The Museum of Modern Love

It is 2010. Arky Levin is a film composer in New York separated from his wife who has asked him to keep one devastating promise.

Winner of the Stella Prize 2016
Winner Christina Stead Prize 2016
Winner Margaret Scott Prize 2016

Arky Levin, a film composer in New York, has promised his wife that he will not visit her in hospital, where she is suffering in the final stages of a terminal illness. She wants to spare him a burden that would curtail his creativity, but the promise is tearing him apart. One day he finds his way to MOMA and sees Mariana Abramovic in The Artist is Present. The performance continues for seventy-five days and, as it unfolds, so does Arky. As he watches and meets other people drawn to the exhibit, he slowly starts to understand what might be missing in his life and what he must do.

Published internationally and translated into numerous languages.

I adored it, and it is my book of the year so far.”

Amanda Rayner — Readings Reviews

This is a weirdly beautiful book.”

David Walsh — Founder and Curator, MONA