All the Beauty in the World

Finished February 2

All the Beauty in the World: A Museum Guard's Adventures in Life, Loss and Art by Patrick Bringley, illustrated by Maya McMahon

This memoir is both fascinating and informative. The author left a job at the New Yorker magazine after the death of his older brother Tom, and applied to be a guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He worked their for ten years, during which time he worked through his grief, made friends, learned about art, watched people, and learned to be present in his life. 

He includes a plan of the museum's public spaces, and structures his book around them as he works in different sections of the building, and even in one of the satellite buildings the museum has. 

He talks about the art, and lists the art he refers to at the back of the book. He doesn't include pictures of the art, but there are drawings that relate to his words, done by illustrator, Maya McMahon. These drawings give a sense of the art that intrigues. 

Patrick's words are sometimes emotional, and centered on his work at the museum. There are a few references to his family beyond Tom, but it is the art that we see him engaging with, and his fellow guards as they hand off from one position to another, share work, and share experiences. They are from many cultural backgrounds, and this comes into his story as well. 

This was a book I received through a subscription from English bookstore Mr. B's Emporium, and I loved it.