Kat Lind, an American expatriate leading an upscale life in London, is shocked when she arrives at an art gallery to discover the show is full of paintings of her. It turns out that artist Daniel Blake has been compulsively painting Kat for the last 20 years, ever since the end of their Parisian love affair during college.
Contrasting Kat and Daniel's youthful relationship with Kat's current hectic life as a mother and the wife of a high-powered businessman, The Blue Bath journeys with Kat into the what-might-have-beens of life. Beautifully written, bringing Paris and London both to life, this novel is a study of the nature of love and art, and what happens when the two collide.
Originally from New York, Mary Waters-Sayers lived in London for 12 years and shows her love for the city in this first novel. "It seemed as though it was a different possibility of what London could be.... How short a distance you had to go from the familiar to be lost." But unfortunately for Kat, London is not big enough to escape the awkward possibilities inherent in having your body showcased in large portraits. Soon her past relationship with Daniel catches up to her current marriage, and she has some very difficult choices to make.
Anyone who loves a romantic story with a twist, or who has wondered wistfully what happened to their first love, is sure to enjoy The Blue Bath. --Jessica Howard, blogger at Quirky Bookworm