Ecstasy

In the backstory to this defiantly feminist reimagining of Euripides’ The Bacchae from Pochoda (Sing Her Down), broke 20-somethings Lena and Hedy were partying their way around the world when Lena met ruthless hotel developer Stavros. Seduced by his wealth, Lena “stumbled into a hasty marriage” that produced “asshole” son Drew and trapped her in a suffocating life of cloistered luxury. Lena assumes she’s finally free when, 35 years later, Stavros dies on the dunes near Agape Villas, his under-construction resort on Naxos, Greece, but Drew takes over as CEO and family despot. Hedy has remained a firecracker, so a fun-starved Lena brings her along to the soft launch of Agape Villas. On Naxos, the duo is drawn to an encampment on the beach near the resort where women dance and drum with “ecstatic abandon.” Disgusted and irate, Drew vows to evict the “feral” group, but unbeknownst to him, something ancient is at play. Pochoda’s sun-drenched, blood-soaked literary fever dream pits hubris against hedonism, likens religion to rave culture, and explores the transformative power of female rage. Incandescent prose, present-tense narration, and frequent perspective shifts impart urgency, rendering the characters’ passions palpable. It’s a gleefully transgressive tour de force. Agent: Kimberly Witherspoon, InkWell Management. (June)