Set between seventeenth-century Cape Verde and contemporary London, CURANDERA is a kaleidoscopic story of rebirth and redemption, and a mythic tale of metamorphic recalibrations across time

In Gethsemane, Cape Verde, the appearance of a mysterious new arrival, Zulmira, coincides with a series of strange events. Zulmira is a shamanic disciple of Oni, an omnipotent and loving yet vengeful deity.

In contemporary London, botanist Therese lives with Haitian musician Azacca, Peruvian drifter Emilien, and daring Finn. These four kindred spirits, bound together by their shared descent from Oni, travel to another realm to complete a secret, sacred task at Oni’s behest. But a disruptive object returns with them from the other plane: a bleeding ribcage, flowering with intoxicating fruit.

As Zulmira grows close to a fisherman, Domingos, and his wife and daughter, the increasingly disturbing occurrences in Gethsemane disrupt forms, time, and place. In London, Therese and her housemates, growing ever more powerful on the otherworldly fruit, discover the disturbing costs of their service to Oni. As the stage is set for the collision of two dimensions, the esoteric workings of shamanism intersect with powerful forces of friendship, love, and jealousy.

BIO

Irenosen Okojie is a Nigerian-British writer. Her debut novel Butterfly Fish won a Betty Trask award and was shortlisted for an Edinburgh International First Book Award. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, the Observer, the Guardian, the BBC and the Huffington Post amongst other publications.

REVIEWS

“Strikingly original.” -- Michael Schaub, Southern California News Group

“Okojie’s language is worth savouring—lush with imagery, symbolism, and sensory detail . . . A novel that smiles kindly on those patient readers who take the time to learn its rhythm and wrestle with its deeper truths.” -- Ian Mond, Locus

“A striking tale of supernatural haunting, healing, and revenge . . . Exquisite and esoteric.” -- Kirkus Reviews

“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

“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

[H]  Soft Skull  /  July 08, 2025

1.2" H x 8.3" L x 5.6" W (1.1 lbs) 320 pages