Fiction

It is 1937, and Europe is on the brink of war. Hitler is circulating a most-wanted list of “cultural degenerates.” To prevent the destruction of her favorite art (and artists), impetuous American heiress and art collector Leonora Calaway begins chartering boats and planes for an elite group of surrealists to Costalegre, a mysterious resort in the Mexican jungle. The story of what happens to these artists when they reach their destination is told from the point of view of Lara, Leonora’s neglected 15-year-old daughter. Heartbreaking and strange, Courtney Maum’s Costalegre (Tin House) is inspired by the real-life relationship between the heiress Peggy Guggenheim and her daughter, Pegeen. Maum will be joined in conversation by Kimberly King Parsons, author of Black Light.