by Marie NDiaye
First published 2026
Lucie inherited witchcraft from generations of women before her, but her abilities pale next to what her mother possessed. While her mother wielded formidable powers yet felt shame about her magic, Lucie can only glimpse fragments of the future or catch fleeting views of distant places. She sees scraps of clothing, the color of sky, details that reveal little. Her unremarkable magical gifts match her unremarkable marriage in their small, quiet town. Everything changes when her twin daughters Maud and Lise turn twelve. The girls begin crying tears of blood, the sign their supernatural abilities have awakened. Their powers surge far beyond anything Lucie can teach them. Soon the twins take flight, abandoning the nest Lucie tried to build. Left behind, Lucie faces hard questions about family bonds that seemed unbreakable but shattered anyway. She wonders who bears responsibility when families fall apart and whether any parent can create a home their children will choose to keep.
Genres: literary-fiction, fantasy, magical-realism, family-drama
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
130 pages · Paperback · Quercus