The Body Artist

THE BODY ARTIST

by Don DeLillo

 

Nominations: Dublin Longlist 2003, James Tait Black Finalist 2001

 

Date Read: December 21, 2022

 

Lauren Hartke is a well-known performance artist married to an older man, Rey, who is also an artist. Ray kills himself after a terse breakfast and a brief exchange about him going for a drive. The police inform Lauren that Rey killed himself in his ex-wife’s apartment. At the time of Rey’s death, the couple had been living in a secluded house in the woods outside of New York City. Against the advice of Lauren’s friends, she decides to remain outside the city in the house they had shared.

 

Lauren’s grief is immense as any partner who is left behind would be. She wanders the halls of the house, having only the briefest contact with the outside world, disconnecting completely from herself and the physical world. One day shortly after Rey’s death, she hears a small notices coming from an unused bedroom upstairs. As she bravely goes up to explore, she can’t find anything amiss that would explain the noise.

 

The following day, Lauren ascends the stairs again and discovers a man sitting placidly on the bed. He is small and of an indeterminate age. When he speaks, he can only converse in halting language that is simply an echo of previous conversations he’s overheard. These conversation leftovers are often out of context and almost like a stream of consciousness spewing from his mouth. The final odd thing about this man is that every time Lauren looks his way, his appearance seems to alter.

 

Many literary scholars have attempted to interpret this being that suddenly appears and after several weeks vanishes. I believe this being is an echo of Rey, Lauren’s grief so overwhelming that this distraction manifests to ease her through the journey of mourning. Mr. Tuttle, as Lauren names him, is able to quote direct statements from Rey, even the last conversation Lauren had with Rey before he left to kill himself.

 

Throughout this novella, Lauren seems to lose and discover her purpose over and over. She is never quite able to grasp the separateness of Rey and Mr. Tuttle and includes them, in some form, in her work. DeLillo’s true intention is never fully discovered. I am not sure if I loved or loathed this work but the fact that I continue to think about it makes me think it was an overall success.

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