Sea of Tears: A Novel - Hardcover

Power, Nani

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1582433038 ISBN 13: 9781582433035

Publisher: Counterpoint, 2004

Synopsis

From the wildly acclaimed Nani Power, a new novel of love, lust, discovery, and the strangely interwoven tales of three lonely inhabitants of an old Washington, D. C. hotel. This is all about love, begins The Sea of Tears. Infused with the sensuality and smarts that have established Nani Power as one of our most exciting young writers, this otherworldly novel delves into the tangled relationships and hidden worlds of people brought together-and torn apart-under extraordinary circumstances. One man, Jedra, has fled his native Iraq and taken a technician job at The Renaissance Hotel, where he works in the boiler room and pines for the love of Phyllis, a front desk clerk who mysteriously remembers Heaven. Khouri, an Iranian engineer with no living family, attends a conference at the hotel only to meet Patricia, a single mom employed there as a maid. And in the penthouse apartment, Daniel Espirito entertains the delusion that he's actually living in Brazil-until the hotel chef, Leslie, comes knocking on his door. modern eye towards the clashing and mingling of cultures, this is Power's most ambitious work to date, and an enchanting invitation to take seriously the mysterious desires of one's heart.

About this title

About the Author:

Nani Power has worked as a Manhattan caterer, a nanny, a nursing home aide, a chef in a Japanese restaurant, and as a sandwich seller on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro. Both of her previous novels were named New York Times Notable Books of the Year. She lives in The Plains, Virginia.

From Publishers Weekly:

Love is in the air at the Royale, a Washington, D.C., hotel inhabited by a motley collection of emotionally wounded and desperately lonely folk in this third novel by Powers (The Good Remains; Crawling at Night). Maintenance man Jedra Abdullah secretly pines for pretty, troubled front desk clerk, Phyllis, who speaks the ancient tongues, sees angels and has memories of heaven. A Persian engineer, Khouri Karimi, attends a conference at the hotel and meets Patricia, a single mother working as a maid. And in the penthouse apartment, Daniel Espiritu dreams of Brazil and composes a cookbook, My Life in Recipes, in a desperate attempt to evoke his lush homeland and his doomed affair with the family maid. This fantasy sustains Daniel until Leslie, the hotel chef, knocks at his door. In her lushly lyrical voice, Power fashions a world filled with orphans who cling to ritualistic traditions and the romance of their pasts. The story lines echo each other too often, and Power's characters cleave to type—the women are mostly blonde and voluptuous, and the men dark, lean and foreign—but Power weaves a fine yarn of the lost and lonely seeking intimacy and love.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Counterpoint
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1582433038
• ISBN 13: 9781582433035
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256