"An intoxicating read, set in a small town in France, that loses itself in the layered labyrinth of one woman’s mind during the 1950’s."
Deeply dark and complex, this fascinating novel teases into a downward spiral of obsession and delusion. Set after the Second World War in France, the baker’s wife Elodie becomes infatuated with a new couple who arrive in town. I began the proof of this novel just knowing that it was to be an” eerie historical mystery about desire, memory and madness”, once I reached the end, the Author’s Note made lightbulb sense and if there is no more explanation to come with the finished copy then I’m not sure whether to advise that you sneak a peak at the note or wait until you’ve finished the book. So, I would suggest that if you are happy to exist in a dream or nightmare-like world full of envy and desire not knowing where reality sits then wait, if you’d rather have a little knowledge before starting so you can make a somewhat ordered sense of proceedings, then take a look at the note. Personally I’m glad I didn’t have the pre-knowledge. At times I wasn’t sure whether I was existing in Elodie’s memory or delusion, so felt as though I was floating above the novel. It actually ensured that I didn’t overthink, I just soaked up the words. I loved knowing that this was written during lockdown, author Sophie Mackintosh uses those strange times to create the most fascinating of worlds. At times Cursed Bread was painful to read, I flinched and almost wanted to read between my fingers. With an ending that strikes with a powerful energy, Cursed Bread is a bewitching and darkly provocative novel.
| Primary Genre | Historical Fiction |
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Win an Escape Challenge and a copy of The Spy and the Snake by M J Robotham
Closing date: 02/08/2026
From the Booker-nominated author of The Water Cure and Blue Ticket comes a chilling new feminist fable, based on the true story of an unsolved historical mystery...
If you eat the bread, you'll die, he said. The statement made no sense, but it filled me with an electric dread.
Elodie is the baker's wife. A plain, unremarkable person, largely ignored by her husband and everyone else, she burns with the secret hunger to be extraordinary, to be desired, to be seen. One day a charismatic new couple appear in town - the ambassador and his sharp-toothed wife, Violet - and Elodie quickly falls under their spell. All summer long she stalks them through the shining streets: inviting herself into their home, trying to decipher their coded conversations, longing to possess them at any cost.
Meanwhile, beneath the tranquil surface of daily life, strange things are happening. Six horses are found dead in a sun-drenched field, laid out neatly on the ground like an offering. Widows see their lost husbands walking up the river in the night, coming back to claim them. A teenage boy throws himself into the bonfire at the midsummer feast. A dark intoxication is spreading through the town, and when Elodie finally understands her role in it, it will be too late to stop.
Audacious and mesmerising, Cursed Bread is a fevered confession, an entry into memory's hall of mirrors, a fable of obsession and transformation. Sophie Mackintosh spins a darkly gleaming tale of a town gripped by hysteria, envy like poison in the blood, and desire that burns and consumes.
Cursed Bread features in the following genres: Erotic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Narrative theme: Social issues, Speculative fiction, Fiction, General Fiction, Fiction: narrative themes, Book Club Recommendations, Liz Robinson's Picks of the Month, Recommendations, Star Books, Shorter Reads, Narrative theme: Identity / belonging, Fiction: special features, Literary Fiction, Literary Fiction
Cursed Bread is available in Paperback, Ebook, Hardback
Cursed Bread was written by Sophie Mackintosh and published by Penguin Books Ltd
Cursed Bread has 184 pages
£8.99
