Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Body Artist  By  cover art

The Body Artist

By: Don DeLillo
Narrated by: Laurie Anderson
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $8.96

Buy for $8.96

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

In this spare, seductive novel, Don DeLillo inhabits the muted world of Lauren Hartke, an artist whose work defies the limits of the body. Lauren is living on a lonely coast, in a rambling rented house, where she encounters a strange, ageless man, a man with uncanny knowledge of her life. Together they begin a journey into the wilderness of time - time, love, and human perception.
©2001 Don DeLillo, All Rights Reserved (P)2001 Simon & Schuster Inc., All Rights Reserved

Critic reviews

“DeLillo’s most affecting novel yet...A dazzling, phosphorescent work of art.” (Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times)
“The clearest vision yet of what it felt like to live through that day.” (Malcolm Jones, Newsweek)
“A metaphysical ghost story about a woman alone…intimate, spare, exquisite.” (Adam Begley, The New York Times Book Review)

What listeners say about The Body Artist

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    48
  • 4 Stars
    34
  • 3 Stars
    30
  • 2 Stars
    10
  • 1 Stars
    9
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    52
  • 4 Stars
    24
  • 3 Stars
    16
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    3
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    34
  • 4 Stars
    25
  • 3 Stars
    27
  • 2 Stars
    8
  • 1 Stars
    4

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent in every way

I'd give this one six stars if I could. DeLillo isn't everyone's cup of tea. The earlier negative reviewer is fair: the painstaking exactitude with which he documents our (contemporary American people's) thoughts and speech could, I suppose,--if you're not attuned--seem to have a pointless obsessiveness. But man alive, if you let yourself go with it, you'll find that he's speaking thoughts you yourself have had, speech you yourself recall having heard someplace (you can't quite recall where); and it's all absolutely true, often funny, and continually disconcerting. What's even more odd about the sense of familiarity is that this book, really, is a bizarre ghost story in the tradition of James' Turn of the Screw or Conrad's Secret Sharer.
About the narration: Laurie Anderson is perfect for this book in every way, aurally and temperamentally. I could listen to her tell stories for days on end. Audio quality excellent, too.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

DeLillo's usual excellence

With DeLillo's usual expertise, this story is an excellent slant on the grieving process. I felt that I wanted to listen to it again as soon as it had ended, afraid that I had missed so much of the important details. This is definitely one that bears repeating and I would highly recommend it. It is not one to be casually listened to in the background, however. It required concentration. I found myself rewinding whenever I got to engrossed in traffic while I drove...but well worth the effort!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

How boring can it get??

Why did I buy this book? The write up looked interesting but the book is proving to be a big disappointment. I am not enjoying it at all. So far it has been description after endless description of the most mundane aspects of life - with a little story thrown in if you can find it. This is the first audio book I will not finish. I recommend listening to a sample before buying - you may find this as boring as I have.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

My favorite book

Artful and intelligent, this minimalist and thought provoking writing style had me hooked in the book and equally in the audio version. I won't forget this one

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Powerful and Intense, but Hard to Follow

What three words best describe Laurie Anderson’s voice?

I love her own work and saw her many years ago in a brilliant concert. Unfortunately, her voice strikes me as ineffectively "quiet" for these purposes. I listened while I rode in a car, and it seemed much of her inflection got drowned out by road noise. She's a great performer and a major artist in her own right, but I don't think her voice is quite pitched for the work of narration.

Any additional comments?

I'm a big DeLillo fan, but this turned out to be very difficult to follow as an audiobook. It's a story where the ground is constantly shifting, where we can't be certain of many of the things we early on take for granted. I think it would be confusing to read even as a printed book, but that confusion is amplified through the listening experience.

The central figure experiences a deep loss and, at least I read it, she projects that loss onto a character who suddenly seems to occupy her house. I read that character as an image of her grief and, as such, that central metaphor is beautiful and powerful. The book doesn't settle there, though, and, much as it pains me to say of DeLillo, this one doesn't quite find its core argument. (I recently read Point Omega as well, and I found that a much better work.)

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Worth it just to hear Laurie Anderson's narration!

DeLillo's take on the grieving process is fascinating, unique and, admittedly, sometimes confusing. As one reviewer noted, you can't listen to The Body Artist in traffic and fully appreciate its complexity. Laurie Anderson's narration is superbly nuanced. Hers is just the right voice, just the right articulation.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

this was weird

i wish i could wipe this freaky ass creepy book out of my head. it was pointless and gross.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing in every way

Will be listening to this again, perfect in every way, Laurie Anderson a perfect match for the book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good Story but So-so Reading

The voice of the performer is really melodic and nice but she does not inflected AT ALL during dialogue scenes. I'm not exaggerating. A two-page exchange of dialogue sounds like an incoherent monologue. Also, I'd read the novel before hearing the audio and I think she often uses the wrong tone for the characters. Again, though, while reading the prose her voice is very nice.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

DeLillo Disappointment

This is my first encounter with DeLillo, so I don't know if this book is representative of his style, but I found the repetitious writing very boring. I couldn't wait for it to be finished.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!