Little Marek, the abused and delusional son of the village shepherd, never knew his mother. One of Marek's few consolations is his enduring bond with the blind village midwife, Ina, who suckled him when he was a baby. Ina's gifts extend beyond childcare: for some people, her ability to receive transmissions of sacred knowledge from the natural world is a godsend. For others, Ina's home in the woods outside of the village is a place to fear and to avoid, a godless place. The spellbinding new novel from Ottessa Moshfegh.