The Story of the Cannibal Woman

This book is a fairy tale about the modern world, where at every crossroads each person chooses their own fate. Twins Iván and Ivana were born in Guadeloupe, and they were named after Ivan the Terrible. Their mother is poor, and their father returned to his homeland in Mali before they were even born. Throughout their lives, they feel an extraordinary emotional bond—too strong even for twins. In the end, the twins’ fairy-tale and tragic destiny will lead them to Mali, and then to Paris, where the paths of brother and sister will diverge forever.

Maríse Condé addresses the most contemporary problems—racism, terrorism, political corruption and violence, economic inequality and immigration—as if none of it were actually happening, as if we’d only dreamed it up.