A review by lit_terary
The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone by Olivia Laing

2.0

I don't think I got the point of this book. I'm not even sure what "The Lonely City" is about in the first place. I was expecting essays, personal recollections, or a memoir of sorts in which Laing would detail her own experience of loneliness. What I got instead were scattered biographies, random portrayals of artists that she'd come in contact with (directly or indirectly). The book features a series of characters - some obscure others prominent (like Andy Warhol) - as Laing attempts to depict their loneliness and the way it translates into their art. Personally, I don't think the author has managed to achieve her goal. Laing got rather sidetracked by many various topics and issues whereas the overarching theme of loneliness got pushed further into the background. Sadly, this book did nothing for me, it completely went over my head.