Bitter Water Opera Audiobook

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 is sleeping 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 Martathe example of her singleminded solitary lifeenough Bitter Water Opera follows Gia as she resists the urge to escape into herself and struggles to form a lasting connection to the world Her search ultimately brings her to Martas theater the Amargosa Opera House There in the desert Gia finds one answer

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