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A review by brisingr
The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone by Olivia Laing
5.0
When I read the title of this book, Adventures in the Art of Being Alone , I took art metaphorically, but it's literally a book that, starting from Laing's own experience of loneliness in New York, goes on to dissect the artworks and life of several artists that lived in the same city in the past century.
I kept thinking while reading this book: I am not particularly enjoying it. I am not a huge fan of visual arts, and so much of this book is just exactly that. But now, having finished it, I don't see how I can rate it anything lower. It's literally such an engaging book, mixing Laing's own personal anecdotes with some really easy to understand history on loneliness. There's also so much heart, so much kindness towards this emotion, so much understanding pertaining the experiences of loneliness. And as someone who is lonely in a new city - no friends, no partner - this book has provided me the kind of solace that its authors found, years before me, in art.
Highly recommended to anyone who wants an accessible non-fiction about the art scene of the past century, or just a slight memoir filled with knowledge.
I kept thinking while reading this book: I am not particularly enjoying it. I am not a huge fan of visual arts, and so much of this book is just exactly that. But now, having finished it, I don't see how I can rate it anything lower. It's literally such an engaging book, mixing Laing's own personal anecdotes with some really easy to understand history on loneliness. There's also so much heart, so much kindness towards this emotion, so much understanding pertaining the experiences of loneliness. And as someone who is lonely in a new city - no friends, no partner - this book has provided me the kind of solace that its authors found, years before me, in art.
Highly recommended to anyone who wants an accessible non-fiction about the art scene of the past century, or just a slight memoir filled with knowledge.