The Uses of Enchantment

One Autumn day in 1985, sixteen-year-old Mary Veal vanishes from her Massachusetts prep school. A few weeks later she reappears unharmed and with little memory of what happened to her--or at least little that she is willing to share. Was Mary abducted, or did she fake her disappearance? This question haunts Mary's family, her psychologist, even Mary herself. Weaving together three narratives, The Uses of Enchantment conjures a spell in which the hallucinatory power of a young woman's sexuality, and her desire to wield it, has devastating consequences for all involved.

Author: Heidi Julavits
Publisher: Anchor Books
Published: 01/08/2008
Pages: 368
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.59lbs
Size: 7.94h x 5.28w x 0.78d
ISBN: 9781400078110

Review Citation(s):
New York Times Book Review 01/27/2008 pg. 20

About the Author
Heidi Julavits is the author of two previous novels, The Mineral Palace and The Effect of Living Backwards, as well as a collaborative book, Hotel Andromeda, with the artist Jenny Gage. She is a founding editor of The Believer, and her writings have appeared in Esquire, Time, The New York Times, McSweeney's among other places. She lives in Manhattan and Maine.