ALL THE BEAUTY IN THE WORLD The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me

With his engaging voice, Patrick Bringley takes the listener inside New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art in a uniquely personal way. Having been a museum guard for 10 years, he offers keenly detailed observations of visitors, his fellow guards, and the art itself. The former NEW YORKER staffer narrates his insightful and detailed memoir in a resonant voice with slightly clipped speech, switching to lively expression for dialogue with patrons and co-workers. Bringley came to his job while grieving the death of his brother, hoping to be surrounded by quiet beauty. He rambles back and forth between details of his own life and commentary on his relationships to works of art that especially speak to him. As a guard, he offered much more than the "don't touch" that most visitors would expect. J.E.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2023]