The Loneliness of Angels — Valmai Howe

The 1980s obsession with self found the perfect mark in Bianca Wolfe. For ten years she followed the decade's simple creed: Always take more than you need. She has a stack of by-lines in prestigious international magazines, a studio in the most desirable part of town, an acclaimed concert pianist lover, and the freedom to travel on a whim. But as she faces the nineties, Bianca wants more: A perfect body. A perfect soul. A routine assignment at the controversial New Morning Centre spa and health clinic, run by a charismatic director who promises miracles to the faithful, turns into a quest that strips Bianca of her facade, and reveals to her who she truly is. Bianca is, naturally, skeptical about the miracle cures claimed by the former patients the Centre has suggested she interview, and she soon discovers that there is more to the story than she had anticipated. In order to get the real story she decides to go through the program as a patient, and submits herself to the care of the Centre's director, one Petrarch, whose past activities are, to say the least, suspect. By turns funny, painful and philosophical, The Loneliness of Angels is a fascinating window on North American life in the late 20th century.