Cursed Love Blues
“If you’re a fan of Neil Gaiman’s captivating fantasy, if Caitlin Moran’s straight talking feminism brings a smile to your lips, or if you have a soft spot for Graeme Simsion’s Professor Don Tillman in ‘The Rosie Project’, then you’ll enjoy this”
A free-wheeling retelling of the Orpheus myth, Cursed Love Blues is a road trip novel blending modern fantasy with various strands of mythology - from the gods of ancient Greece, the fallen angels of the Book of Enoch, the tricksters of Native America and the Mexican saints of the Dead.
Embark on a wild, blues-soaked road trip that takes you into a twilight world of disgruntled angels, charming tricksters, desperate lovers, predatory mermaids and friendly goats...
An exiled goddess, scorned as a joke among the gods, Atë has been cursed to wander the earth in human form, wrecking the lives of everyone she encounters.
History has not been kind to Atë.
In ancient Greek myth, she is known as the goddess of recklessness, infatuation and ruin.
And the years since haven’t been much better either – Shakespeare’s Dark Lady, Spenser’s Fiend of Hell, Green’s Black Magic Woman – it seems the lover of kings, artists and fools has quite a bit to answer for.
Now, at the turn of the millennium, drifting anonymously across the desert freeways and bars of America, she finds herself mysteriously drawn to Hako and Sue, a couple of young blues musicians in love touring Route 66.
When Sue disappears during a Mexican fiesta and Atë sees an unwelcome face from her past, she is confronted with the painful realisation that hiding is no longer an answer.
Because it isn’t so much the supernatural world that's the problem, but the human world - messy, confusing and inconvenient as it is.
And it’s time to face up to some awkward truths because saving Sue's angry, unappreciative soul from the Underworld may very well hold the key to releasing her from her own curse.
Set to a soundtrack that gives each chapter a song title, embark on a road trip to the sounds of Nina Simone, Nick Cave, cat power, funkadelic, pj harvey, captain beefheart, sister rosetta tharpe, smashing pumpkins, david bowie, Odetta, patti smith, edith piaf, howling wolf, billie holiday, siouxsie and the banshees, screaming Jay Hawkins, the Doors and more...
“This is a riveting novel, epic in its scope on many fronts: the phantasmagorical, colourful, multi-dimensional and broad landscape is vividly portrayed with a dramatic film-like quality and populated with haunting, powerful characters; the writing is rich with insights into human nature, described in punchy, evocative, fresh and original language that is a real pleasure to read.”
“Atë! I’ve been waiting for you for so long! At last, a woman (or Goddess) who encapsulates so much more than many of the mediocre female characters I’ve met in books before. I feel like I’ve fallen a little bit in love with her, despite, and because of all her flaws. As I travelled with Atë, the journey twists and turns through the vivid landscapes of Mexico and the USA, it paints a picture of a grotesque yet fascinating underworld (which if I’m honest, kind of ruined mermaids for me). Along the way I grew to know and love the characters like old friends, as their essence is so beautifully created. This is one of those books that I raced through, then ended up heartbroken at the end when I put the book down and came to realise how much I was going to miss them.
I think that if you’re a fan of Neil Gaiman’s captivating fantasy, if Caitlin Moran’s straight talking feminism brings a smile to your lips, or if you had a soft spot for Graeme Simsion’s Professor Don Tillman in ‘The Rosie Project’ then I think you’ll enjoy this.”
“A powerful vision of the narcissistic perspective a goddess would have... I love the exploration into a goddess’s gaze onto the human race, grasping some things about what compels and motivates us but also in her failure to comprehend our complicated emotional needs. ”
“If you know your Greek myths Ate has a pretty bad press. Kate Wickens aims to set the record straight, but that’s just a starting point in this epic tale. ‘On the Road’ meets ‘True Blood’.”
“From the first chapter to the final page, I was hooked.
As vivid as a film, Ate is now one of my favourite characters of all time. Not only because of the beautiful prose (a goddess perspective of love-making!) but the fact she is an anti-heroine, a female protagonist that you can’t decide whether to revere or be disgusted with. Sometimes I loved her, other times I didn’t - but I was always interested in what happened next and how she would react.
My favourite part of the book was set in the Underworld and the description of that mountain they have to crawl up is haunting. I look forward to reading the next one.”
“The way the book meanders through different time periods reminds me of David Mitchell’s ‘Cloud Atlas’. I adore books with a strong female lead and Atë is certainly a force to be reckoned with. This is not your average ‘safe’ book... I felt how I did after I’d walked out of the cinema after watching Lord of the Rings in 3D... My mind was blown. ”
