Degas at the Gas Station: Essays
In his latest essay collection, Thomas Beller trains his piercing literary eye on how a single, seismic event indelibly shapes the trajectory of the common and mundane experiences of one’s life. Weaving together a charming set of autobiographical stories, Beller interrogates the randomness and contingencies that separate sadness from joy, death from life. His father escaped the Nazis, only to die in America from cancer when Beller was nine years old. Beller measures how his loss impacted his life as the father of two young children and became a catalyst for understanding and an ever-present sorrow. At the same time, ordinary moments—from retrieving an iPod from the subway tracks or encountering the police at a Kinks concert to observing his young tutued ballerina daughter at a gas station—lead to instances of penetrating insight, self-deprecation, and flashes of humor. Degas at the Gas Station presents an endearing and bracingly honest portrait of the author as an ever-curious observer of the mysteries and profundities of everyday life.
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Degas at the Gas Station: Essays
In his latest essay collection, Thomas Beller trains his piercing literary eye on how a single, seismic event indelibly shapes the trajectory of the common and mundane experiences of one’s life. Weaving together a charming set of autobiographical stories, Beller interrogates the randomness and contingencies that separate sadness from joy, death from life. His father escaped the Nazis, only to die in America from cancer when Beller was nine years old. Beller measures how his loss impacted his life as the father of two young children and became a catalyst for understanding and an ever-present sorrow. At the same time, ordinary moments—from retrieving an iPod from the subway tracks or encountering the police at a Kinks concert to observing his young tutued ballerina daughter at a gas station—lead to instances of penetrating insight, self-deprecation, and flashes of humor. Degas at the Gas Station presents an endearing and bracingly honest portrait of the author as an ever-curious observer of the mysteries and profundities of everyday life.
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Degas at the Gas Station: Essays

Degas at the Gas Station: Essays

by Thomas Beller
Degas at the Gas Station: Essays

Degas at the Gas Station: Essays

by Thomas Beller

Overview

In his latest essay collection, Thomas Beller trains his piercing literary eye on how a single, seismic event indelibly shapes the trajectory of the common and mundane experiences of one’s life. Weaving together a charming set of autobiographical stories, Beller interrogates the randomness and contingencies that separate sadness from joy, death from life. His father escaped the Nazis, only to die in America from cancer when Beller was nine years old. Beller measures how his loss impacted his life as the father of two young children and became a catalyst for understanding and an ever-present sorrow. At the same time, ordinary moments—from retrieving an iPod from the subway tracks or encountering the police at a Kinks concert to observing his young tutued ballerina daughter at a gas station—lead to instances of penetrating insight, self-deprecation, and flashes of humor. Degas at the Gas Station presents an endearing and bracingly honest portrait of the author as an ever-curious observer of the mysteries and profundities of everyday life.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781478033035
Publisher: Duke University Press
Publication date: 11/04/2025
Pages: 224
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Thomas Beller is Professor of English at Tulane University, a regular contributor to the New Yorker, and the author of several books, most recently, Lost in the Game: A Book about Basketball, also published by Duke UniversityPress.
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