‘In our world, we treat the personality as the person. We don’t distinguish the person from the personality they project. Public life is founded on this.’

"‘If there’s anything people like more than having their fortunes read, it’s having their pasts abolished.’

. From the Famished Road trilogy to more recently The Last Gift of the Master Artists, Ben Okri has written some incredible novels-searching, profound and full of reflection.

Madame Sosostris & the Festival for the Broken-Hearted is a curiosity of a book- two couples with fractured marriages; Viv and Alan; Beatrice and Stephen- living comfortable and privileged lives- but not happy. Following an encounter with the mysterious Madame Sosostris , Viv sets out to create a festival for those spurned in love in a mysterious forest in the south of France - it is to feature a masked ball.

Much of the novel focuses on the conversations between the couples as they reflect of successes, failures, personal desires and frustrations and eaves drops into dialogues and thoughts of those attending the festival and their reasons to meet the elusive fortuneteller.

This is a modern adult fairytale- full of mysticism, metaphors and magic. It is an exploration of identity and personality - private and public ; societal expectations of the wealthy and privileged and how this is often a mirage ;shielding true authenticity

It is hard to classify this short novel but Mr Okri certainly knows how to make the reader ponder what constitutes reality, the true face of individuals and especially what does it mean to love and truly be loved - can we ever know?

Hard to categorise and how readers might respond

A fable drenched in the absurd, the spiritual and pure magic. This seemed like it was really fun to write. It was lots of fun to read. A Shakespearean, Midsummer Night's Dream plot is woven into T. S. Eliot's The Wasteland as Madame Sosostris, the wisest woman in Europe, promises to attend a festival for the broken hearted in a magical wood in rural France. Masks and disguises, spells and songs, the dead and the living all mingle in this riot of a tale. Absolutely glorious mythmaking.

This is a masterful book beautifully written. An allegory exploring many aspects of life: connection, love, fear of letting go and of being authentic, time, immanence and presence. At it's heart, Madame Sosostris, who exists in more ways than one, and who, it appears, speaks through reviewers as well as the characters in the book. We are best revealed by our reactions and responses. I loved it. It is exactly as long as it needs to be.

The quote at the beginning prepares the reader for what is to come:

Whoever cannot seek the unseen sees
Nothing, for the known way is an impasse

Heraclitus

We are also advised to read slowly, but I didn't. I offer no apology for that.

Madame Sosostris and the Festival for the Broken-Hearted is a captivating modern fable filled with wit and wonder reminiscent of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

The Booker Prize-winning author crafts a delightful yet insightful tale about love, identity, and the secret selves we hide, set against the backdrop of a masquerade that promises magic but delivers something far more revealing.

The story follows Viv, who, on the 20th anniversary of her first husband’s departure, decides to throw an unusual party for those scorched by love. Joined by her hesitant second husband, Alan, and their friends Beatrice and Stephen, Viv invites Madame Sosostris, a famed clairvoyant and rumoured confidante to five prime ministers, to add a mystical twist to the night.

The masquerade unfolds in a sacred wood in the south of France, where hidden faces give way to hidden truths as the couples hope for guidance from the mysterious fortune-teller.

However, as the night progresses, events spiral in unexpected, humorous directions, forcing each character to confront the state of their relationships and aspirations. Madame Sosostris’s presence adds a layer of enchantment and unease, making the evening both an escape and a reckoning for the guests.

This enchanting book blends comedy and depth, exploring how our past loves shape us and how easily we hide from ourselves. Madame Sosostris and the Festival for the Broken-Hearted is a wise and magical reflection on love, heartbreak, and the many masks we wear. It’s a thoroughly engaging read for anyone who enjoys tales where romance, introspection, and the supernatural intertwine.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

Ben Okri has a way of making the reader believe everything that he writes, even when he is writing about magical things.
This book is a short book easily read in one sitting.
I loved it.
The depth of meaning was phenomenal.
As Ben Okri says, the story is best read slowly. It is also probably best to read it again an again when you feel down.
My thanks to the author for the hours of enjoyment that the book has brought me, I received an advance review copy for free.
I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Exquisite, dreamlike, impossible to review. I will be reading everything else he writes. A new all time favourite.

This is a short novel that is in the tradition of magical realism and is thoroughly engaging and well written.

The main characters are two married couples and the two wives, Viv and Beatrice, are the best of friends. Their respective husbands, Alan and Stephen, lock horns rather than being friends. Viv, a high flying member of society, in the House of Lords no less, conceives of a Festival for the Broken-Hearted on the twentieth anniversary of the day her first husband left her.

The Festival for the Broken-Hearted. takes place on one Midsummer’s Night in the South of France because this is where the fortune teller Madame Sosostris has sent Viv.

Everyone is in fancy dress. Anonymous. Music plays. Guests wander the beautiful sacred woods and a very special guest is the famous Madame Sosostris, known as the wisest woman in Europe. She of T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land. All have questions, failures, disappointments.

To tell more would reveal the plot so best just to read it! I got hints of Marlon James, John Fowles alongside Shakespeare. Despite other reviews it is an easy read and I recommend it. I read an ARC provided by NetGalley and tge publishers.

Ben Okri is such a masterful writer and this book is a delight to read. On the surface it is quite a whimsical and witty story. But it is actually full of depth and exploration of the shadow. We are drawn into the esoteric experience and further drawn into the significance of the wearing of masks, both literal and metaphorical. Okri advises us to read this book slowly. I couldn't put it down so I think I may have to read it again ... slowly this time.

Madame Sosostris & The Festival for the Broken-Hearted takes Eliot's character from The Wasteland and reimagines her is a modern setting. Two high-achieving couples seem discontented with their lives and with each other, Viv in particular. On the twentieth anniversary of her first husband leaving her, she comes up with the idea of a festival for the broken-hearted, noting 'the impossibility of recovering from real heartbreak'. Madame Sosostris appears, as if from nowhere, and seems to already know Viv's mind and, making very high demands, agrees to appear at the Festival. She is to be the star of the show and is a huge draw for potential festival-goers. But when festival plans go wrong, Viv must find a way to rescue what must inevitably be a disaster and one that will upturn her successful life. The outcome is perhaps unsurprising, but is very satisfying for all that.

Do you need to know Eliot's 'The Wasteland' to understand this story? Absolutely not. The more curious reader might wish to do some research afterwards, but Okri's re-imagining of the wasteland of post-war Britain and the death of culture into the 21st century can stand alone. Eliot's wasteland is full of allusion and reference, much of which might seem impossible to disentangle and understand. Okri's magical realism shows us the way, even when much of the festival seems nebulous. If we take his advice and 'Read slowly', we will be rewarded. In many ways this is a book of modern manners - or lack of them. Being beguiled by fame for fame's sake and chasing rainbows; losing sight of what is actually important. Is the 21st century just another version of Eliot's wasteland, Okri seems to be asking. But he asks it gently, poking fun at what is seen to be important, what life is apparently all about. There is some hope in his vision.


Magical realism imbues the book

A charming, immersive novel that takes me back to reading fairytales as a child. The dialogue is snappy and sharp - perhaps at the expense of realism, but that's not the aim of this book. It felt like walking into a dream.