“Audacious and beautiful.” Dominic Smith, New York Times bestselling author
Description
Our hero, Arky Levin, has reached a creative dead end. An unexpected separation from his wife was meant to leave him with the space he needs to work composing film scores, but it has provided none of the peace of mind he needs to create. Guilty and restless, it is almost by chance that he stumbles upon an art exhibit that will change his life.
Based on a real piece of performance art that took place in 2010, the installation that the fictional Arky Levin discovers is inexplicably powerful. Visitors to the Museum of Modern Art sit across a table from the performance artist Marina Abramović, for as short or long a period of time as they choose. Although some go in skeptical, almost all leave moved. And the participants are not the only ones to find themselves changed by this unusual experience: Arky finds himself returning daily. As the performance unfolds over the course of seventy-five days, so too does Arky. Connecting with other people drawn to the exhibit, he slowly starts to understand what might be missing in his life and what he must do.
This is a book about art, but it is also about success and failure, illness, death, and happiness. It’s about what it means to find connection in a modern world. And most of all, it is about love, with its limitations and its transcendence.
Praise
“Audacious and beautiful.” Dominic Smith, New York Times bestselling author
“A part-fact, part-fiction tale of art, love, grief, and convergence.” New York Times
“One of my stand-out Australian reads…It is a glorious novel, meditative and special in a way that defies easy articulation.” Hannah Kent, author of Burial Rites
“A weirdly beautiful book.” David Walsh, founder and curator of the Museum of Old and New Art
“The Museum of Modern Love is an unusual and remarkable achievement, a meditation on the social, spiritual, and artistic importance of seeing and being seen. It is rare to encounter a novel with such powerful characterization, such a deep understanding of the consequences of personal and national history, and such dazzling and subtle explorations of the importance of art in everyday life.” Brenda Walker, chair of the 2017 Stella Prize panel
Details
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Release Day | Nov 26, 2018 |
| Release Date | November 27, 2018 |
| Release Date Machine | 1543276800 |
| Imprint | Blackstone Publishing |
| Provider | Blackstone Publishing |
| Categories | Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction, Psychological, Literary Fiction, Fiction - All, Fiction - Adult |
Author Bio
Heather Rose was born in Australia in 1964. Her novels have been short-listed or have won awards for literary fiction, crime fiction, and children’s fantasy. In 2017, The Museum of Modern Love, her seventh novel, won the Christina Stead Prize and the Stella Prize. It is her first novel for adults to be published in the United States. She lives by the sea on the island of Tasmania.
Narrator Bio
Laurel Lefkow is an accomplished radio actress and winner of several AudioFile Earphones Awards for audiobook narration. Her many theater credits include Look Back in Anger, Little Foxes, The Heiress, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and The Boy Next Door. On television she can be seen in A Class Act, Small Metal Jacket, and The Perfect Family.
Overview
Our hero, Arky Levin, has reached a creative dead end. An unexpected separation from his wife was meant to leave him with the space he needs to work composing film scores, but it has provided none of the peace of mind he needs to create. Guilty and restless, it is almost by chance that he stumbles upon an art exhibit that will change his life.
Based on a real piece of performance art that took place in 2010, the installation that the fictional Arky Levin discovers is inexplicably powerful. Visitors to the Museum of Modern Art sit across a table from the performance artist Marina Abramović, for as short or long a period of time as they choose. Although some go in skeptical, almost all leave moved. And the participants are not the only ones to find themselves changed by this unusual experience: Arky finds himself returning daily. As the performance unfolds over the course of seventy-five days, so too does Arky. Connecting with other people drawn to the exhibit, he slowly starts to understand what might be missing in his life and what he must do.
This is a book about art, but it is also about success and failure, illness, death, and happiness. It’s about what it means to find connection in a modern world. And most of all, it is about love, with its limitations and its transcendence.
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