie's extraordinary imagination and writing that is mindbogglingly glorious. (Yvvette Edwards)
With her trademark lyricism and inventiveness, Okojie takes us into different worlds . . . with an ease that runs as smooth as honey. (Mahsuda Snaith)
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)
Curandera is an exhilarating experience of a novel that will take you on a hallucinatory trip into the soul and the phantasmagorical unknown. (Bernardine Evaristo)
The style is chimeric and delirious. (Stuart Kelly)
Curandera is simply out of this world! It's like nothing I have read before. Irenosen Okojie effortlessly takes you into spheres you didn't know existed. (Uwem Akpan, author of SAY YOU'RE ONE OF THEM)
A mesmerising, time-bending tour de force, full of intoxicating magic and intrigue. I was hooked from the first page. (Blitz Bazawule, director of THE COLOR PURPLE)
All stars
Most relevant
The narrator was AMAZING, the story line a bit difficult, but the imagination and metaphors throughout were delightful.

Ok story line, language is beautiful

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