Doubleday Books
Cursed Daughters: A Read With Jenna Pick
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A READ WITH JENNA TODAY SHOW BOOK CLUB PICK
A young woman must shake off a family curse and the widely held belief that she is the reincarnation of her dead cousin in this wickedly funny, brilliantly perceptive novel about love, female rivalry, and superstition from the author of the smash hit My Sister, the Serial Killer ("A bombshell of a book... Sharp, explosive, hilarious'--New York Times)
A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK: New York Times, Washington Post, People, Goodreads, E! News, Kirkus, LitHub, Book Riot
"A triumph: bold, searing, and utterly original. From the first page, it grips with an electric pulse....Impossible to put down."
--Abi Daré, New York Times bestselling author of Girl with the Louding Voice
When Ebun gives birth to her daughter, Eniiyi, on the day they bury her cousin Monife, there is no denying the startling resemblance between the child and the dead woman. So begins the belief, fostered and fanned by the entire family, that Eniiyi is the actual reincarnation of Monife, fated to follow in her footsteps in all ways, including that tragic end.
There is also the matter of the family curse: "No man will call your house his home. And if they try, they will not have peace..." which has been handed down from generation to generation, breaking hearts and causing three generations of abandoned Falodun women to live under the same roof.
When Eniiyi falls in love with the handsome boy she saves from drowning, she can no longer run from her family's history. As several women in her family have done before, she ill-advisedly seeks answers in older, darker spiritual corners of Lagos, demanding solutions. Is she destined to live out the habitual story of love and heartbreak? Or can she break the pattern once and for all, not only avoiding the spiral that led Monife to her lonely death, but liberating herself from all the family secrets and unspoken traumas that have dogged her steps since before she could remember?
Cursed Daughters is a brilliant cocktail of modernity and superstition, vibrant humor and hard-won wisdom, romantic love and familial obligation. With its unforgettable cast of characters, it asks us what it means to be given a second chance and how to live both wisely and well with what we've been given.
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Book Details
ISBN:
9780385551472
EAN:
9780385551472
Binding:
Hardcover
Pages:
384
Authors:
Oyinkan Braithwaite
Publisher:
Doubleday Books
📚✨ Book Review ✨📚Cursed Daughtersby Oyinkan BraithwaiteGenre: Literary Fiction⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️A wickedly funny, emotionally rich tale of love, legacy, and breaking generational curses. Cursed Daughters is a must-read for anyone who loves dark humor and heartfelt storytelling.Set in Lagos, Nigeria, Braithwaite spins a vibrant, multi-generational story centered on the affluent Falodun family, where the women are bound by a generations-old curse: their love lives are doomed to heartbreak and abandonment. The story follows young Eniiyi, born on the same day her beautiful aunt Monife died tragically. The family believes Eniiyi is Monife reincarnated, destined to repeat her fate.Eniiyi, a modern woman who refuses to accept destiny, falls for a handsome boy and must face the possibility that the curse and her family’s buried secrets might be real. Can she rewrite her story, or is she doomed to repeat it?Although this book isn’t my usual read, I raced through it in two sittings. I couldn’t put it down. Braithwaite blends humor, heartbreak, and mysticism with razor-sharp insight. I loved the short chapters and how the book unfolded through multiple timelines and perspectives — Eniiyi, Ebun, and Monife — each with a unique voice and set of inner struggles.This book is dark, clever, and utterly addictive. I was completely drawn in by everything — the characters, the structure, and the way the relationships evolved. The pacing and the slow reveals were spot-on, and the “curse” sections wove in beautifully. Themes of identity, female resilience, sisterhood, inherited trauma, forgiveness, and the power of rewriting your narrative shine through. Although I hoped the ending would take a different route, it still managed to tie everything together perfectly. It’s one of those stories that hooks you early and doesn’t let go — the kind you’ll immediately want to tell everyone about.Highly recommend for fans of family sagas and smart, distinctive literary fiction.
Set in Nigeria, Ebun gives birth to her daughter, Enniiyi, on the same day her dear cousin, Monife, is buried. Enniiyi is born with Monife’s face, which garners different reactions from the family members. This is the story of all of these women, and the generational curse their family’s women experience. It is intricately drawn, and there is a family tree at the beginning of the book to help with remembering the connections between family members. Abi Dare called this story “utterly original,” and that is absolutely what it is.It’s also wise and chock full of strong, authentic characters. The city of Lagos springs to life as a backdrop, as well. Will the family be able to break the curse? With a dash of hope, it’s a somber, supernatural ride from one end to the other, and I loved it.I received a gifted copy.
