Reader’s Den

Reader's Den: Leaving the Atocha Station by Ben Lerner Wrap up

I hope you have enjoyed reading Leaving the Atocha Station by Ben Lerner. Listed below are suggestions of novels, poetry and non-fiction that might also be of interest to you.

Although it is a completely individual experience, if you'd like to try conjuring transcendent experience with art, here are a few suggestions in New York City:

at the Metropolitan Museum of Art:

at the Museum of Modern Art:

at the Brooklyn Museum:

at the The Frick:

We are already pumped and ready for A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan, next month's Reader's Den selection. The protaganist Sasha, has an uncle who travels to Naples and has an epiphany staring at the sculpture of Orpheus and Eurydice in the Museo Nazionale, "What moved Ted, mashed some delicate glassware in his chest, was the quiet of their interaction, the absence of drama or tears as they gazed at each other, touching gently. He sensed between them an understanding too deep to articulate: the unspeakable knowledge that everything is lost."

It appears that whether or not people have life-changing experiences with art, many of us are open to the possibility.