The Poison That Fascinates

By (author) Jennifer Clement

Abandoned by her mother as a baby, Emily now lives with her father in Mexico City. She works in the local Catholic orphanage. Life is simple. But when an enigmatic cousin, Santi, appears on the doorstep he brings family secrets, and soon Emily finds desire and temptation have overturned her straightforward life forever.

Reviews of The Poison That Fascinates

"* 'Highly original. Her prose is poetic in the true sense: precise as a scalpel, lyrical and the story is unputdownable.' – Ruth Padel, Guardian * 'What a marvelous writer Clement is. She contains all this power in a prose that is simple and simply beguiling. A cri de coeur.' – Scotsman * 'Might have been produced by Angela Carter… Weird, unpredictable and magic realist.' – Independent * 'Vivid with detail, each colour-soaked page leading us irresistibly to the next.' – Kirsty Gunn, author of Featherstone * 'An astonishing novel, every line alive, leading as if effortlessly to a shocking climax. A work of power and originality.' – Alan Sillitoe, author of The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner"