Interview - Aga Maksimowska and Becalming

Tara welcomes Canadian author Aga Maksimowska, whose latest novel, Becalming, Dundurn Press (2026), "tells the story of two people realizing that happily ever after is not something to be but something to continue to explore, through adversity and outrage, tragedy and inspiration, and love." Her stories and essays have been published in Brick, The New Quarterly, Humber Literary Review, White Wall Review, The Globe and Mail, Today’s Parent, and longlisted for the CBC Short Story Prize. https://www.dundurn.com/books_/t22117/a9781459756038-becalming "Gosia, a high school chemistry teacher, travels to her native Poland to visit her estranged father. Back in Canada, meanwhile, her father-in-law — who has been more of a dad to her than her own — is dying of cancer. Away from her routine, Gosia questions everything in her life, including her long-term boyfriend, Peter. She feels stuck in the terrifying time of early adulthood, in her first grown-up job while managing student debt, monogamy, and existential dread. Is this really it, she wonders? Gosia’s time in Poland gives her the chance to examine her life, and she finds herself pulled homeward to Canada, where she faces the fact that Peter’s father — like her own — is far from perfect. Can she love despite betrayal? Can she find hope in her fiery, complex love for Peter? Is there something more to this life that she didn’t even realize she had?" https://maksimowska.ca/ https://www.instagram.com/agamaksimowska/ Recommended titles: Summerland by Helen Humphreys The Unravelling of Ou by Hollay Ghadery A Little Annihilation by Anna Janko