English language
Published 2024 by Graywolf Press.
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In 1967, the dancer Marta Becket and her husband were traveling through Death Valley Junction when they came across an abandoned theater. Marta decided it was hers. She painted her ideal audience on its walls and danced her own dances until her death five decades later. In the present day, Gia has ended a relationship and taken a leave from her job in film studies at a university. She sleeps fifteen hours a night and ignoring calls from her mother. In a library archive, she comes across a photo of Marta Becket and decides to write her a letter. Soon Marta magically appears in her home. Gia hopes Marta Becket will guide her out of her despair. But is Marta, the example of her single-minded solitary life enough? Through precise, vivid vignettes, "Bitter Water Opera" follows Gia as she resists the urge to escape into herself and struggles to form …
In 1967, the dancer Marta Becket and her husband were traveling through Death Valley Junction when they came across an abandoned theater. Marta decided it was hers. She painted her ideal audience on its walls and danced her own dances until her death five decades later. In the present day, Gia has ended a relationship and taken a leave from her job in film studies at a university. She sleeps fifteen hours a night and ignoring calls from her mother. In a library archive, she comes across a photo of Marta Becket and decides to write her a letter. Soon Marta magically appears in her home. Gia hopes Marta Becket will guide her out of her despair. But is Marta, the example of her single-minded solitary life enough? Through precise, vivid vignettes, "Bitter Water Opera" follows Gia as she resists the urge to escape into herself and struggles to form a lasting connection to the world. In this brief, astonishing novel, Nicolette Polek describes an individual awakening to faith while exploring our deepest existential questions. How do we look beyond ourselves? Where do words go? What is art for?