Becalming - Paperback

by Aga Maksimowska (Author)

Gosia feels stalled in her life, but a family trip opens her eyes to the life she has ... and the life she wants.

Gosia, a high school chemistry teacher, travels to her native Poland to visit her estranged father. Back in Canada, meanwhile, her father-in-law -- who has been more of a dad to her than her own -- is dying of cancer. Away from her routine, Gosia questions everything in her life, including her long-term boyfriend, Peter. She feels stuck in the terrifying time of early adulthood, in her first grown-up job while managing student debt, monogamy, and existential dread. Is this really it, she wonders?

Gosia's time in Poland gives her the chance to examine her life, and she finds herself pulled homeward to Canada, where she faces the fact that Peter's father -- like her own -- is far from perfect. Can she love despite betrayal? Can she find hope in her fiery, complex love for Peter? Is there something more to this life that she didn't even realize she had?

Becalming tells the story of two people realizing that happily ever after is not something to be but something to continue to explore, through adversity and outrage, tragedy and inspiration, and love.

A RARE MACHINES BOOK

Author Biography

Aga Maksimowska is a writer whose debut novel Giant, about premature sexual development and the fall of Communism in Poland, was shortlisted for the Toronto Book Award. Her writing has appeared in Polish[ed]: Poland Rooted in Canadian Fiction, Brick, the Globe and Mail, and others. Becalming is her second novel. She lives in Toronto.