In a dazzling and unforgettable voice, Rebecca Dinerstein Knight has written a spellbinding novel of emotional and intellectual intensity.

She logs her research and how she spends her days, but the notebooks ultimately become a painstaking map of love. Meanwhile, Nell slowly fills her empty apartment with poisonous plants to study, and she begins to keep a series of notebooks, all dedicated to Joan. Rebecca Dinerstein Knight is both a scientist and a magician, and she conjures this beautiful spell of a novel with total control - EMMA STRAUB Hex is a book for those who feel adrift and solitary, for those who feel overwhelmed by themselves. Nell Barber, an expelled PhD candidate in biological science, is exploring the fine line between poison and antidote, working alone to set a speed record. All six are burdened by desire and ambition, and as they collide on the university campus, their attractions set in motion a domino effect of affairs and heartbreak. Surrounded by Nell's ex, her best friend, her best friend's boyfriend, and Joan's buffoonish husband, the two scientists are tangled together at the center of a web of illicit relationships, grudges, and obsessions. Nell frequently finds herself standing in the doorway to Joan's office despite herself, mesmerized by Joan's elegance, success, and spiritual force. Joan Kallas, is the hero of Nell's heart. Nell Barber, an expelled PhD candidate in Biological Science, is exploring the fine line between poison and antidote, working alone to set a speed record for the detoxification of poisonous plants. 'Reads like a botanist's cross-breeding of The Secret History and Department of Speculation' EMMA STRAUB With its dark humour and loopy lyricism, it bewitches' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'Wise, funny, suspenseful' JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER 'A really beautiful book about obsession, longing and science' RAVEN LEILANI Contemporary Fiction | New International Fiction | Leni's Favourites

Hex rebecca dinerstein