The Lonely City
Adventures in the Art of Being Alone
Published on 2. March 2017
Book
Paperback/Softback
336 pages
978-1-78211-125-2 (ISBN)
Description
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.
Also available as a 10th anniversary hardback with a new afterword by Olivia Laing and as an audiobook narrated by Tilda Swinton
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.
Also available as a 10th anniversary hardback with a new afterword by Olivia Laing and as an audiobook narrated by Tilda Swinton
Reviews / Votes
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 * *More details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Illustrations
9 b&w illustrations on text paper
Dimensions
Height: 193 mm
Width: 126 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
243 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78211-125-2 (9781782111252)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
03/2016
Canongate Books
€12.49
Available for download
Previous edition
Book
03/2016
Canongate Books
€20.50
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
Olivia Laing is an internationally acclaimed writer and critic. They're the author of eight books, including Funny Weather, Everybody and the Sunday Times number one bestseller The Garden Against Time. Laing's first novel, Crudo, won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and in 2018 they were awarded the Windham-Campbell Prize for non-fiction. They are a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Arts and their books have been translated into twenty-one languages. Their latest novel is The Silver Book.
@olivialanguage | olivialaing.com
@olivialanguage | olivialaing.com