Ark [paperback] by Julian Tepper

An unforgettable literary novel about genius, family, and the high cost of creation, Ark follows an uncompromising artist whose life's work—and fractured family—collide as questions of legacy, love, and immortality become impossible to ignore. Darkly funny, emotionally rich, and deeply humane, Ark explores what remains after a lifetime spent chasing greatness.

At eighty-three, legendary but commercially unsuccessful artist Ben "Ark" Arkin refuses to slow down. Living in a sprawling SoHo loft overflowing with decades of unsold artwork, Ark devotes every waking hour to creating, convinced that artistic greatness demands total sacrifice. His wife worries about their dwindling finances, his loyal assistant struggles to keep pace with his relentless vision, and his adult children remain trapped in decades-old rivalries that threaten to tear the family apart.

When a bitter lawsuit erupts among Ark's children over family businesses, inheritance, and long-buried resentments, the fragile balance holding the Arkin family together begins to unravel. As financial pressures mount and disaster strikes Ark's vast archive of artwork, every member of the family is forced to confront uncomfortable questions about ambition, loyalty, artistic purpose, and what any life ultimately leaves behind.

Moving between biting satire, poignant family drama, and profound reflections on creativity and mortality, Ark is an expansive portrait of one extraordinary artist and the imperfect people orbiting his genius. It is a novel about aging without surrender, the burdens families inherit, and the elusive hope that great art—and great love—can outlive us all.

About the Author

Julian Tepper’s fifth novel, Getting Even/Letting Go (Rare Bird), will be published in the fall of 2026. His writing has appeared in The Paris Review, Playboy, Brooklyn Rail, Zyzzyva, Daily Beast, Bomb, Tablet Magazine, The New York Review of Architecture, and elsewhere. His essay, “Locking Down with the Family You’ve Just Eviscerated in a Novel” was a “Notable Essay of 2022” in Best American Essays 2022. He was born and raised in New York City.