Degas at the Gas Station by Thomas Beller - ISBN: 9781478033035
Paperback
Loss shapes life: poignant essays on grief, humor, and everyday wonder.

Degas at the Gas Station

Essays

$77.20

  • Paperback

    224 pages

  • Release Date

    3 November 2025

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Summary

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 …

Book Details

ISBN-13:9781478033035
ISBN-10:1478033037
Author:Thomas Beller
Publisher:Duke University Press
Imprint:Duke University Press
Format:Paperback
Number of Pages:224
Release Date:3 November 2025
Weight:445g
Dimensions:229mm x 152mm
What They're Saying

Critics Review

“Thomas Beller writes with wit, irony, skepticism, and brio. Degas at the Gas Station is one of the finest collections of personal essays I have seen in a long while.” - Phillip Lopate, author of My Affair with Art House Cinema: Essays and Reviews

“The true power of this excellent collection comes through Thomas Beller’s ability to dig down into the ordinary and commonplace for new and revelatory insight. A master of the small moment, Beller is one of the strongest personal essayists in contemporary literature.” - Saïd Sayrafiezadeh, author of American Estrangement: Stories

“This is a treasure trove of glimmering pieces on fatherhood and youth, odd jobs and urban life. The essay lives every time Thomas Beller picks up the pen.” - Ed Park, author of Same Bed Different Dreams: A Novel

About The Author

Thomas Beller

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 University Press.

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