{"product_id":"the-conference-on-beautiful-moments-richard-burgin-9780801885181","title":"The Conference on Beautiful Moments","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe \u003ci\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e has called Richard Burgin \"among our finest artists of love at its most desperate,\" a critic for the \u003ci\u003ePhiladelphia Inquirer \u003c\/i\u003edubbed him \"one of America's most distinctive storytellers . . . I can think of no one else of his generation who reports the contemporary war between the sexes with more devastating wit and accuracy.\" Through an extraordinarily vivid and variegated set of characters, \u003ci\u003eThe Conference on Beautiful Moments\u003c\/i\u003e, Burgin's sixth collection of stories, continues his daringly dark yet often humorous exploration of these themes, as well as our mysterious quest for truth, success, and identity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the gently satiric \"Jonathan and Lillian,\" a movie star throws a dinner party with very different meanings for her biographer, her butler and ex-lover, and herself. In \"Cruise,\" an aging straight man befriends a young gay man. Together they meet on their cruise ship's deck to confess to each other \"the worst thing they have ever done.\" In the title story, a journalist sent to investigate a conference formerly devoted to discussing beauty in the arts discovers it has turned into something considerably more sinister.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Conference on Beautiful Moments\u003c\/i\u003e, Burgin writes with equal compassion and insight about the homeless and the wealthy, prostitutes and businessmen, an autistic child and an art forger. His characters are masterfully illuminated by their interior narratives, which burst sharply into conversations at once intimate and calculated.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Richard Burgin\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0801885183\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780801885181\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Johns Hopkins University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/01\/2007\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 192\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.76lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.74h x 6.36w x 0.77d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/01\/2007 pg. 47\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/08\/2007","brand":"Richard Burgin","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48086872621311,"sku":"9780801885181","price":44.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_d8c08a17-9356-49ea-afa1-68c613b9232b.jpg?v=1769097071","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-conference-on-beautiful-moments-richard-burgin-9780801885181","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}