The Sea of Tears

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.

Harking back to the ancient tales of The Arabian Nights but with a decidedly 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.

"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. Agent, Wendy Sherman. (Jan.) Forecast: Booksellers can recommend this food- and recipe-packed novel to fans of Joanne Harris, Laura Esquivel and other writers of culinary erotica. Author tour. " Publishers Weekly (Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"An eerie tale that could have been ponderous and flat but, instead, goes completely over the edge and become outrageous and delightful." Kirkus Reviews

From the widely acclaimed author comes a new novel of love, lust, discovery, and the strangely interwoven tales of three lonely inhabitants of an old Washington, D.C., hotel.