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Longlisted for The Women´s Prize for Fiction 2019, The Republic of Consciousness Prize 2019 and The People´s Book Prize 2018. ´Enjoyable to read´ - Dolly Alderton, The High Low. When Alina´s brother-in-law defects to the West, she and her husband become persons of interest to the secret services, causing both of their careers to come grinding to a halt. As the strain takes its toll on their marriage, Alina turns to her aunt for help - the wife of a communist leader and a secret practitioner of the old folk ways. Set in 1970s communist Romania, this novella-in-flash draws upon magic realism to weave a tale of everyday troubles that can´t be put down.

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