Many Shallows: The Windmill

Milena, head strong yet sickly, spends her days confined to her bed. Her chronic illness has always prevented any chance of her marrying until, much to her dismay, a suitor finally takes interest. A prisoner in a pink room, it seems that Milena’s fate will be dictated by her family’s expectations. Or does an alternate future lie with Opal, a young maid from a mysterious world?

Many Shallows reimagines the lives and afterlives of Franz Kafka’s three great loves: Felice, Milena, and Dora. Rather than side notes in the famous writer’s life or vehicles for his desire, these women are reincarnated as the protagonists of their own surreal, macabre worlds. Milena is the protagonist in The Windmill, the second book in the Many Shallows series. The Windmill explores the complex themes of body dysmorphia, sexuality and tradition.