The Correspondence Artist

Vivian, a writer and single mother living in New York, finds herself involved with an internationally famous, intensely charismatic art star. As the affair progresses, she begins to narrate the story of their not-quite-love by quoting her correspondence. But who is the recipient of Vivian’s affection and emails? It depends on which version of Vivian’s story you prefer. She describes her lover, variously, as a Nobel Prize-winning Israeli novelist named Tzipi, a Vietnamese enfant terrible video artist named Binh, a Basque separatist activist named Santuxto, and a Malian rock star named Djeli. This kaleidoscopic approach allows Vivian to maintain an ironic remove from her seduction, her disappointments and triumphs, and even her heartbreak, but it also grants the reader an intimate glimpse at the soul of a relationship, rendered more vividly universal due to being partially obscured.

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