One of Vanity Fair's 21 Best Books of 2020 (So Far)A Vulture LitHub and PureWow Most
Anticipated Book of 2020As precise as any scientific observation and far more tantalizing.
--VogueA sophisticated surprising take on the campus novel (with a welcome dose of witchery).
Knight's writing feels a little wild and charged as if you're constantly on the edge of
discovering something new with her.--GoopHex is some dark and joyous witchery. --Lauren Groff
author of FloridaA beautiful spooky spell. --Jenny Slate actress and author of Little WeirdsA
breathtaking and hypnotic novel about poison antidotes and obsessive loveNell 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. Her
mentor Dr. Joan Kallas is the hero of Nell's heart. Nell frequently finds herself standing in
the doorway to Joan's office despite herself mesmerized by Joan's elegance success and
spiritual force.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. 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.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. She logs
her research and how she spends her days but the notebooks ultimately become a painstaking map
of love. In a dazzling and unforgettable voice Rebecca Dinerstein Knight has written a
spellbinding novel of emotional and intellectual intensity.
