Long Ballad of a Short Marriage: A Novel

A mystical family soap opera set in Madagascar, where Destiny takes hold of two young people—resisting their fate to be married—in this dazzling debut infused with wit and whimsy, perfect for fans of Kiran Desai and Charmaine Wilkerson.

The year is 1972. In an island nation off the coast of Africa, it is a time of social and political upheaval. Beyond the tourists in search of baobabs and lemurs, past the frangipani blossoms and ripened fig trees, two of the country’s most powerful families are brought together by an extraordinary prophecy when both wives unexpectedly go into labor at the same dinner party. Kuno Raleha and Lila Ramiadana are born on October 3rd, at six o’clock, eighteen minutes, and forty-six seconds in the evening. The signs are clear: the children are born for each other. Their union will be blessed, their legacies intertwined. Together, they will restore their nation’s stolen future.

But for Lila and Kuno, fate is a burden. Headstrong Lila pleads and bargains to escape a marriage she never wanted. Gentle, clairvoyant Kuno resigns himself quietly to the life laid out for him. As the years unfold, the two are drawn together again and again, bound by prophecy, family, and history, while each struggles to answer the same impossible question: What if they refuse their destiny?

Brimming with unforgettable characters, sly humor, and a beguiling sense of enchantment, this sweeping debut is an epic family drama that explores the enduring struggle between the lives we inherit and the lives we choose.