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Cover of The Body Artist

Contemporary Fiction · 2001 · PG-13

The Body Artist

by Don DeLillo

A woman becomes a body artist after her husband kills himself — and a stranger appears in her house.

For14+GenreContemporary FictionLength126 pagesRead time~3.5 hours

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What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.

Violence

None

Suicide; existential fragmentation

Language

None

No profanity

Sexual Content

Barely any

Brief sexual references; the marriage

Substance Use

None

No substance use

Emotional Intensity

A lot

Psychological dissolution after grief; the uncanny; the body as artistic medium

What this book is about

DeLillo's 2001 short novel follows Lauren Hartke, a performance artist, who discovers a strange man living in her house after her husband's suicide. Quiet, elliptical, and psychologically unsettling. For adults.

Notes for sensitive readers

Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.

Suicide

Psychological intensity

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