GRANTA BEST OF YOUNG BRITISH NOVELISTS 2023From the Booker Prizenominated author of The Water Cure comes a chilling new feminist fable based on the true story of an unsolved mysteryA recommended read for 2023 in The Times Guardian Irish Times Scotsman iD Good Housekeeping Big Issue and Our CultureA shimmering feverdream of a novel TelegraphA dreamy sapphic romp The TimesIf you eat the bread youll die he said The statement made no sense but it filled me with an electric dreadElodie is the bakers wife A plain unremarkable woman ignored by her husband and underestimated by her neighbours she burns with the secret desire to be extraordinary One day a charismatic new couple appear in town the ambassador and his sharptoothed wife Violet and Elodie quickly falls under their spell All summer long she stalks them through the shining streets inviting herself into their home eavesdropping on their coded conversations longing to be part of their worldMeanwhile beneath the tranquil surface of daily life strange things are happening Six horses are found dead in a sundrenched field laid out neatly on the ground like an offering Widows see their lost husbands walking up the moonlit river coming back to claim them A teenage boy throws himself into the bonfire at the midsummer feast A dark intoxication is spreading through the town and when Elodie finally understands her role in it it will be too late to stopAudacious and mesmerising Cursed Bread is a fevered confession an entry into...
