Some marriages shouldn't be left to Fate.
On an island in the Indian Ocean, Destiny is making plans. It's 1972, and over the next decades, one unlikely couple will become entangled in a prophecy - and the consequences are chaotic. Welcome to wild, hilarious, immersive epic tale from Madagascan debut novelist Ony Ratsifandrihamanana.
'Richly inventive and deliciously smart . . . A joy from start to finish. I loved it' - Rachel Joyce
In 1972, on an island in the Indian Ocean, two babies are born. Lila and Kuno are born at the same time and in the same place, Lila's mother's pregnancy only a few months old, Kuno's mother overdue by more than a year. But these births are destined to happen together and these children are destined to marry. Whether they like it or not.
So begins the raucous story of two families, one country, and one too many prophesies.
An almost-love story set in an almost-Madagascar, sweeping through decades of political turmoil, this is a place where crocodile kings, nuns with guns, and enchanted pianos are woven into the fabric of everyday married life. A Long Ballad of a Short Marriage is the story of how fate and prophecy twist their way through the lives of two families, and the country they call home.
'A mystery, wrapped in myth, folded in a love story, varnished with humour, history, and strange, wondrous magic. I couldn't stop reading' - Vanessa Chan, author of The Storm We Made