Donna Miscolta returns to past characters in her latest novel, “Ofelia and Norma”
Novelist Donna Miscolta turned to writing full-time after a long career in public service.
In her newest novel, Donna Miscolta, ’80, ’90, turns her creative gaze back to an earlier work of her own making. Expanding upon the entangled lives of characters she first introduced in a short story published 11 years ago, “Ofelia and Norma” (Regal House) continues the coming-of-age tale of two unforgettable siblings.
Ofelia and Norma are two large-bodied twin sisters who are mirrors of comfort and familiarity for one another throughout their childhoods. Growing up in a household with a mother who is clueless and self-absorbed, the girls turn to each other for support and regulation. The twins lose touch when they seek to explore their separate identities in young adulthood. Ofelia sets her sights on changing her relationship to her body by being disciplined but develops disordered eating habits that she struggles to control around family. Her twin, Norma, is the victim of a brutal fraternity prank that causes her to fall into a deep depression.
Reminiscent at times of Roxanne Gay’s “Hunger” and Chanel Miller’s “Know My Name,” Miscolta’s unflinching prose unravels a narrative in which the estranged sisters come together to enact a shocking revenge upon Norma’s abuser.
“In the [original] story, there was an innocence and trust that allowed the sisters to overcome the ordeal they experienced in high school,” Miscolta says. “But in the novel, they are young women whose sisterhood and their own sense of self are tested in their separate forays into a world that views them in their large bodies as spectacles. Their separation engenders a sense of betrayal, and they search for a replacement for their once inseparable bond.”
In the past decade, Miscolta, 73, has reimagined her own life narrative. After a 30-year career working in the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks on public education and school programs, she retired in 2019. During her first year of retirement, Miscolta and her partner traveled to Spain. They explored Madrid, Barcelona and Málaga—a coastal city with a moderate climate and a relaxed, international vibe. “At the time, it didn’t occur to us to move there,” Miscolta says.
But COVID-19 happened. When travel started up again, the idea of moving to Spain had taken up residence in her husband’s heart and brain. In 2023, they sold their belongings and relocated to sunny Málaga, where Miscolta writes and studies Spanish language. She belongs to a multinational writing group that shares its work in English and gathers regularly with a group of women to practice Spanish and learn Spanish history.
Miscolta expresses fondness and deep gratitude whenever she talks about Seattle. Miscolta moved to Seattle when she was 24. At the UW, she earned graduate degrees in education and public administration. Miscolta focused on teaching English as a Second Language and took courses in linguistics and syntax, building on her previous coursework in Spanish language and literature. She found that she was stronger in writing than pedagogy and pivoted to public affairs. Despite a busy life, Miscolta knew something was missing. When her friend Kathleen Alcalá, ’85, read from a new collection of short stories, it triggered a long-buried desire in Miscolta to write fiction. In her late 30s, she enrolled in UW continuing-education classes led by writers like Jack Remick and Rebecca Brown.
The author of four books of fiction, Miscolta hopes to get three more books out. “The writing has never come easy for me, but I’ve been at it long enough to trust that it will come,” she says.
Donna Miscolta reads from “Ofelia and Norma” at Elliott Bay Books on Oct. 29.