MADAME SOSOSTRIS AND THE FESTIVAL FOR THE BROKEN-HEARTED

196pp., paperback, Reprint, Head of Zeus, London, (2025) 2026 

ISBN: 9781035910717

On the 20th anniversary of the day her first husband left her, Viv decides to host a Festival for the Broken-Hearted in a sacred wood in the South of France. In fancy dress, the partygoers all await the famous clairvoyant and fortune-teller Madame Sosostris, whom they hope might mend their broken lives.

"... whimsical tale of transformation…magic is essential, and Okri can spin it.” The Guardian

“A dizzying masquerade where little is as it appears to be … By combining the fantastical elements of A Midsummer Night’s Dream with allusions to T.S. Eliot’s ‘The Waste Land,’ Okri creates a world that feels lush while exposing the barren landscapes - both physical and emotional - of modern humanity.” Shelf Awareness

Nigerian-born British author, playwright, poet, essayist and cultural activist Sir Ben Okri (b. 1959) has won numerous awards for his work, including the 1991 Booker Prize for Fiction for The Famished Road. His other books include the eco-fable Every Leaf a Hallelujah, the play Changing Destiny, the climate fiction Tiger Work, the poetry collections A Fire in My Head and Wild, the novels Songs of Enchantment, The Last Gift of the Master Artists and Astonishing the Gods, and the essay collection A Way of Being Free. He was knighted in 2023 for services to Literature.