The Lonely City

Adventures in the Art of Being Alone

Olivia Laing author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Canongate Books

Published:2nd Mar '17

Should be back in stock very soon

The Lonely City cover

SHORTLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE

Chosen as 'BOOK OF THE YEAR' by Observer, Guardian, Telegraph, Irish Times, New Statesman, Times Literary Supplement, Herald

When Olivia Laing moved to New York City in her mid-thirties, she found herself inhabiting loneliness on a daily basis. Increasingly fascinated by this most shameful of experiences, she began to explore the lonely city by way of art. Moving fluidly between the works and lives of some of the city's most compelling artists, Laing conducts an electric, dazzling investigation into what it means to be alone, illuminating not only the causes of loneliness but also how it might be resisted and redeemed.

Triumphant . . . A brave writer whose books open up fundamental questions about life and art * * Telegraph * *
Luminously wise and deeply compassionate . . . A fierce and essential work -- HELEN MACDONALD, author of H IS FOR HAWK
Wonderfully freewheeling . . . Constantly surprising . . . Inspired * * Guardian * *
The Lonely City is a stunning homage to how extreme loneliness can make us more hospitable to the strangeness of others - to the risks and innovations of art and artists. Laing has written a classic that will be cherished for years to come -- DEBORAH LEVY, author of SWIMMING HOME
A new kind of literature . . . Endlessly, compulsively fascinating * * New Statesman * *
Unusually brave . . . Sublime * * The Times * *
Laing cuts close to the bone of a universal yet often unrelatable state * * Financial Times * *
A gifted critic and biographer . . . a fascinating, eerie piece of writing * * Sunday Times * *
One of the finest writers of the new non-fiction . . . Compelling and original * * Harpers Bazaar * *
Exhilarating . . . beautifully integrated, original, compassionate * * Independent * *

  • Short-listed for Gordon Burn Prize 2016 (UK)

ISBN: 9781782111252

Dimensions: 198mm x 129mm x 20mm

Weight: 226g

336 pages

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