Conjure Women

A mother and daughter with a shared talent for healingΓÇöand for the conjuring of cursesΓÇöare at the heart of this dazzling first novel WINNER OF THE SOCIETY OF AMERICAN HISTORIANS PRIZE ΓÇó NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times ΓÇó NPR ΓÇó Parade ΓÇó Book Riot ΓÇó PopMatters ΓÇ£Lush,irresistible . . . It took me into the hearts of women I could otherwise never know. I was transported.ΓÇ¥ΓÇöAmy BloomNew York Times bestselling author of White Houses and Away Conjure Women is a sweeping story that brings the world of the South before and after the Civil War vividly to life. Spanning eras and generationsit tells of the lives of three unforgettable women: Miss May Bellea wise healing woman; her precocious and observant daughter Ruewho is reluctant to follow in her motherΓÇÖs footsteps as a midwife; and their masterΓÇÖs daughter Varina. The secrets and bonds among these women and their community come to a head at the beginning of a war and at the birth of an accursed childwho sets the townspeople alight with fear and a spreading superstition that threatens their newly wontenuous freedom. Magnificently writtenbrilliantly researchedrichly imaginedConjure Women moves back and forth in time to tell the haunting story of RueVarinaand May Belletheir passions and friendshipsand the lengths they will go to save themselves and those they love. LONGLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE ΓÇ£[A] hauntingpromising debut . . . Through complex characters and bewitching proseAtakora offers a stirring portrait of the power conferred between the enslaved women. This powerful tale of moral ambiguity amid inarguable injustice stands with Esi EdugyanΓÇÖs Washington Black.ΓÇ¥ΓÇöPublishers Weekly (starred review) ΓÇ£An engrossing debut . . . Atakora structures a plot with plenty of satisfying twists. Life in the immediate aftermath of slavery is powerfully rendered in this impressive first novel.ΓÇ¥ΓÇöKirkus Reviews (starred review)