Alex Diggins

A ponderous parable for our times: The Wondrous and Tragic Life of Ivan and Ivana

Maryse Condé’s themes of displacement and radicalisation are timely and serious — but the novel has all the zip of cold porridge

Maryse Condé in 2008. Credit: Getty Images
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  • The Wondrous and Tragic Life of Ivan and Ivana

    Maryse Condé, translated from the French by Richard Philcox

    World Editions, pp. 275, £12

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