Witch

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A01=Marie NDiaye
Author_Marie NDiaye
books about witches
books about women and generational trauma
books about women's issues
books for Halloween
books that use magical realism
Category=FB
Category=FBA
Category=FXM
Category=FYT
eq_bestseller
eq_fiction
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_modern-contemporary
eq_new_release
eq_nobargain
global authors
literary fiction in translation
new books 2026
new fiction from French writers
prize-winning writers
women writers in translation

Product details

  • ISBN 9781529449389
  • Weight: 152g
  • Dimensions: 134 x 214mm
  • Publication Date: 07 Apr 2026
  • Publisher: Quercus Publishing
  • Publication City/Country: GB
  • Product Form: Paperback
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In a small, sleepy town, a mediocre witch, in a mediocre marriage, tries to pass on her gifts to her twin daughters, who, it becomes immediately apparent, have skills far beyond her own.

'NDiaye at her most dazzling' Katie Kitamura
'This is NDiaye at her disquieting best' New York Magazine


Lucie comes from a long line of witches, powers passed down from mother to daughter. Her own mum was formidable in her powers, but ashamed of her magic. Perhaps as a result, Lucie's own gift is weak: she can see into the future, sometimes - but more often, she can only see the present of some other location. Not very useful. And the worst part? All she can ever see are insignificant details - a scrap of outfit, the colour of the sky.

Lucie's own children are initiated into their family's peculiar womanhood when they reach twelve years of age, and in a few short months, Maud and Lise are crying the curious tears of blood that denote their magical powers. Having learned, they take off quickly and fly the nest. Literally.

Witty, dreamlike, vaguely unsettling, and utterly enchanting (pun intended), The Witch brings the mysteries of womanhood and motherhood into sharp relief and leaves us teetering on the edge, unbalanced by questions as seemingly unbreakable relationships break down left and right.

Who is to blame for family failures? And how can you - can you? - build a nest that no one wants to fly?

Marie NDiaye was born in France in 1967. She published her first novel at seventeen, and has won the Prix Femina (Rosie Carpe in 2001) and the Prix Goncourt (Three Strong Women, 2009). Her play "Papa Doit Manger" has been taken into the repertoire of the Comédie Française. Her novel Ladivine (translated by Jordan Stump) was longlisted for the Booker International Prize in 2016, and in 2020 she was awarded the Prix Marguerite Yourcenar for her entire body of work. She lives in Paris.

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